Imagine this: A group of 21 -year -old got into a cabin, curtain and smile towards the camera. After a series of mysterious analog rumors, the stand expels a small strip of impressions. The pose crowds to savor the small prints of movies, and raise their cameras to take digital images of them.
While the boomers flash in perplexity, the legions of digital natives have adopted the ritual and machinery of the old photomaton school, and the people of photomatica, based in San Francisco, are among the empires of the construction of that enthusiasm. His last company: a Museum of Photo Booth in Silver Lake, which opens Thursday.
For anyone who grew with digital photography, a photomaton is a kind of visual adventure: a selfie with “analog magic.” And at $ 6.50 to $ 8.50 for a strip of four photos, it is more affordable than many other entertainment options. Photomatica, one of several companies that set up the wave of photomatons, has been restoring and operating these gadgets since 2010. This is the second “museum” of the company.
In the new Site on 3827 W. Sunset Blvd. (near Hyperion Avenue), the company has gathered four restored analog photomatons, two of which date from the 1950s, and a digital cabin. The 1,350 square feet space is designed to look “as if you entered a set of Wes Anderson movies,” said spokeswoman Kelsey Schmidt.
The machines adapt to accept credit and Apple Pay cards, but otherwise technology is original in old machines, which means there is no recovery and a 3 to 5 minutes waiting for image processing. Stands based on the film print black and white images only; The digital stand offers a color or white option.
Is this as a traditional museum experience? No. It is a profit company. Although visitors can learn a little about the history of photography, the central activity is to make and celebrate selfies. Until now, Schmidt said, the cabins have been especially popular among people under 25, especially women's visitors.
A birthday group meets for a snapshot at the Booth Museum, San Francisco.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Photomaticics rent and operates around 250 cabins (including bars, restaurants, hotels, music premises and special events) throughout the country. The company plotted the idea of the museum after attracting immediate crowds with a stand in the Photows Film Laboratory in Market Street in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco.
On its Opening Night on Thursday, the Booth Museum will work from 6 to 10 pm, offering a limited number of free photo and key sessions. Otherwise, daily hours will be 1 to 9 pm
