Mr. Chan’s work for Austrian Railways is just one ad we’ve posted today. Others include a couple of German commercials for Nivea, for “Body Milk” and for some sort of soccer giveaway.
We were pleased this week to get our hands on a copy of Cameron Woo’s new book Photobooth Dogs, a charming collection of photobooth photos of dogs (with and without their owners) spanning the 80+ year history of the invention.
We were first introduced to Cameron, who’s the co-founder and creative director of the dog-centric magazine Bark, when we heard about a collection of photobooth photos of dogs he put together for a 2005 issue of the magazine.
Later on, Cameron asked us for help in finding photos of dogs in photobooths, and though we weren’t able to be of much help, we were excited to hear about his book. Having had a chance to take a look at it, it’s been worth the wait: the book is a wonderful collection of photos, each with a story to tell about the beloved pets they capture.
It’s very nicely designed, features excellent photo reproduction, and intersperses a (very) few choice quotations about dogs between the photos. I especially appreciate the visual guide to sources at the end, for the few photos in the book that aren’t in Cameron’s personal collection.
Our friend and prolific contributor Meags Fitzgerald let us know about a photobooth photography show she’s part of called Fotomaton: Selections, which opened this week at the Andy Gato Gallery at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida.
While the website is a little spare, more information and photos can be found on the show’s Facebook page.
As we were dong some further reading, we discovered that the show actually opened and closed on December 17th; it was a one night event. So, we’re sorry we didn’t have the chance to post about the event earlier, and hope that some of our readers found out about it through other means and were able to enjoy the works on display.
In a last-ditch attempt to get the thing done just one year late rather than two years late, I have finished the limited edition numbered set of 100 laserprinted (not photocopied) booklets showcasing the 24 photostrips sent from Moscow and the reply photostrips made in Chicago, along with the story behind the project and some photos of the booths used to make the project happen.
If you’d like a copy for yourself — and these make great stocking-stuffers for the photobooth fan, the photography lover, the Russophile, and anyone interested in a little cross-cultural fun — I’ll be happy to send one your way for $15 bucks to cover the cost of printing, assembly, and postage (slightly higher outside the U.S.). Choose your location and click the button to go to PayPal, or contact me to make other arrangements.
For our readers in Italy and around Europe, we’d like to make note of an upcoming exhibition of photobooth photos in Viterbo, Italy (about 90km north of Rome) at the Studio Fontaine. The exhibition is called “4x20 Lasciare Asciugare” (which translates to “Let it dry”).
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.
If you’re a Photobooth.net reader, then perhaps you dream about owning your own vintage photobooth some day. Since this might not be the easiest dream to fulfill, we’re pleased to announce the arrival of the world’s smallest — and least expensive — photobooth: Pocketbooth, a vintage photobooth simulator for your iPhone or iPod touch.
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.
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.
Our friend Scot Phillips, whom we met at last year’s Photobooth Convention in Chicago, let us know about a unique event at the museum where he works: an art auction whose proceeds will go towards helping the museum purchase a photochemical photobooth.
The Massillon Museum is seeking help in the form of donated artwork to be auctioned to help raise funds to purchase their photobooth.
The Massillon Museum will host its one-night only Photobooth Project: Silent Art Auction on September 25th from 7:00pm to 10:00pm in the Main Gallery at the Massillon Museum. All proceeds from this event will benefit the Photobooth Project.
Each donor will be recognized in the event program. Upon purchase of the photobooth, your name will also be included on a plaque installed on the photobooth.
If you want to donate your original artwork, download an application from the website (www.massillonmuseum.org and click on the Support tab) or contact Scot Phillips at bsphillips@massillonmuseum.org. Donations outside the fundraisers will be greatly appreciated. If making a donation, just specify that you want it to go to the “Photobooth Project” fund.
The deadline to donate artwork is Saturday, September 18th. You may donate artwork from now until the deadline, just contact Sandi to arrange pick up/drop off — don’t hesitate. We greatly appreciate your consideration and hope you will help make the Photobooth Project a success. Hope to see you at the Silent Art Auction!
Happy summer to all of our readers across the country and around the world! To kick off the summer, Jeff from The Art of Waiting has launched a contest centered around photobooths that he has invited us to help out with.
Head over to the contest page to find out more about it, and get going on your entry!
The Art of Waiting’s summer contest hearkens back to a simpler time. A time when waiting for your betty crocker leftovers to reheat in the sears roebuck oven didn’t seem like an eternity. A time when waiting for the television commercial to end was more of a fascination than an annoyance. A time when waiting 3 minutes for a strip of 4 pictures to drop into the slot was the only option. You know what I’m talkin’ ’bout Willis. Old style, wet chemistry, dip ‘n’ dunk photobooths have a special niche in the analogue photo world, and as a staple of summer carnivals, festivals, and fairs for many decades, they seemed to be an appropriate subject for the summer contest.
We’ll be back in September with some outstanding entries and the contest results. Get boothing (and waiting)!
During the 2009 International Photobooth Convention, we screened a short documentary that takes the viewer on a 3‑minute tour inside a photobooth as a photostrip is being developed. If you have ever wondered what is humming and whirring while you wait for your photo, wonder no more: we finally got around to uploading the short to YouTube. The video is in real-time, so you can see what happens at each stage of the development process. The video might have benefited from a musical score of some sort (a la Sesame Street), but opted instead for the natural sounds of the booth’s inner-dialogue.
I just returned from a brief visit to Europe where photobooths still abound in all the usual places (post offices, train and subway stations, arcades.) However, I am sad to report that 99% of the booths I encountered were digital. London was the one exception, and two of the photobooths there were the highlight of my trip.
The past year has seen the re-emergence of chemical photobooths in The Big Smoke thanks to the industrious efforts of two independent outfits: Photomovette and Photoautomat. As luck would have it, I hit the city at the perfect time to see activity from both companies. October 31st marked the closing of Photoautomat’s show at Cargo; the following evening Photomovette was hosting an opening party for their booth. I spent the morning of the 31st hanging out at Cargo, chatting with Alex and taking in the show.
Following a quick lunch of steak & ale pie and mashy peas (in case you were wondering), I met up with Carole and Siobhan, the women of Photomovette. I proved not very helpful in resolving a few of their remaining booth idiosyncrasies, but they were gracious hosts nonetheless. They were busy putting the final touches on their booth and organizing the venue for their party the following evening.
After parting company, I headed for the Tube to make my way back to my West London lodging. The subway ride was notable for two reasons: 1) I happened to sit beneath an ad adorned with a fake photostrip and 2) it occurred to me I had inadvertently slated my travel for Halloween. If you’ve never experienced it, trust me when I tell you it is slightly disorienting to experience a new place on Halloween. It certainly left me wondering if London Tube traffic was always as colorful, or if it had something to do with the holiday. See for yourself:
For those of you who missed either of the above-mentioned festivities, fret not, more opportunity awaits you. Alex’s booth remains at Cargo, and is outside in the beer garden. Feel free to stop by anytime. As for Carole and Siobhan, they are hosting another photobooth party on the 13th of December.
We were pleased this week to get our hands on a copy of Cameron Woo’s new book 
Our friend and 
For our readers in Italy and around Europe, we’d like to make note of an upcoming exhibition of photobooth photos in Viterbo, Italy (about 90km north of Rome) at the Studio Fontaine. The exhibition is called “4x20 Lasciare Asciugare” (which translates to “Let it dry”).
The past year has seen the re-emergence of chemical photobooths in The Big Smoke thanks to the industrious efforts of two independent outfits: 
Following a quick lunch of steak 