We have often lamented the lack of simple, properly-sized frames for photobooth strips. Someone could make a killing with a nice, clean frame that perfectly fits the traditional four-pose strip.

So it was with some interest this week that we came across a raft of frames on eBay, purpose-made for individual photos from photobooths. These classic designs, featuring reverse-painted glass and printed messages above and below the photos, date from the 1940s. The frames, many of which feature a period photo still inside, are made of glass and metal, and measure approximately 3″ x 4″. The items for sale include a frame with a floral theme, and frames with messages that include “Remember Me,” “Thinking of You,” “Long May It Wave,” “For Victory,” and “Victory” (at right). With a starting bid of $9.99 each, these unique, striking frames are sure to go.

The Sims 2: Nightlife, the new module for the popular Sims series, features a photobooth as part of its nightclub environment. The game, recently released for a variety of game consoles as well as Mac and PC computers, lets players take their characters out on the town. “Whether they’re dancing until dawn, romancing that special someone, or striking out at the bowling alley, it’ll be an unforgettable night! Let your Sims loose to enjoy their favorite after-dark activities as they pursue a life of pleasure.” If anyone has the game and can send us a screen capture of the Sims’ photobooth, we’d appreciate it.

Apparently, The Sims 2 is not the only video game to feature a photobooth. In a list of hints concerning the game Zoo Tycoon, a Tycoon fan writes, “Don’t use the photo booth. It competes with your gift shop/stand unnecessarily as the photos count as souvenirs. If a guest has a photo, he won’t buy a gift and vice versa. Gifts cost more, so encourage that.” Point taken.

Photo-Me USA was represented at the SPREE Trade Show (Specialty Retail Entrepreneur Expo) in Boston this weekend, billed as an “exceptional showcase of exhibitors that ranges from manufacturers, wholesalers and turnkey concept companies to property managers, mall developers and retail service providers.”

I visited Gary Gulley and Bill Lichtenwalner at the booth on Saturday, chatted about photobooths, and snapped some photos in the new DS-21. Gary was kind enough to meet me outside and get me into the show with my very own “Photo-Me USA” Exhibitor Pass, letting me become an honorary representative of the company for a day — or at least an hour.

The booth, a traditional ‘dip and dunk’ machine with new exteriors, was on display in an exhibition hall full of water-massage beds, healing rocks, and personalized chilkdren’s music.

Instead of a traditional painted exterior, the DS-21 is covered by posters set into metal frames, so the exterior of the booth can be changed easily and doesn’t require expensive re-painting. A flat screen tv is set into the exterior on the front side and on the end; at the time I came by, the tv was playing the recent “CBS Sunday Morning” segment on photobooths, but would normally be used for advertising. The segment had played so many times in succession that Bill and Gary could quote lines from it at will. “Why do they have to say ‘cheesy photobooth’?” Gary asked. I agreed — Charles Osgood, time to check your script.

It was a pleasure for me to meet Gary and Bill and talk about booth locations, the history of the company, and the recent convention. I’ve got a few new booths to check out the next time I’m in New York City, and now the world knows to look out for a DS-21 at a mall near you…

The New Times of Broward and Palm Beach Counties alerts us to a photography exhibition called Site Seeing, opening tomorrow at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a photobooth where museum-goers can snap a few photos of themselves. The materials included in the exhibition come from the collections of the George Eastman House (home to a photobooth of its own), featuring more than 200 photos and artifacts that explore ” the relationship between tourism, photography and motion pictures.”

Any Photobooth.net readers in the area care to contribute by trying out the booth and sending us a photo? The show runs until September 4, 2005.

At the end of the day…the 7th International Photobooth Convention was a terrific success. From the dozens of people who stopped by over two days to take pictures in the booths to the artists who came from around the country and around the world to experiment, collaborate, and talk about their work, the convention was well-attended and kindly praised by the enthusiasts who stopped by. The convention received great coverage in the local daily and event papers, a spot on the Sunday evening news, and two interviews on the Monday morning news. The convention also helped this blog garner its first comment (from someone other than us) and first trackback, both exciting steps.

The whole “posting throughout the convention” idea didn’t really work, because all involved in making the convention happen were busy from morning to night setting up, taking down, cleaning up, shouting out, speaking up, and all the rest. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be putting together a convention wrap-up page where the current convention info now resides.

For my part, I have to say the convention was more fun, more interesting, and more gratifying than I had expected it to be. Admittedly, Tim and I had set pretty low expectations — “If it’s just the three of us, it’ll be a huge success!” — so when actual tens of people came to take photos, to collaborate on projects, to hear my talk and watch Amélie, and to chat with us about photobooths, it was a very pleasant surprise. On a personal level, I had never before had the luxury of free and open photobooths in a studio space, so thanks to Tim’s generosity and willingness to foster his fellow artists and enthusiasts alike, I was able to experiment, test out ideas, and so some work I’m happy with as a starting point. I didn’t know what to do with myself at first, without having to find crisp bills and fend off waiting kids, but I quickly got used to just pushing a button and waiting for the flash.

The convention was also a great learning experience for me and for others, as well, as we got a look inside the booth, and became familiar with terms like “transmission,” “toner,” and “spider assembly,” as they pertain to the tiny, miniature darkroom that lives inside each and every traditional-style photobooth.

I’d like to say my thanks to all of the people who attended the convention, from the UK to the East Coast to the greater St Louis area, all of whom contributed to a terrific weekend, the biggest convention so far, and an example of how to run a successful, fun, and fulfilling participatory art event. Thanks Tim, thanks Steve, and thanks St Louis! Check out my Flick photoset for photos from the convention. And thanks to Mark Pike for pointing us out to Boing Boing.

The Photobooth Convention is just around the corner and we are getting very excited. Regardless of where you are in the USA, you can still make it to the convention if you start driving now. I’ve been busy getting things in order here, and as a result have been a bit slow to post in the past few weeks. I do have a lot to post about (Philly photobooths, my trip to Photo-Me) but it will have to wait until post-convention. Hope to see some of you there.

If you can’t make it but would like to keep tabs on the event, continue to visit the main convention page where we will be posting notes and photos from throughout the convention.

In his NBA Draft preview article on FoxSports.com, writer Randy Hill talks about two players from the New Orleans Hornets this way (and forgive us for doing a double take — there’s a team called the New Orleans Hornets? It’s been a long time since we’ve followed basketball, I guess): “The point guard situation seems less of a disaster, although Speedy Claxton is only dynamite as a backup and Dan Dickau couldn’t guard a rhino in a Fotomat booth.”

I’m not even sure what that little illustrative statement is supposed to mean. I take it to mean Dan Dickau is a poor guard, but really, how is a rhino going to fit into a photobooth anyway? And it seems like it would be dangerous even trying to fit into a photobooth with a rhino, even figuratively. I think it’s probably best not to dwell on this one too long. 

A black-and-white photobooth in Eureka, California is up for auction this week on eBay. The booth is described as a “Gorgeous Vintage 4‑Strip B&W Photobooth,” and has an unknown reserve as well as a $5000 “Buy It Now” price. The current high bid on the booth stands at $521.

The booth, which dates from 1968, has a bright blue exterior and new floor (both courtesy of the seller, along with a dollar bill acceptor, as well), plus a terrific island motif interior. The booth is in working condition, and comes with a few months worth of chemicals.

Check out some recent eBay listings for photobooths and related material we’ve been following.

According to an article in today’s Guardian, author and media darling Jonathan Safran Foer spent $2,000 in a photobooth “trying to get the right picture” for the dust jacket for his first book Everything is Illuminated. “$2,000 is a bit of an exaggeration,” he corrected, but apparently, he searched long and hard for just the right photobooth in Manhattan (I wonder which one he chose) and then did what it took to get the photo just right. We understand. I’ve read the book but I’ll have to revisit; I don’t recall the photo, but I was also in my “pre-photobooth-aware” days.

The latest edition of “eBay’s weird world of photobooth stuff” features half a photostrip of black and white shots purporting to depict Chicago stage actor Danny Belrose (not to be confused with Evangelist Danny Belrose, with his “Wrods of Guidance”). The description states that the photos were taken “sometime in the mid 90’s” and show Belrose “making out with some unknown snarler.” In a rhetorical leap, the description also boasts that the strip is “a well-preserved example of original, collectible American photobooth art.” Nice.