A recent article in the Palo Alto Weekly tells about a new exhibition at the Palo Alto Art Center called “Romancing the Shadows,” described as “an exhibit of alternative photography progresses including tintypes, daguerreotypes and Van Dyke prints.”

The exhibition also includes some adapted photobooth photos in the work of artist Kimberly Austin. Her set titled Adam & Edna features photobooth photos of her grandparents in the pieces “Yippie!” and “Never Forget,“ seen above. The photos, enlarged to 8 1/2” x 11″, are Van Dyke prints mounted on wood.

More information and images at SFCamerawork.org and Braunstein/Quay Gallery.

Just in time for Halloween, a story of a photobooth that took pictures on its own. At the Trails store on Mill Avenue in Tempe, Arizona, 

The photo booth that used to be in the Trails store had to be removed due to the machine taking pictures when no one was in the booth. The developed pictures often showed nothing but a bright white ball of light, whether someone was in the booth or not. 

This, according to “someone who worked in the building for years,” so says the story available here at Originaltales.com, but also here, here, and here.

This weekend’s trip to Pittsburgh yielded a photobooth, photobooth art, photobooth as publicity, and a photobooth photo as official street signage. On a sunny Saturday afternoon, I visited the Warhol Museum, home to an excellent Auto-Photo Model 14C in the basement.

The booth, nestled under the stairs at the far end of the lower level, provides nice, crisp, high-contrast photos, with a very white background. Both sides are open, and the booth is set a foot or so away from the wall, allowing for a little room on the far side for a number of people to gather in the booth at one time; our record for identifiable people was six in one shot. Across the hall from the booth is a marker denoting the high-water mark during a recent flood; apparently, the booth was damaged but the Warhol either repaired it or got a new (old) one. I’d love to hear the full story.

On the first floor, I enjoyed three works by Warhol that began as photobooth photos: silkscreened portraits of Ethel Scull (1963), Judith Green (1963–64), and Bobby Short (1963):



After viewing the museum’s seven fascinating floors, I headed down to the basement to use the photobooth, and checked out the “Weekend Factory,” described on the Warhol’s website as a “lively studio program where museum visitors can create art while exploring Andy Warhol’s artistic practice.” I took the photostrip I’d just taken, photocopied it, took some highlighters to it, and made a Pop button out of it for a mere 50 cents. What a bargain!

While I was in the “Factory,” I also spotted the Warhol’s Education Programs pamphlet, which features eight photostrips on the front and back cover. Very nice.

As I headed out Sandusky Street and over the 7th Street Bridge to get a view of the skyline and ballparks, I noticed that the bridge had been officially re-named the Andy Warhol Bridge, complete with colorful signs taken from his photobooth self-portraits. I’d venture that this is the only example of a photobooth photo used in an official city sign. But I’d be happy to hear otherwise. With such a ripe climate, all I need is to find some more photobooths in the Pittsburgh area. This can’t be the only one.

Apple Computer announced their new line of iMac G5 computers today, and included with the new machines is an application called Photo Booth that will take advantage of the built-in iSight camera to help the user take self-portraits and send them to friends.

From MacRumors. com, a description of the new application:

Photo Booth turns your iMac into a modern-day arcade photo booth (minus the coin slot). Just pick a special effect like sepia tint, x‑ray, bulge or squeeze. And smile. Presto — instant high-quality photo. Once you have the perfect pic, take advantage of Photo Booth’s connections to share it via Mail, save it in iPhoto or use it as your Address Book or iChat buddy picture.

How does Stunt Software feel about the name, I wonder?