Our Third Vintage Photobooth

After buying our first analogue photobooth back in 2012, we are pleased to announce that we have added a third to our collection, a 1963 M12 black and white analogue photobooth. The new photobooth takes pride of place in our new Leeds store, on 34 Kirgate. There is a simple pleasure about using an analogue photobooth that, without thanks to a few dedicated ‘boothers’, could have been lost to history. The photobooths at Fred Aldous Manchester have seen a marriage proposal, parents documenting their children every year from birth, fashions shoots and countless happy moments shared between friends and families. With no option to preview your picture, the chance to strike four different poses and the three minutes of anticipation whilst the machine whirs and the chemicals develop, analogue photobooths bring pure joy and excitement to those that use them. The new photobooth in Fred Aldous Leeds is completely original and uses a dip tank method. The process, which is a genius turn-of-the-century invention, turns the four walls of the photo booth into a photography studio with lights, a camera and a darkroom. After putting three pound coins into the machine, the flash is activated and the booth takes four individual pictures exposing them onto the paper strip. The machine, then carries the strip through 14 tubs of darkroom chemicals, developing the picture and earning the process its ‘dip and dunk’ nickname. After a three minute wait, the picture appears, still wet from the process but beautifully exposed. Maintaining analogue photobooths is a labour of love. Every day the Fred Aldous staff will top up and stir the chemicals, testing the photobooth to make sure it is up to temperature so that the pictures will be perfect, whilst preserving the magic and historic importance of analogue photobooths. If you use our photobooths, don't forget to tag them with #FAphotobooth to share them with us.