USA 1966
The wonderful smiles on the faces of this couple prompted me to buy the above strip of photos. I wonder if they were newly together at this stage or just one of those rare couples whose joy in each other’s company never wanes?
I was thrilled to find another example of their togetherness on Tumblr (see below). I’d say this photo was taken some years after the first strip and they still look so happy!
Photo from Tumblr.
January 1999, Luna Park, Melbourne
This is the second and final strip of photos that I have with guide dog puppy, Hawkeye. (See previous Read More
As you can see I have three photos in my collection of this highly changeable, style-queen, Jo. I couldn’t share them with you, without also showing you the photo (below) – the one that got away – as I think it is probably the best of the lot.
It hurts to think she has been separated from the rest of her past but considering the price that was paid for her, I am sure she will be well cared for.
Update 26 February, 2013 – (I bid on the photo below at an auction but due to the ferocious competition was unable to secure this photo to add to the other three I’d already bought.)
The one that got away.
14 January 1999, Southland, Melbourne
I took this strip of photos when I was at Southland shopping centre to look for a bridesmaid dress for my sister’s wedding. It was the third or fourth attempt to find something we both liked and yet it was once again unsuccessful.
I don’t much like shopping for clothes at the best of times. I think my attitude to my task is abundantly evident in these pictures.
This strip is part of the series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.
Tokens are an old means of operating and managing coin-in-the-slot vending machines such as automatic photobooths. Magnolia Photobooth Company (see one of their tokens, above) design and build their own photo booths, some of which are operated using this system. Unfortunately they are generally phasing out their tokens in the USA, however it is still being used in a few booths around the world, specifically in Seoul and Toronto.
One of their clients, Kiehl’s, is the only company in the USA that has committed to keeping the token system. It is an integral part of the marketing of their business. They hand out tokens to people who buy product or are about to buy product in their boutiques. They can immediately redeem it for a branded strip of booth photos or use it on their next visit.
Magnolia Photobooth Company are a tiny crew with only 9 full-time staff that runs an extensive national digital photobooth rental operation in the USA and internationally.
As a photobooth rental company Magnolia is very creative in its marketing. They have an interesting blog (click here to have a look) and a book that documents a journey they made with their booths to various events around the US. You can see some of the book here and buy it here.
To see another, older photobooth token from my collection, click here.
Peter Tower, the owner of the company is (almost) seen below holding a copy of the book.
3 January 1999, Southland, Melbourne
Another strip of me and my sister Susan, this time before seeing the movie Saving Private Ryan. Sue was pregnant in this picture. We shall see more of my sister and the manifestation of this state in a future post.
This strip is part of the series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.
Damian Michaels is an American artist, writer, curator and publisher who has lived in Melbourne since 1994. His work is part of the outsider art movement. Outsider art is a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture. Often, outsider art illustrates extreme mental states, unconventional ideas, or elaborate fantasy worlds. Damian sees his art as spiritual, psychological and an emotional mirror to the collective consciousness. His art is revelatory and message-laden but that message is for the viewer to interpret. It is not prescribed by the artist. This altered photobooth self-portrait is part of a series of works Damian has done using photographs old and new, as his canvas. Apart from loving this as the only piece of photobooth art I have in my collection, I enjoy its movement and humour. For me, it is an appropriate self-portrait of a man with a creative spirit and an apparently great sense of fun. To see more of his work and read more about him, follow the links below.
18 December 1998, Luna Park, Melbourne
Moana and I – still celebrating with icecream! Yay!
This strip is part of the series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.
Happy St Valentine’s day!
These sweet photographic love-notes are undated but I’d say they were taken sometime in the 1940s, possibly during WW2. They have the look and sentiment of war-time keepsakes, probably sent from the USA to this lady’s lover overseas.
They are so cute and unusual, I cannot understand why any descendants of this woman didn’t want to treasure them forever.
18 December 1998, Luna Park, Melbourne
My travelling companion, Moana, was visiting from the UK. My sister Sue, was temporarily living back in Australia, after a few years in Ireland. What better way to celebrate a reunion than with icecreams and a photobooth session?
This strip is part of the series Photobooth 41 Year Project. You can see all the posts that document the series by clicking here.
Photobooth Journal 