Search the blog:

I had a day in New York this past week to check out some photobooths that had long been on Photobooth.net’s “to-do” list, as well as to see if some rumored booths were really where we thought they were. 

Taking a lesson from some previous, less successful outings, I did a lot of research beforehand to ensure that I wasn’t going out of my way to find a booth in a bar that had long gone out of business, or look for a chemical photobooth that was actually now a digital booth. So, for the record, as of June, 2007, here are some updates that I collected before leaving for New York:

• Jake’s Dilemma had a photobooth; it was digital, and now it is gone.
• Crocodile Lounge has a photobooth; it is digital.
• Pop Burger has something that is occasionally described as a photobooth, but is not.
• Gershwin Hotel has a photobooth, but it is digital.
• BB&R has a photobooth, but it is digital.
• Gallery Bar has a photobooth, but it is digital. I called to find out, and it was described as digital, “but like an old school aesthetic.” Still digital.
• Milk Studios only has a photobooth when they have parties, but don’t own their own. 
• Southpaw had a real photobooth, but now have a digital booth.
• Magnetic Field had a real photobooth, but very recently went digital; thanks to Raul for letting me know and saving me a trip. This is a real loss; the booth produced three photos per strip and made for many a happy bar-goer, it looks like. 

So, with those potential stops cleared up, my first stop was at the Victoria’s Secret store on 34th, thanks to a find on Flickr last week. Sadly, I was a little late, as a store employee showed me where the booth had been and told me it had been removed a few weeks prior. Oh well.

Next stop was Daffy’s in Soho, where I had heard from a number of sources that a real photobooth lived. Sadly, after looking in every nook and cranny, I asked an employee and he said it had been recently removed, and was perhaps seasonal. I wasn’t sure which season he would be referring to, but nevertheless, it was gone, and I was zero for two. Looks like there might still be a photobooth at the Daffy’s in Philadelphia; perhaps a reader in Philly can let us know and send in some photos.

I headed out to Brooklyn, hoping for greener pastures, and found success, finally, at Bubby’s in DUMBO, where, like Bubby’s in Tribeca, a wonderful black and white booth can be found next to the video games and the bathrooms. After a delicious lunch at Bubby’s, I went for a walk and picked up this week’s copy of the The L Magazine, with a cover photo and photos inside of photostrips (from Bubby’s and elsewhere). 

I took the train to Williamsburg, and headed once more to the Bushwick Country Club, where I’d had two unsuccessful attempts in 2005. The bartender unlocked the bar for me, and I spent an hour there as the only patron; it was a little early, but I was happy to finally use the booth and enjoy their two-for-one drink special. The photobooth had a BMX bike on top that was being raflled off, next to the velvet Elvis. Opposite the booth, the wall was covered with contributed photobooth strips showing Country Club members having a good time. Upon returning home, I was happy to discover that a Photobooth.net reader had contributed photos from the booth the day I left for New York, and we’ve used hers in our entry for the BCC. When it rains, it pours, I guess.