Photoblog : March 2008

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

I needed some large mirrors in my photo studio, and since it also doubles some evenings as a dance rehearsal space, it just made sense to make something that would serve multiple purposes. Problem is, my studio walls are all bare brick and there isn't enough wall space between windows to facilitate the mounting of mirrors on the wall. To complicate matters, I wanted to be able to move the mirrors around on a whim, like when models want to be able to see themselves while I'm taking their picture. They're so vain.

The entire experience was a somewhat frustrating learning experience. In fact, the project is not complete, but as with many projects, it's at a point where the mirrors are mostly functional and that's good enough for now. Nevermind that I not only built the mirror frames once, but twice. The first attempt didn't go so well, ending with mirrors that were warped by bad frames, thus making the viewer appear as though they had planted themselves in front of circus mirrors that either make you look really tall or really fat, neither of which is very helpful in making women feel confident and beautiful when they are dancing or having their photo taken.

What follows is a photographic and video adventure that combines evidence from both rounds of construction.

First stop, the drawing table:

And the first attempt:

On the second attempt, I changed my approach with the corners. Instead of just using metal brackets I decided heftier would be better and just used a 1x4 to create the joint. The result is a much sturdier corner joint:

Lined up for assembly:

The finished product:

And finally, a stop motion video of the painting and assembly of the first set of mirror frames:

If you've been paying attention you will have noticed that I didn't build the wheeled bases yet. That'll happen...eventually.

Shoes

Naughty Bananas

Naughty Natanya - Belmont Burlesque

Frozen Lake Michigan

Buncha Crazies

Lake Michigan Ice