In Berlin, the chemical photo booth is an institution, with booths, or ‘Photoautomats’, located all across the city. While visiting Berlin in the summer of ‘23, I decided to locate these booths as a way to explore the city, an easter egg hunt of sorts. I made my way down grimy alleyways, past techno clubs and beer halls, cigarette butts and beer bottles littering the path. I traversed leafy parks and glitzy shopping districts. Riding the U-Bahn and S-Bahn trains, crisscrossing back and forth from East to West across the once divided city.

It was sweet to see throngs of friends and couples lining up at these booths. The laughter from behind the curtain. The popping sound of the old-fashioned flash bulbs. The anticipation of the groups huddled together waiting for the machine to spit out their prints. In an overwhelmingly digital world, the allure of the booths was still strong, despite the camera phones in their hands.

Mauerpark 1

Bernauer Str. 53, 10437 Berlin, Germany

Located in Mauerpark, a park with grassland & trees set on the site of the former border between East & West Berlin.