First, we have a new listing for Foto Automat France’s black and white photobooth at the Cinematheque Francaise, a perfect location for this mini-film studio. Foto Automat France is also running a black and white machine at Au vieux Saumur, one of the oldest bars in Paris.

From La Joyeuse, we have two new listings and one change. First, Le 104, where the striking red-striped machine has been replaced by a familiar machine, the photobooth that once lived at the Empty Bottle in Chicago.

At Citadium, the largest street culture shop in Paris, has a new booth as well.

Finally, La Joyeuse de Photographie is behind a collaborative project at Les Prairies de Paris called Labomaton, which features a modified Model 14 photobooth. Igor describes the project this way:

La Joyeuse de Photographie has teamed up with the photographer Fred Lebain by providing a photobooth in the hopes to create a unique project. The project, named Labomaton, was born as an idea that the silver photobooths haven’t yet said their last word, and that even today, artists from around the world could use these booths to their advantage in a creative and intelligent manner. We hope that this project could be exhibited by 2011.

Labomaton will participate in PHOTO-OFF, the young and upcoming photographers art fair (18-21 November, at La Bellevilloise, Paris).

Burt provides a brief history of the booth as well as a look at the current state of the photochemical machine, attempting to survive in a digital world:

However, enthusiasts argue, digital booths just don’t have the same appeal. Tim Garrett, who, with his friend Brian Meacham, co-founded the appreciation site Photobooth.net in the US, believes that “Digital ‘enhancing’ of the experience with cheesy voiceovers and graphics has taken away from the beautiful simplicity of the vintage booths.” The charm of the old-school booths, he continues, is “a special sauce of ingredients: the tiny precious images, beautifully lit and exposed; the instant gratification; the cramped space of the seating area that inspires intimate photos; the anticipation as you wait for the strip to pop out, unsure exactly how they will look; the pungent smell of the chemicals and the low whirr of the machine…”

Thanks to Kate for a great piece, which you can also find archived on our site.

Gianmaria Ponzi, one of the co-founders of the gallery, got in touch to let me know about the show. His description follows:

Sabina Scapin and I have founded a gallery of contemporary art in viterbo. Sabina is a photographer and I am, above all, a collector of vintage photos, the blurry and unusual, and a researcher of photos. We like the photographic portrait and have thought that the true portraits of the common people are more interesting and authentic. We have thought about picking up photos from photobooths, but we have found problems in Italy, because they cannot be found in the markets. We have made announcements in newspapers but without any answer.

We’ve bought them on eBay, and gone to Brussels and Berlin where there are photo markets. We succeeded in borrowing some photos on loan from our friends who had preserved them.

The show that opens October 30, 2010 will display around 100 photobooth photos taken over the last 50 to 90 years, and are almost all in black and white.

Please let us know if you attend the show, and send photos so we can let everyone know what it was like. Thanks to Gianmaria for getting in touch with us.

We are very excited to be taking part in a very special event at Utrophia, home of our photobooth. The New Cross Cinematograph Theatre opened on the spot of Utrophia in 1910, providing the people of South East London their first look at moving image. It was officially opened by the Mayor of Greenwich and Deptford on 22 October 1910, and now, exactly a hundred years later, Utrophia are re-enacting the occasion with the creation of a portal that loops back to that time and space, charting the ensuing journey of how we captured and represented the light of life. Dress up, eat cake, marvel at light projections and document the process in true old-fashioned style in one of the only black and white booths in London!

For more on the event, see Photomovette and Utrophia.

The other entries and winners can be viewed on the Art of Waiting website.

Now, you may ask why we’re mentioning a digital photobooth app on our site. While we don’t typically post about digital photobooths, this app is special for two reasons: 1) we had a hand in designing it and 2) all of the elements in the app are based on actual design elements of vintage photobooths.

While the overall look of Pocketbooth was inspired by the Model 11, much of the woodgrain textures and the delivery chute are from a Model 17 booth. Great care was taken to ensure that the booth is true to the look and feel of its analog counterpart. From the woodgrain-surrounded delivery chute to the red and green lights behind the reflective glass, right down to the size, proportions, and texture of the resulting photostrip, it feels like the real deal.

You might recognize the Autophoto Model 11 photobooth from the splash screen: it is none other than the beautifully-restored booth that belongs to Peter and Ina in the Netherlands, a booth we posted about last April.

The app is available on the iTunes store and is currently discounted to 99 cents. It will be returning to its normal price in early October.

If you don’t have an iPhone or iPod Touch, or feel it somehow unfaithful to use this app, please continue to use our Photobooth Locator and find an actual photobooth near you.