We made an instant photography stall that turned instant-’ish’ over the course of a long weekend of accumulating negative equity on the old joanna…
Not quite making sense I know, but often what’s intended gets lost and something entirely different emerges. So, seriously, I’ve been trying to do quick turnaround portraits with old cameras and processes since hearing the busking round Spain and sleeping in church doorways stories of some musician friends. My thinking was, seeing as I can’t play guitar with any sort of flair, maybe I could accompany such a band of gypsies with camera, chemicals, darkbag, dev-tank and tripod, making portraits, and thence a folio born from simplicity, made from the most basic commercial transactions- 5 or 10 euros a pop, and living on the road.
Since thinking of it I’ve made the idea work with slowly growing success, each attempt a little better, but all yielding something interesting; moreover, it’s led to other commissions and further avenues of thought, as these things tend to.
These pictures are from Shambala festival 2008. There was a piano by the stall, and I took £9.40 over the whole weekend. I paid one guy a pound to take his portrait away at one point, and explained it as negative equity on the piano…. Might not have earned much but we came back with very much more fun than we had when we started. Many thanks to Mat and Ellie.
