tilsner.net

Nigel Parry
Photographs: Halloween 2003

As Halloween approached, I called a friend in the Tilsner who holds the best Halloween party in town, and asked him if I could set up a portrait booth in a spare room and photograph the guests in costume. The idea was to get a clean digital shot of the costumes against a plain background, perhaps get some of the characters to interact, and see what happened.

The booth ("The Twisted Prom Photo Booth") was extremely popular and guests, already being "in character", mostly slipped naturally into appropriate poses which kept things flowing well. Looking at the final 166 frames, some clearly offered themselves for further digital manipulation into various cinematic and artistic styles, with some interesting results. Got a costume party coming up? Hire a documentary photographer.

The Devil whispers to a woman with a whip.

The Mummy Returns, rendered as an old B&W movie still.

Showgirl and Priest, in the style of a pulp paperback cover.

A Dali-esque man with mustache and dress rendered as a painting.

The Mad Hatter gets a psychedelic treatment.

Comic book-style Naziesque figure.

American Pimp, as an iconic cutout.

Vampire Geisha, high contrast fashion shot.

Andy Warhol lookalike in Warhol's screen print style.

All images ©2003 Nigel Parry. Contact for reprint permission.