Let’s VeeFriends! Editor-in-Chief A. Moret documents the faces of VeeCon 2023 on instant film. Originally published in NFT Magazine, re-discover the experience from Veecon 2023.
It’s 4:00 am, and the fluorescent lighting at the security checkpoint at LAX reminds me that I haven’t had coffee yet. While my eyes still struggle to focus, I don’t lose sight of the most valuable piece of my carry-on- an oversized plastic bag filled with over 100 sheets of Fuji Instax Wide film. I turn to the TSA agent and request a hand inspection so that the stacks of the undeveloped film won’t get damaged by becoming over-exposed, grainy, or both if exposed to the intense X-ray that scans the rest of my luggage. I keep a watchful eye on the conveyor belt as my prized 9dcc Iteration 03 baseball cap that I claimed at NFT NYC in front of an unsuspecting Bodega as part of G Money’s scavenger hunt as well as my Levi denim jacket embroidered with a Moonbird along with a signature from Beeple disappear into an abyss. I keep one eye on the checkpoint and repeatedly attempt to walk through the screening threshold without setting the alarm. I repeat a checklist- locate the TSA agent with the film. Get through the body scan. Make sure the cap and jacket don’t disappear, and repeat. After finally clearing the security checkpoint, the film returns to me, and I keep it clutched to my chest for the duration of my journey- two flights and over 8 hours later. My press coverage over the next three days at VeeCon 2023 depends entirely on this precious film stock. Truth be told, I nearly forgot the film in the trunk of the Uber en route to the hotel. The fatigue of travel was short-lived but almost cost me my story.
The charm of instant film lies in its delicate balance- equal parts unpredictability stemming from a limited point-and-shoot mechanism and the magic of near-instant development. From the moment the sheet is ejected from the camera body, it immediately undergoes a transformation, an alchemy of light and chemicals shared with the person who stepped in front of the lens. Together, we wait in suspense for the development to complete, creating a memory shared in the present moment. The final result is a tangible artifact, forever immortalizing the faces who are changing the landscape of web3 on an analog source. More than anything, instant film presents an opportunity to create a connection and memory that transcends the digital exchange of assets – POAPs, NFC-powered business cards, and Twitter mentions. Make no mistake- I am addicted to collecting POAPs, and solidifying a connection established IRL and proceeding with a follow on Twitter is incredibly valuable. However, my angle for VeeCon was to infuse the tapestry of analog storytelling while capturing the faces that are changing the metaverse. I saw this as a chance to weave together the fibers of my ardor for the analog realm and unveil a narrative that encapsulates the very essence of the Web3 space.
“Community” is a word we often hear when describing NFT artists and collectors, but we often can’t trace its exact meaning. At first, it seems an abstract buzzword, but it manifests itself at VeeCon in a visceral way. The hashtag #SeeYouatVeeCon served as a travel diary for those circumnavigating the country domestically and internationally to come together and pick up where they left off last year in Minneapolis. In 2022, Gary Vaynerchuk made headlines with the debut of the first-ever ticketed NFT ticketed conference. For the second edition of VeeCon, Indianapolis, more commonly known as Indy, became the backdrop for the ultimate gathering for the community- those who have believed in the VeeFriends NFT project since its inception, as well as those who believe in the power of fostering lasting friendship. Home to the three-highest single-day attended events: the Indy 500, the Brickyard 40, and the U.S. Grand Prix Formula One race, Gary Vee raised the checkered flag on a fourth event that would forever change the spirit of Indy. Unlike the infamous tracks fueled by horsepower and record speeds, VeeCon runs on a different kind of adrenaline. This electric energy is driven by the promise of the future and the power of today.
Under the roof of Lucas Oil Stadium, the home field for the Indianapolis Colts football team, Rainer Hosch, Mike Hager, and I came together and, during a team huddle, set out to capture as many faces of VeeCon as possible. With a clear and shared goal, the timing was the next and most critical of the logistics. The jam-packed speaker schedule ran all day across the stadium, beginning and ending at the epicenter, the sleek mainstage that looked straight out of a Midjourney render with the prompt of “Bladerunner” meets the metaverse. To increase our chances of capturing as many portraits as possible over two days, we devised a strategy to be both in the center of the action while taking up as little space as possible to be out of the way. By positioning ourselves in the backstage areas where talent entered and exited, we had the best chances of extending an invitation for a quick portrait. Using the VeeCon app and following Mike’s wish list, we found ourselves in the best place at the best time. Before meeting Mike last year in Minneapolis, I became familiar with his mindset that “life happens to us and not for us.” We must manifest reality by seeing our goals in our mind’s eye with such clarity that it feels natural. The first name on our list was Gary Vee himself. We knew we had the best odds of catching him after he delivered the opening remarks on the main stage. Our press credentials allowed us to roam throughout the stadium easily. We encountered an area between the walkway to the main stage where speakers received their microphones and the VIP suites where speakers entered and exited. As luck would have it, a dark curtain attached to either end of the concrete hallway was the ideal backdrop for the ring flash. After Rainer calibrated his camera and captured several test shots of me, I still saw green and blue artifacts when Gary Vee walked by. With a calm and confident smile, Mike approached and asked him to step before the lens. Rainer fired the trigger, but the flash didn’t go off. Our hearts skipped a beat. In all my years working alongside Rainer, I had never witnessed the ring flash fail to go off. I captured one sheet of instant film, and while Rainer did get a few shots, he knew it wasn’t THE one.
Collectively, we didn’t let the technical hiccup stop our momentum- we had the entire day ahead of us and the second day to invite Gary back in front of the camera. We were confident and proceeded with a synergy colored by positivity. The photo series for VeeCon was unique because Rainer had devised a minimal and portable ring flash setup modeled after the one he had perfected in his Santa Monica-based studio. A high voltage but low profile power bank hanging from the tripod’s center powered the magical and highly luminous ring flash. The second part of the setup is Rainer’s handcrafted medium format Hasselblad, which beautifully captures faces thanks to the mechanical shutter and the photographer’s gifted perspective. We spent nearly the entire day standing in that spot, watching artists, actors, and business leaders come and go. We waited patiently with our backs against the wall to blend in with our surroundings, making our corner an unofficial setup. The day became a whirlwind of faces, and we captured over 25 portraits. We never heard the word “no” but waited patiently for the right time to ask permission to step into our makeshift studio. Because of our sensitivity and efficiency, the subject would step before the lens, and the ring flash would fire. While my Fuji Instax 300 Wide camera made entirely of plastic is nowhere near the caliber of Rainer’s Hasselblad, for every portrait taken, one instant photograph accompanies it. While the two cameras yield different types of pictures, both reveal an honest and authentic moment. Even after scanning the images, I can still hold the faces of VeeCon in my hand. After over a decade of covering the art scene at gallery openings, press conferences, and artist studio visits, I always felt somewhat timid when requesting comments or a photograph. I don’t know why I let fear of “what if” get in my way, but I always felt like I was asking too much or didn’t belong. Standing beside Rainer, I adopted his wide stance, leaning my left foot forward to anchor my body and squaring my shoulders enough to center the camera without a tripod. From Mike, I mirrored his calm demeanor and posture, which had the aura of confidence and purpose. After the ring flash had fired its last shot, I would announce, “ok! Time for an instant moment!” In the world of web3, I finally felt a connection I had never had in the “white cube” world. The best part of each day happened when I returned to my hotel room, opened my backpack’s front compartment, and spread the film sheets across the bed like a Vegas card dealer. I reviewed the film in the order captured. There was something beautiful about capturing the faces of Web3 as an analog artifact.
There are 268 VeeFriends Characters, each reflecting an admirable and positive trait. Using alliteration, an animal or “friend” is associated with a quality that Gary Vee considers admirable. I asked myself, “If we were VeeFriends, which friend would we be?” I arrived at the Patient Panda, the Content Condor, and the Optmisitic Otter. Not only did we capture the entire Vaynerchuk family and artists like Snowfro, Coldie, and Jen Stark, but Gary returned to our setup on the second day, flashed his signature hand gesture across his lower chest, and smiled directly in the ring flash. It all happened so quickly that we barely had time to process what was happening, but we knew after his entourage had disappeared that we had manifested this portrait, and our vision was realized! Manifestation at work. The beauty of documenting an NFT conference on instant film is that the camera initiates a conversation, the development process invites an opportunity to connect, and the final photograph is a physical memento of a moment shared.
All Portraits © Rainer Hosch, 2024
All Instant Film Images © A. Moret, 2024
Featured Portrait: Gary Vaynerchuk, aka Gary Vee, Creator and Founder of VeeCon