The Vintage Selfie: In Prague Appeared Two Analog Photoautomat Booths

Photo booths, usually found at airports, train stations, and the odd mall here and there, have been seeing a social resurgence, laying claim to being the original orchestrator of self-portraiture in photographic form, aka: the vintage selfie.

2007: a project was started to bring the fifties and sixties back to life on a global scale.

Fotoautomat grew from a simple idea to restore and maintain the original black and white photo booths in a world that had forgotten, but since embraced the quality and nostalgia of these classic photographs.

These photo booths are distinctly retro-looking, totally analog, and appear in only four cities around the world: Paris, Arles, Nantes, and now… Prague!

The first one materialized in the lobby of the Palais de Tokyo in 2007, rescued from obscurity by retronaut Eddy Bourgeois, the enigmatic figure behind Fotoautomat.

Since 2007, FotoAutomat has been restoring and putting into operation analog photo booths for black-and-white photographs. They produce a strip of four unique pictures for 70 CZK that are developed in the booth while you wait. They’re are equipped with a privacy curtain.

Nowadays, there are less than 50 analog photo booths worldwide.

You can find FotoAutomat at Cafe Jedna (now Cafe Selektor) in the Trade Fair Palace (Veletrzní palác), and under the building Nová scéna at the National Theater.

Find FotoAutomat on Instagram!

FotoAutomat at National Theater

FotoAutomat at Cafe Jedna