If you haven't attended a pot festival, never fear. The herky-jerky movement of Theo Stroomer's trippy GIFs in Cannabis Evangelism make you feel like you're right there, thoroughly baked. It's a fresh take on photos that too often border on cliché.
"Pot’s wacky, and the whole culture is fascinating," he says. "That’s why I wanted to do it this way."
Stroomer wanted to examine what happens when the counterculture goes mainstream, so he visited marijuana festivals in Colorado and Washington in 2013 to 2014. The Denver-based photographer was drawn to the scene when he heard about medical marijuana users throwing underground parties in the Mile-High City. When Colorado legalized recreational use in 2012, these parties became full-blown festivals sometimes drawing tens of thousands of people.
The events have colorful names like Cannabis Cup, Colorado Bong-a-thon, and Gypsy Jane’s Krunkyard Jubilee. They typically last several days and feature live music, smoking tents and contests to crown the best buds and tastiest edibles. Stroomer says most people go a little nuts, dressing up in costumes (horse head masks and clown ensembles are popular, although a lot of folks at CannaSearch wore suits and ties) and openly toking up with strangers. Vendors offer everything from golden rolling papers to loupes (for inspecting buds) to the obligatory Bob Marley-emblazoned swag. It was a wild, surreal experience. "You can go into a public place in a pot costume, and get high, and no one is going to give you a hard time," he says.
Of course, there were those who over-indulged, and Stroomer was dismayed by the number of teenagers lighting up. And then there was the person who brought an infant to Hempfest in Seattle. "I see an awful lot of people who are remarkably enthusiastic about pot," he says. "I find that mostly charming and occasionally disturbing."
The craziness is enhanced by Stroomer's use of GIFs. The jerky movement makes you feel like you’re there in more ways than one. Stroomer wanted to stand out from the pot projects he'd seen before, and the medium seemed a perfect avenue. "No one was making pot GIFs and no one was going to, so it was a special, creative push to get them out in the world," he says.
His process is simultaneously lo-fi and high-tech. Stroomer used a Nishika N8000, a lenticular 35mm 3D camera that he calls cheap, abundant, and "super crappy." The quadrascopic camera uses four lenses to create images on two frames. After developing the film, Stroomer scanned the images and assembled the GIFs with Photoshop. He cut the frames individually, then overlayed them at his chosen focus point. The frames are looped and a GIF is born.
As to the camera, it's got a fake LCD screen at the top and a lead weight at the bottom to make it feel heavier and more professional. It's silly, but the perfect camera for shooting a pot festival. Its goofy appearance put people at ease, and resulted in many exclamations of, "Dude that’s so cool, your camera has four lenses!"
