Experiments with Chemistry

Part of the excitement of vintage and analog photography is the opportunity for experimentation.  The nature of the process lends itself to many different iterations and variations.  Even though the technology has been around for decades, the ability to reinvent and evolve the medium still exists.  Whether you find a new way to develop the strip, change the format of the booth itself, or conceptualize the content otherwise, the photobooth picture can be manipulated infinitely.

While this example cannot be truly described as a photobooth process, it still utilizes common components.  It uses the photobooth camera, strip media, and chemicals to produce an image, but it is created manually, not automatically as a photobooth would do.  In this respect it is closer to traditional darkroom developing than the automated process of the photobooth.  It is however a good example of how the medium can be stretched to extend beyond the confines of the booth itself, while still using the same components.

Here's the camera that was used:

It looks great for it's age.  This camera was manufactured for the Auto Photo booth and is fully automated to sync with the other components of the booth.  I simply manually opened the shutter and used it as a modified single lens camera.  And in traditional fashion, much like the pioneers of the craft, I photographed the inside of a workshop, and hand developed in chemistry.

Photobooth still life