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Pals

October 9, 2019
Vintage Photobooth
38 Comments

I found this single photobooth image at the bottom of a box of photos at the closing down sale of a, much loved, local antique centre. It was $1.00 but I would’ve paid much, much more for it. Vintage Australian booth photos are rarer than hen’s teeth, even more so, one that is in such good condition.

There are so many lovely details here, from the sweet beaded necklace worn by one girl, to the rose shaped pendant (or perhaps brooch?) worn by the other. There is an arm affectionately draped over a shoulder, and a hand resting gently on another. Both of the girls have their hair swept to the side, from left to right. There are some typically Australian childhood freckles!

Yet, the loveliest thing for me is the unforced smiles on this pair. Looking directly into the lens with no artificial jollity or pulling of faces, these girls are so happy and comfortable in each other’s presence. Their faces exude friendship.

I marvel at the fact this photo was taken by an automatic camera. I doubt a photographer of long year’s experience could have taken a better portrait of youth. My guess is that it was made in the late 1930s to early 1940s.

I wish I knew the girls’ names and where this photo was taken, but as with so many of my photos, its origin is likely to remain a mystery.

Not Cricket

March 26, 2017
Vintage Photobooth
29 Comments

This undated half strip of a dad posing with his son, has been in the wars. It is damaged, dirty and poorly developed but the characters depicted are funny and loveable. The man’s moustache puts these photos squarely in the 1970s. That assertion is further backed up by his lovely mullet hairstyle and disco-guy fashion sense.

This boy isn’t half as good as his pa at pulling silly faces, but he is giving it his best, given the vagaries of the timing of each flash.

The type of facial topiary his dad sports, is commonly known, in the dubious circles in which I move, as a porn star ‘tache. And yet, combined with the white top, with striped feature on the v-neck, I prefer to think of it as a cricketer ‘tache. Some famous Australian cricketers who favoured this droopy style of fuzz in the 70s are –

Max Walker

Ian Chappell

Rodney Marsh

Please note the (minor) similarity of style of the cricketing jumpers, to the top worn by our man in the booth pic. Sometimes my imagination doesn’t quite match the reality of things.

These photos come from the USA, but they should have come from Australia.

Antipodean Photobooth

October 11, 2015
Vintage Photobooth
23 Comments

photoboothAndrewsEmporium02

I present to you a very rare thing! This is a mid-1920s photobooth photo from Sydney. It is now sadly faded. It depicts an elegant young woman of reasonable means. Her hat is not elaborate and her necklace is costume jewellery at best, but her coat’s large fur collar (it is difficult to tell if the whole coat is of fur) suggests she had access to more than an average amount of income for an Australian in the 20s.

So why is this photo rare? We are definitely a wealthy nation, but relative to the USA of this period, we had less disposable income to spend on luxuries such as photobooth photos, as cheap as they were. Not being blessed with a large population even now, photobooths did not proliferate as they did in North America, so the opportunity to use them was limited. Neither did we use the booths for photo identification, as so many other countries did. We also have a tendency to keep old photos within families or if they are no longer wanted, dispose of them via the public rubbish collection, (oh, horror of horrors!) rather than selling them online or to collectables shops.

This is the first of only two vintage Australian Photomaton images that I have in my collection. It was a gift from Andrew Fildes of Andrew’s Antipodean Photographic Emporium, who kept it especially for me. Thanks Andrew!

photoboothAndrewsEmporium

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Kilkenny Birthday – 22 December 1999

July 11, 2014
Photobooth 45 Year Project (Archive)
7 Comments

 

photobooth22:12:1999

22 December 1999, Kilkenny, Ireland

I celebrated my birthday that year with a night in Kilkenny and a visit to its famous castle. It was a surprise to find a working photobooth located at McDonagh Station, as Kilkenny is a small town and Ireland has never been awash with them.

These come from my series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.

 

Oxford Circus Tube Station – 9 December 1999

July 4, 2014
Photobooth 45 Year Project (Archive)
6 Comments

photobooth09:12:1999

9 December 1999, Oxford Circus Tube Station, London

This poorly developed colour strip of photos shows me wind swept and cold on a typical London December day. I am holding a Tube travel pass I still had from 1988. (See below). I was visiting friends in London on my way to seeing my sister in Dublin to celebrate my eight month old nephew’s first Christmas.

Travel Card 1988

Travel Card 1988

photoboothJanuary1988

This strip of photos is from my series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.

Mark in Wellington – Early December 1999

June 27, 2014
Digital Photobooth Images, Photobooth 45 Year Project (Archive)
6 Comments

photoboothEarly12:1999

Early December 1999, Wellington, New Zealand

The only photobooth I was able to find on this trip to visit my travelling buddy Moana in Wellington, was a sticker booth in a game arcade.

I stopped in New Zealand on my way to visit friends in London before going to Dublin to spend Christmas with my sister and her Irish relatives. She and her husband Tim had decided not to make their home in Australia and had returned to live in Ireland where they had first met. They live there to this day.

Moana was working most of my visit and I only managed to get her husband Mark, into the booth. While not my preferred type of photobooth, in the event of nothing better, it is a least a cute souvenir of a trip. To see some previous posts and booth photos of Moana and I together, click here, here and here.

This strip of photos is from my series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.

Just Me – 18 October 1999

June 26, 2014
Photobooth 45 Year Project (Archive)
10 Comments

photobooth18:10:1999

18 October 1999, Melbourne

These are the next in my long series of photobooth photos which I started taking and collecting 41 years ago. I have not recorded any details of the location of the booth where the pics were taken, nor the reason for them being taken. I am sure there was a specific reason, as I never cut my photobooth strips unless some are needed for a special purpose. I was soon to be heading off to New Zealand, England and Ireland, so this was possibly a travel related photo.

These come from my series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.

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Charlie and Me – 9 October 1999

June 20, 2014
Photobooth 45 Year Project (Archive)
17 Comments

photobooth09:10:1999Best

9 October 1999, Melbourne

This is seven month old guide-dog puppy, Charlie. He was my pride and joy for twelve months when I was his puppy-raiser. He was a very diligent worker. He became a professional dog after graduating with flying colours from his full training at Guide Dogs Victoria.

Charlie became a lifeline for a lovely woman whose eyesight had deteriorated rapidly in the years leading up to her application for a guide-dog. I imagine he would be well and truly retired by now, if not already in doggy heaven.

Although not recorded on the back of the strip, this was most likely taken in one of the Flinders Street photobooths, as I made every effort to get Charlie into town regularly for his socialisation and traffic training.

This strip of photos is from my series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.

Sister, Nephew, Me – 6 June 1999

June 6, 2014
Photobooth 45 Year Project (Archive)
18 Comments

photobooth06061999

6 June 1999, Chadstone, Melbourne

This is me with my six week old nephew, Calvin and my sister, Sue. It is a coincidence that this photo was taken exactly 15 years ago today. Well almost. I was actually going to publish it on the 7th of June (tomorrow) until I noticed that I was writing the post so close its anniversary. Needless to say, Calvin is now a strapping lad of fifteen who is getting up to all the kinds of mischief a 15 year old should.

This was taken at Chadstone Shopping Centre where there was once a black and white chemical photobooth, which is sorely missed. You can see an earlier photo of Sue and her son in a photobooth here.

This strip of photos is from my series Photobooth 41 Year Project which documents my life from the age of 11, through photobooth photos. You can see all the posts in the series by clicking here.

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