daveborjes

In the interests of completeness, @Cork and I survived the tattoo contest so I'll answer my original questions here for posterity and other potential contestants.
A couple pictures are attached - the three from @Cork in the http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/lst-get-togethers-tattoo-conventions/6245-philadelphia-tattoo-convention-2015-a.html thread. Aside from the awesome photo bomb from Brian O'Halloran from Clerks, you see @Cork waiting for his turn to show while a girl is illustrating one clothing option and showing how to "assume the position." I also included a picture of my contest slips and of what it looks like trying to see the stage from the crowd - I had my camera held up over my head.
Well before the contests start, you head to a table by the stage and enter as many of the contests as you want. Sign up, pay your $10, and you get a slip of paper with the category and your number in the category. You hand/show it to the judge when you get up there - it's supposed to be anonymous.
There were about 30 of us entered in the backpiece contest. It was on Sunday, which apparently has fewer attendees. For comparison, there were fewer in Extra Large Color (which I was gently ragged-on for also entering). There were about 5 for Overall and around 10ish in categories such as hand and neck. There were many more than 30 for small and medium color and black and grey.
The announcer presented a girl with an underboob tattoo and announced it as "The New Tramp Stamp." <cringe> Sigh. There were mutterings that there should be gender classes for the "chest" category.
Anyway...
There were two judging tables - one on the stage (which was elevated about 2-3 feet - the same stage that was set on fire by this genius: Caught on Cam: Fire Breather Catches Fire During Tattoo Convention | NBC 10 Philadelphia) and one table on the floor just in front of the stage.
They ran both at the same time with different categories at each (for example, at the start, they ran all black and grey from the left at the lower table, and color from the right at the upper table). We went right up to the table and turned. The three judges sat behind the table and didn't come around. For thigh pieces and the like, the entrants backed up a couple feet to allow good viewing.
Not very, other than when they call your category, you had better get in line. And because they were running two tables, the categories got out of sync and didn't go in order - they called XL Black and Grey which is listed AFTER XL Color, and I thought I missed it!
So a category is announced like this, "Backpiece, line up on the right of the stage starting with Number 1, Bob, Number 2, @SeeSea, Number 3, @Cork, through to 30, and you all have numbers so figure out the rest on your own." The line is not behind the stage or behind a curtain - see the pic of me standing in line for XL Color. The first person waits to be called and they go up the steps. You tell your number then turn around and stand there, looking at the crowd, which is somewhat paying attention but often just chatting among themselves. Then you look back a couple times because you have no clue if they are done, and eventually they will nod or say, "Thank you." Most people didn't turn to show the audience - I remembered to for XL Color but forgot to for backpiece. No one is announced - after the person in front of you finishes, wait a short moment then head up and lather/rinse/repeat.
Some time later, when those scores are tallied, the announcer will just announce the results over the loudspeaker while judging of other categories continues. Somewhat controlled chaos. And boring. Because you can't really see anything, everyone is just standing around waiting, wondering if you can get through the line at the bathroom in time.
I saw all kinds but no pasties. Many girls wore halter tops or bikinis of some sort, and untied them or pulled them aside. This is what I did. My halter covered a bit less than the pictures show - I used those heavy clamp paperclip things to pull back the sides on the bottom so the entire tattoo showed. There were a few girls who had hoodies or jackets turned around and unzipped them. In the picture where @Cork is walking up to the stage, you can see the girl in front of him doing just this. Then there was this girl who was right in front of me in line. She had on a string. Just a string. And she looked great in that string. She had a black and grey astronomy tattoo that went down one cheek so it was a good outfit to show the entire thing.
Obviously for the dudes, shirtless was easy. @Cork dropped trou, weighted down by his belt they slammed down BAM right on the stage, drawing a quick look of surprise from a female judge. Good times. Then he crunched up his boxers to maximize visual impact for the judges and maintained a strong look of decorum, staring straight into the crowd. I don't recall fundoshis for Backpiece, but I saw some for Overall. Wearing a fundoshi and then waiting to drop pants/shorts on stage facing away from the judges would have been just fine for those concerned about public displays of cheekage.
Nope, not for backpiece or any contest on Sunday. On Saturday, there are gender classes for many but they don't do backs on Saturday.
Apparently this is the case from what I hear. Second place was a black and grey Ben Franklin theme. We were in Philly. Go figure. Although, the three trophies went to a back-to-thighs new school odd evil fish with teeth organic things with extra eyeballs that was pretty cool, black and grey Ben, and then back-to-thighs Japanese. So it clearly wasn't restricted to a particular style.
Overall, it's an experience and you'll see a wide variety of styles and quality wandering around in the crowd that is waiting to be judged. There were some really great tattoos there, and some less fortunate ones.

Hi, I'm Jordan from Melbourne, Australia. I'm a 23 year old Electrician.
I became fascinated with tattoos when I got exposed to Punk Rock when I was about 10 years old. Since then I got into heavier music and eventually started getting tattoos. I could never choose a specific style as a favorite so I chose to have my arms and back dedicated to Japanese style pieces and my legs and front are slowly getting covered with American Traditional tattoos.
Unfortunately, I play guitar which is not a cheap hobby so that has put the brakes on getting tattooed as much as I'd like to. But it does help me become a little more confident in my choices so I don't have to go through any more unnecessary laser sessions.
I have been tattooed by a few of my favorite tattooers but there is still plenty more on my list.
Tattooed by;
Tim Lehi
Josh Stephens
Matt Wisdom
Charley Gerardin
Ben Ross
and some others not worthy of a mention
I'd like to be tattooed by;
Matt Cunnington
Stevie Edge
Josh Sutterby
James McKenna
and heaps more. This little list is quite achievable as they're all in Australia. So hopefully I can cross them off soon.
The main reason I registered for this forum is because I'm trying to hunt down a picture of some Dan Higgs flash that I saw at Black Heart Tattoo SF. It's a crazy looking light globe/bulb. I'm hoping to get it for myself as a present for completing my Electrical apprenticeship. I can't find it anywhere!
Thanks for having me LST!

Could be, I'm not confident saying that they come from a pre-internet civilization though because, well...how would the Picts have found out what they mean without the Internet?

Cro Mags. Hardest tattoos ever. This is what tattooed people should look like.

Hey guys! Thank you for the warm welcome! I'm excited to talk tattoos with you all!
Okay, I'll eventually get the hang of embedding, but for now links to peep's instagrams will have to do. All these are from when the tattoos were still fresh (of the ones I could find) because I actually don't have pictures of my work. But I'll try to get around to taking decent photos of it all healed up and settled. Anyway, let's start:
First session for my sleeve with Thomas (going for my second appointment soon):
Instagram
Instagram
Eva is by far the person I have the most work from. Chronologically:
Instagram
Instagram
Instagram
Instagram
Instagram
Instagram
From Sarah Carter. Least painful tattoo ever:
Instagram
My Valerie girls. I love these things:
Instagram
(Side story: You know that gorgeous punk rock Virgin Mary Valerie did a while back? I was supposed to get a punk girl from her that week she was at Kings Avenue, but decided to delay it because I thought these two made a better pair. And then she came out with that Virgin Mary and I've been kicking myself since. I'm actually thinking of going to England to get a second pair of girls on my calves to finally get my punk girl. She will be mine. Oh yes, she will be mine.)
I'll try to get pictures of the other ones, since I couldn't find them online.
Disclaimer: My skins swells up like crazy when I get tattooed, so some of these are kinda distorted. Like I said, nice pictures of healed work on their way.

Welcome Laura! Nice intro. I am sure I'm not the only person here who would love to see pictures of your tattoos.

My name is Laura, and I've been a part-time lurker for a while, but finally decided to join today. Though I must say I'm still a bit intimidated, I'm starting to feel more comfortable calling myself a collector, and it seemed fitting to formally join the tattoo community (in however small a way).
I'm currently in graduate school and just shy of a couple of years from my PhD in Chemistry. Tattoos have not been a problem, it turns out. On my second year I got pulled aside by a professor who, after seeing my sleeve, went on to show me a couple of Ed Hardy pieces he had done in the 80's. (It was a bit weird, but kinda cool.)
I've been fortunate enough to have been tattooed - in chronological order, 'cause why not - by: Eva Huber, Allyson Bennett, Valerie Vargas, Cris Cleen, Steve Whittenberger, Sarah Carter, and Thomas Hooper. I have many more ideas I'd love to see executed by the many insanely talented people in my wishlist, so I hope I can continue to forsake my non-existent savings account for years to come.
Anyway, just wanted to shoot the shit with some like-minded folks who enjoy and respect tattooing, artists and enthusiasts alike.
So - hey everyone!

...and then there was this genius who set fire to himself and part of the stage. Almost looked like it was part of the act until random people started running in from the sidelines flipping a table and dumping their bottles of water on it. Lucky the fire didn't run all the way up the banners in the back or get out of control. Can you imagine an evacuation at a convention?
Caught on Cam: Fire Breather Catches Fire During Tattoo Convention | NBC 10 Philadelphia

Sorry to see you didn't go home with anything, @SeeSea, except this awesomely ironic picture of us being photobombed by Brian O'Halloran from Clerks while wearing a shirt that says "Polite as Fuck."
It was cool catching up with you again @Bunny Switchblade, and meeting you @daveborjes.

I don't understand people who make sweeping generalizations?? Sometimes we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the shop and little things slip your attention. Misspelling a tattoo isn't a justifiable error, however we are human and we make mistakes and what with most tattooers having decade-long careers, the probability that something like this will happen is high. This thread feels very bitchy and ranty overall. Everyone needs to accept responsibility on both sides.

@pidjones i'm not sure how well being DEMANDING in the tattoo shop will go over. Actually I do know, it won't get a very positive response. Being caught up in your own tattoo-euphoria and not checking the stencil thoroughly enough, well, you get to shoulder that responsibility. My unsolicited advice is to relax and discuss it in a calm and reasonable manner and you will be more likely to find a solution with the tattooer. There is no such thing as a perfect tattoo, it is very common that we get fixated on the new tattoo and can see every imperfection. However we're hoping your tattooer can make things right for you. What is the tattoo that you are referring to?
I've only had a sketch emailed to me once in the last 12 years. It hit my inbox 2 days beforehand. It looked great and got the just of what bud was going to tattoo, but it was just that. A sketch. And the end-product goes way beyond what the sketch could convey. Most tattooers I know don't sketch it up until the night before (keep the drawing fresh on the mind) and only make the stencil when you show up and are ready to rock n roll.
I've got some cranes on my arm. The crane had 2 legs on the sketch. 2 legs on the stencil. But only 1 leg at the end of the line session. I freaked a bit. My tattooer just said relax, the missing leg is just behind some clouds. Things fit flow and look a different way when they finally go in the skin. And I love this tattoo even more for that mild imperfection.
/offtopic...back to text tattoos.
Here's some more unsolicited advice for everyone. A picture is worth a thousand words. But if you really need words to get your meaning across...keep it simple and choose your words wisely. You can say A LOT with only a few words...and it will reduce the probability of a spelling or grammatical error ;)
- - - Updated - - -
edit/ for spelling and grammar haha

My latest and greatest tattoo on my left knee, Had a very personal battle getting this one almost tapped a couple of times.
Artist is WT Norbert so stoked to have him working just down the road from my place

It just spells "management material"....

Here's it is fresh. I'll post more after it heals up. I had a great time and came away with a bunch of new music to check out too. Can't imagine having a better first experience.

Congrats on your new tattoo. I wouldn't do what you are thinking. It sounds like you are considering covering a lot of real estate on your back just to connect two tattoos, and a color trail would be boring. This tattoo stands on its own just fine - no need to mess with it. Instead, think about a completely new tattoo on your back. The back is a huge flat surface and it would be a shame to eat up some of that great room with a long filler. My $0.02.

@SeeSea It looks incredible. It's cool to see a picture like that too. Hope you were wearing some high-SPF sunscreen!

Big reveal in the wild. Diving in the Maldives. On this trip, I saw several of the creatures on my back, which was pretty cool.
The response from my dive buddies was overall pretty positive, and it changed a few attitudes towards tattoos. I had been chatting with three of the women before I let them know I had done it, and unrelated to my tattoo, they all spoke down on tattoos, including the "Why would someone do something permanent - your tastes will change over time" and the "What will it look like when you get old?" Sigh. One of these women really liked it and said it was the best she had ever seen, and she is in the medical field and has seen a lot of bare skin. A lovely woman from Austria was just in love with it and gushed about my "sea" that I can take with me. :-)

Welcome! I'd love to see pictures of the Crucifix tattoo. They were such a good band but I feel I hear very few people talking about them. Good to see them getting a little recognition.

I just logged into last sparrow. @Graeme should I start a thread about it?

@CultExciter What else are you going to do because it's not like there's already a thread for posting your tattoos in. Maybe somebody should start one.

some spots were okay, some were bad, and some were really bad.

I don't post anything to Instagram but I follow a shit ton of tattooers. Lately, @BrightandBold and @Americanatattoos have been hosting the most awesome 'takeovers' by some veteran tattoo artists that have shared some fascinating history and insight. I'm not a tattooer, just an enthusiast. I would highly recommend following these pages if you are into tattoo history. I've also been introduced to some amazing artists I would never have heard of otherwise. Check them out.

Here are the results of the first session with Rubendall at the Kings Ave Manhattan shop:

I have a few more pictures to share but I want to organize my thoughts and write a little blog entry to post along with those photos.

Tattoos were only available in boxes of Cracker Jacks, lick 'em and stick 'em. The cool people always had theirs on straight.
I'd get my mom to buy one of those multiple packs and save up the tattoos so I could put them on all at once.