13 June 1998, Melbourne Central Station, Melbourne
A quick excursion to a photobooth on the way to see a percussion group called Safari Duo.
This strip is part of the series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.
I laugh every time I look at this strip. Mr Mullet seems very in love with himself. From the deliberate, alternating poses, I think it is his luxuriant face-fuzz that he is out to capture in all its glory.
It is quite surprising that he let go of this set of photos. My guess is he gave them to a girl he fancied and she didn’t value him or the photos enough to keep them.
I am not sure where these photos originated, probably the USA. I’d say from the colours and the type of booth strip the photos were taken in the 1990s.
6 March 1998, Spencer Street Station, Melbourne
This photo was taken just before a trip to Ballarat to attend the opening celebrations for the Eureka Centre, which now appears to have become the Museum for Australian Democracy.
This strip is part of the series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.
This photo was found by my cousin Krissie at a Homebase store in New Southgate, London. She picked it up at 6.30 pm on 21 January 2004, exactly 9 years ago today.
Over the years Krissie has given me many booth photos that she has found including a set that she found floating in a river. Thanks Cuz!
The Los Angeles Times news of the day obviously had great significance to this pair, as they chose to place it so prominently in this strip of photographs. The newspaper was the main reason I was attracted to this set of pics but I also loved the character and demeanor of the hatted, cigar-chomping lead player in this story.
I sent this photo to my friend Michael from Mike’s Look At Life for help interpreting it. I thought Mike, who is a devoted commenter on this blog, might be able to shed some light on the front page headline. In Australia we have free access to old newspaper archives through Trove, a database managed by the National Library of Australia. I thought there would be a similar free resource in the USA but I hadn’t been able to find it from here.
Mike tells me that it is a user pays system for the archives in America, and proffered the following theory about the paper. I liked his theory so much, I have left my research at that.
Mike says “I believe that headline reads ‘Russians bid for US peace talks’. Based on that, as well as the hat, and cigar, it looks 1950-ish to me and that would then connect it to the Korean War. Pure speculation on my part but since we never had a war with Russia it would have to be another war.”
If the headline referred to a hope for the end of the Korean War, then no wonder these two were excited to record the event.
February 1998, Southland Shopping Centre, Melbourne
Here is my sister Sue, who now lives in Dublin, and me, after a shopping trip to get our nails done and buy cosmetics. Manicures have been very rare in my life, so I am glad I have one commemorated!
This is another Polaroid format photobooth photo. I haven’t seen one of these booths in over 10 years. The little image on the bottom of the Polaroid is from another strip of photobooth stickers from a different outing. I think Sue kept the rest.
This strip is part of the series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.
The girl in the top right hand position looks like she is going to take a vampire bite out the front girl’s neck. Then she realises she is being “watched”, changes her mind and puts on her best innocent expression.
This undated strip came from the USA and has 1970s written all over the hairstyles!
I submitted a photo to the strangely interesting blog Toemail. Here it is.
31 January 1998, Highpoint Shopping Centre, Melbourne
This was taken on the same day and in the same booth as an earlier post where I was photographed with my friend, Holly.
This strip is part of the series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.
Some older photobooths produced a strip of photos in a horizontal, rather than vertical format. It is rare to find a complete strip like this.
The writing on the back says Lots of Love to my Daddy, Patsy and These pictures were taken of Pat just as she is. We were shopping and had no way of dressing up for the picture. At least that is what I think it says.
In the third picture there is a ghostly “mummy” hand pointing the direction in which she wants Patsy to look. Given she is barely more than a baby, Patsy did very well with her posing.
The strip came from the United States and as you can see is undated. Please click on either image to see a larger version.
Photobooth Journal 