With a day to spare in Amsterdam on a work trip, I got in touch with Stefan and Madri at Photoautomat Amsterdam to see if I could meet them and check out their booths around the city. 

With Stefan out of town, my thanks to Madri for letting me tag along on her route as she serviced the booths at the Hutspot, the Student Hotel, and the Hoxton Hotel, all located around the center of Amsterdam. I rented a cycle and followed along as well as I could, not being a practiced Amsterdam cyclist, which is an entirely different kind of cycling… 

First stop was the Hutspot, where the booth is located just inside the door of this very cool restaurant/shop/barbershop. We hadn’t had a sample photo in our entry for this booth for some reason, so that’s now been fixed. I enjoyed using their custom-made token for the booth, and had to ask for one to take home with me… 

From there, I eventually managed to unlock my bike and followed Madri over to the Student Hotel, a massive residence for exchange students and other travelers, where the booth fits nicely in among the pool and table tennis tables. The machine is a Model 17P, and turned out a nice bright strip of photos. 

Finally, we headed to the Hoxton Hotel, for one of the most impressive booth locations I’ve ever seen. The photobooth is tucked inside a perfectly-sized alcove at the top of a long set of stairs, which lead only to the booth, so you feel as though you’re approaching a throne or altar as you prepare to take your photos. It was a fitting end to a great tour, and I look forward to seeing where they place their next booth.

Thanks again to Madri for showing me around, and congratulations to Stefan and Madri for running a great photobooth operation that is keeping the photochemical tradition alive in Amsterdam.

Matteo Sani of Fotoautomatica in Florence has been keeping in touch with Photobooth.net for years, since we first became aware of his lovely outdoor booths in Florence in 2011. I always hoped to visit him and tour his booths one day, and finally, a work trip to Italy this summer provided the opportunity. 

Matteo and I met at the train station in Florence, and our first stop was just outside, a busy booth on the Piazza della Stazione. 

Next, we headed to a booth on the via del Proconsolo, a great location in the heart of Florence. The booth was in constant use while we were there.

We then left Florence to head to Matteo’s workshop, home to booths in the process of being restored, as well as spare parts, chemicals, and of course, lots of photostrips.

We talked booths, had lunch, and headed back to Florence. It was a memorable day, and one of those wonderful photobooth connections that the site and its readers have enabled. Thanks, Matteo! 

We’re excited to announce that the International Photobooth Convention, a celebration of analogue photobooths and the art that is created with them, is back in 2016! Our friends Mr. Mixup, Kate Tyler, and colleagues at Fred Aldous in Manchester, UK, will be putting on the event this May. After a few iterations stateside, the convention is returning to its European roots. Here’s the info:

Returning to the UK for the first time in nearly a decade, The International Photobooth Convention 2016 will take place Monday 9 — Friday 13 of May at Fred Aldous in Manchester.

Led by photobooth artists Mr Mixup and Kate Tyler along with Ali Gunn from Fred Aldous, the convention will be a celebration of analogue photobooths through workshops, discussion, exhibition, and film.

Mr Mixup, Kate Tyler and local artists Caroline Dowsett, Aliyah Hussain, Mariel Osborn, John Powell-Jones and Layla Sailor will be running workshops and informal drop-in sessions throughout the convention which will explore the creative potential of the analogue photobooth. Visitors to the convention will have the chance to collaborate with the artists, experiment with different creative techniques and create their own mini masterpieces.

To coincide with Manchester After Hours, on the Thursday of the convention Fred Aldous be staying open late for Freds at Night III. From 6–8.30pm, Fred Aldous and The International Photobooth Convention will be hosting an evening of creative collaboration, photobooth mugshots, 3 minute live portraits and the legendary Freds at Night Risograph zine workshop hosted by Mono print collective.

On the final day of the week between 12–5pm the International Photobooth Convention play host to a Dog Day Afternoon. Visitors are invited to bring their dog in for a free photobooth portrait and to enter into the Fred Aldous Instagram dog show.

Throughout May, Fred Aldous will be exhibiting work by Mr Mixup and Kate Tyler along with artworks created during the course of the convention. The International Photobooth Convention is free and open to all.

The International Photobooth Convention 2016
Mon 9 – Fri 13 May 2016, 9am – 5pm, FREE

Freds at Night III
Thu 12 May 6pm – 8pm, FREE

Dog Day Afternoon
Fri 13 May 12 – 5pm, FREE

Full Convention Programme and workshop booking information announced in late February via fredaldous.co.uk.