Dr Sketchy's, Birmingham

Dr Sketchy's Anti-art School (http://www.drsketchysbirmingham.co.uk/) provides an opportunity for artists (and photographers) to work with live models outside the formal environment of a traditonal Life Class.  Burlesque artists perform their act, then pose for the artists.  There are prizes for the best and it's very light-hearted and fun.  These images were captured on 24th November 2012, when Dr Sketchy's celebrated its fourth birthday with a tribute to the films of Tim Burton.

It takes place at the The Victoria, John Bright St, Birmingham.

An old pub with lots of personality and atmosphere.

 

Even the Gents' is idiosyncratic; not a place to stagger down into:

The event takes place in an upper room, and naturally, there's lots of preparation to be done.

We set out the chairs while the organiser, Candee, prepares gifts for the performers.

And Pip 'Astro' Bayley arranges the furniture.

 

Jacob (Sound) accepts Suzie Sequin's music.

I'd arranged to record the preparations.  Here is Tiffany Beau making-up as The Mad Hatter.

Of course, the inner woman needs nourishment too.

Eating is not usually a good look, but she gets away with it here.

It's a delicate operation; burlesque performers don't have the sumptuous dressing rooms of the big stars.  I'm reminded of Lord Snowdon's image of Helen Mirren in her dressing room: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44743000/jpg/_44743965_helenmirren.jpg

The Mad Hatter needs a gap between his upper incisors.  It's painted on with waterproof mascara.

There: it's done.  But will it come off?

The essence of Dr Sketchy's is fun.

And the final result.
It's hot, and hat and coat are discarded:

Tiffany compares notes with Liberty.

Not all the preparation is physical:

In a busy scene, where even Edward Scissorhands twiddles his 'fingers',

Kitten Von Mew remains a pillar of calm, absorbed in her role as the Corpse Bride.

 Kitten stays serenely in character during the whole of her pose. 

And opens her own eyes only when it's over.

The artists use different media to draw their sketches. 

When the fifteen minute pose is over, Kitten judges the results.

And, with the help of the compere, singer and performer Liberty Pink, awards the prize.

Suzie Sequin plays Sally, from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Steve Pledger plays Jack Skellington...

Also from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

And together, they pose:

For the artists:

And there's another winner:

Missy Malone as Sweeny Todd...

The shapely barber of Fleet Street:

Sandy Sure gives us Beetlejuice

And poses with his girlfriend Lydia Deetz (Frankie Lynn)

Pip wins a prize:

And looks pretty pleased about it.

The lovely Liberty Pink sings farewell...

And you couldn't have a birthday party without a cake...

by Annabel de Vetten-Peterson at Conjurer's Kitchen.

The End 

Notes on Dr Sketchy’s
The Plan

It’s good to plan; there’s less chance of missing vital things out, but one needs to be flexible, too.  It’s a matter of making good compromises.  I was trying to record an event without interrupting it.  I was asked not to move around while taking photographs, which inhibited what I wanted to do, yet I did manage to get about a bit without disrupting the show.  One of my objectives was to produce a set of pictures for the participants, to record the event for their benefit.  I’ve published the blog to the Dr Sketchy’s people on Facebook.

Technical

It was a dull, rainy day, and I had to use available light indoors.  ISO 800, F5.6, one stop underexposure, still made it impossible to stop movement.  Many of the 200 exposures I took were blurry.

The stage was intermittently lit by coloured lights and LEDs, so white balance wasn’t simple.  I’ve seen that reducing the colour temperature in Adobe Camera RAW gives an effective exposure reduction too.  I was already at a high ISO, so I didn’t want to have to adjust exposure upwards, multiplying the noise already present.  I set white balance to tungsten, but still had to tinker with it on some shots.  With strong stage lighting, there was a big difference between darks and lights.  I tried to prevent highlights being blown out and let the darks go to black, which helped de-clutter backgrounds.

The Photographs

The format of the evening is that each artiste performs her act, which usually includes removing her clothes.  While this would have provided some interesting images, the ethos is that such photographs are not taken—or at least, not published.  The character of the event is good-natured fun, not an erotic display.  When the act is over, she resumes some of her clothes and then poses for up to fifteen minutes for the artists and photographers.

I’d arranged with the organiser beforehand that I’d be able to photograph her make-up work, but on the day she was unwell and would be unable to perform.  She asked folk to come early to help set up and we obliged.  It was raining; we hurried inside; I didn’t even take a shot of the outside of the venue.  I like my barmaid picture, which does show the character of this busy pub, though removing the menu from the corner of the bar would have improved it

I didn’t plan to take a picture of the Gents’, but have always found it odd, so I included it as part of my scene-setting.  A project like this is not about individual photographs; if they all zing then there’s no quiet place to recover.  I don’t think I’ve made the setting-up shots interesting, though.

I took several pictures of the present-wrapping, but the close-up of the hands says more than those showing the face of the wrapper.  A couple of days earlier I was in a portraiture workshop; if I’d followed the advice given there I’d have had Candee holding the presents up to her face.  I can’t think how that wouldn’t have looked contrived.

I like my photographs of Tiffany Beau more each time I see them.  Given the opportunity again, I’d make a project all about her preparation, and take multiple shots of her completing it; putting on coat and hat, and taking them off again when it got too hot.  My pictures of the removal of her rollers are unusable.  I could have tried to vary the shots more, but wanted to document the process.

Post-production

I’ve tidied a few of my images, ironed out the odd wrinkle and tightened a couple of jaw lines.  This is a compromise I feel was necessary: I want my subjects to want me to photograph them again.
I didn't try to remove the projected text from the single portrait of Jack Skellington. 

What I learned, what I’ll do differently next time:

Motion blur was a problem, yet I could have used it to produce interesting swirly images.

I took a general shot of the empty chairs at the start, but could have taken one of the audience, later on, which would have been more interesting.  Don’t be shy about changing lenses.

Be bolder: folk are helpful and accommodating; I could have at least asked to take a picture in the Ladies’, which was being used as a changing room.  After all, I took a photo in the Gents’.

Adapt; be aware of and look out for opportunities to diversify, to follow an individual while being aware of the group.  The opportunity to do a set exclusively on Tiffany’s evening, from make-up to relaxing afterwards, was there, but I didn’t see it.

Summary

In my photographs I’ve tried to tell the story of the evening, well, a story, and I think this has been fairly successful.  It has a beginning, middle, and end.  I’ve included all the performers, and brought the story back to its beginning: the fourth birthday celebration.

 

Mike White

30th November 2013