Ok, so maybe the headline isn't as exciting as it sounds. Summer for photographers can tend to be a slow period of time. We're in between wedding & mitzvah seasons, lots of families are off on their OWN vacations (would it kill you to hire a professional photographer to tag along to Turks & Caicos for a week?) and even corporate work tends to slow down because...well...it's summer.
BUT, we've been managing to keep ourselves busy here at Chorus. This past weekend, we were hired on to photograph Blobfest. For those of you not in the know; Blobfest is a yearly event that celebrates the movie "The Blob", which in part was filmed at the iconic Colonial Theatre right in the middle of downtown Phoenixville (about 35 minutes northwest of Philadelphia). It not only celebrates the 1958 Steve McQueen led movie, but all manner of sci-fi campy goodness.
The weekend long fest kicks off with a live stage show on The Colonial's stage that's one part MST3K and one part game show with a little bit of "Rocky Horror" sprinkled on top for good measure.
Imagine hearing the opening strains of Strauss' "Also sprach Zarathustra" as a 30's era pipe organ rises from below the stage, and a green alien stage right bangs away on Timpani drums while the organist descends back to the dark depths.
The event is MC'd by "Cinema Insomina" host Erik Lobo (known better in these circles as Mr. Lobo. Lobo's catchphrase "they're not bad movies, just misunderstood" almost sums up the entire genre.
Where else would you find B9 from the classic Sci-Fi television show "Lost in Space" and the Martian Ambassador from "Mars Attacks" sharing the same stage with original "Lost In Space" actor Marta Kristen?
The evening is capped off by attendees recreating the famous "run out" scene, that the movie is primarily known for. Some people dress up in period clothing, some people dress up like scifi characters from their favorite movies.
Followed up by a brigade of "Blob Killers" who "freeze" the Blob...which effectively kills it.
And then, the "players" from the earlier stage show come out for pictures and to mingle among the crowd.
This may not be as fancy as following a family around on their vacation in an island resort...but you have to admit. It ain't boring!