That's me
The History of the Photobooth Convention
No new convention news at the moment. Maybe 2011
A Brief history
From the late 1970's through to the late 1980's I used photobooth machines
to make my wacky pictures using masks and backdrops. I visited a booth at
least once a month (often more than that) becoming known as a "boother".
Some highlights during that time was winning a photobooth competition on
"Riverside" a BBC2 TV programme in 1982 and articles in "The
Face" and "Time Out" in the mid 1980's. This was also the
first time that I introduced myself to Photo-Me
International. From that exposure I came to learn of others who shared
my love of photobooth machines most notably Liz Rideal and Dick Jewel and
I knew I wasn't alone.
During 1989 I heard of another photobooth artist
Sasa Markovic from Yugoslavia who not only did his pictures in a booth but
used masks as well. I made plans and visited him in Belgrade twice (1990 & 1991) doing our first projects together and exhibiting work. We
both continued to produce more work and by the time Sasa came to the UK in 1994 I arranged
a week long photobooth workshop in Glasgow, part of the Strathclyde University
"Winterschool" for us to expand our work and involve others. This
set the seed for the idea of a convention.
By the time of his next visit to the UK in 1999
I invited 11 people to take part in a days "boothing" at the Nottingham
Trent University. This became the first International Photobooth Convention.
In the 2 following years it was held in a public location in Putney, London
with great success attracting many photobooth artists and enthusiasts alike
from places as far of as Germany, France and Yugoslavia and closer to home
from Brighton, Birmingham, London and Nottingham. The year 2002 convention
was split into 2 parts - 2 days in Bookham and 1 day in Brighton. All these where supported by photo-me
Bookham 2002
I had always hoped to take these
events to other countries and thus find an even greater audience and to make
and appreciate the wonderful pieces of artwork made with photobooth machines.
This started in 2003 with the New York convention followed by Belgrade in
2004 & 2006 and St Louis in 2005. St Louis is where the good people of photobooth.net Brian and Tim helped me shoulder the work and established the convention as an altogether bigger experience.
Visits back to New York in 2007 and Belgrade 2008 kept the convention afloat which constituted little more than small gatherings around my own personal travels until photobooth.net and Anthony from 312photobooth.com organised our best convention yet in Chicago.
New York 2003 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Belgrade 2004 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Many other gatherings, workshops and demonstrations I've held over the years may have good reason to be considered as conventions but I decided to leave it at one a year in name.
It started in 1999 at a point when traditional photographic machines were dying out and being replaced by the digital medium but as we reach 2010 there is a resurgence of old black and white machines mainly in the hands of small companys or collectives which give it's future a welcome boost.
Mister Mixup, 2010