‘Brick’ the retro Volkswagen bus becomes photo booth for family business

Meet “Brick,” a 1973 Volkswagen bus with a retro-fitted camera and photo booth inside his bright orange walls.

This Sioux Falls photo bus is connected to Das Foto, established in May by Mike Hanten and his family.

“We’re a veteran-owned and family business,” Hanten said. “I like doing new things that challenge me. We’d started by renovating the interior, and it spiraled into a business.”

Since May, Brick has attended a half-dozen graduations, corporate events and car shows.

“We can bring the bus to any event in Sioux Falls,” Hanten said. “We are competitive with stand-alone photo booths and pay someone to do our photos.”

Brick is equipped with a large-format retrofitted vintage camera, a DSLR camera and lens, a large touch screen, adjustable lighting, and a printer for photo or text options, Hanten said. On top of that, the photo booth van comes with a variety of fun props and can be decorated.

“We’ve got a lot better equipment than I was originally planning on,” Hanten said. “I would not mind if we became a resource for photographers interested in renting the van or some of our other cars for photo shoots.”

Hanten said he has eight or nine other cars that could be fun for photo shoots in the future.

Currently, Brick has three package options available for two, three or four hours along with add-ons for additional time. Hanten said they mainly work in Sioux Falls and that Brick is a fair-weather driver. Brick can be included in wedding photos and can be an outdoor or indoor photo booth.

All packages include vintage suitcases, a foot step and throw pillows inside. Brick will arrive 45 minutes before “booth hours,” Hanten said. The photo booth hours can be adjusted based on the package plan.

“We’ve been enjoying it and want other people to enjoy it too,” Hanten said. “We’ve particularly had fun at car shows. Kids can actually touch the van after being around cars they’re not allowed to touch.”