no-fi "magazine" presents
by Elana Bean, 2007
There is something to be said about us photographers and our constant need to catch moments forever on film. Is it our desire to relish memories of our past? Are we afraid of losing faces to the barrage of other information our brains must hold on to? Or do we simply like making ourselves look like an ass permanently on record? I like to think I'm partial to all three, especially the latter.
About a year ago I noticed that several of my friends started showing off their collections of photobooth pictures. So of course I became instantly jealous because it never crossed my mind to go looking for them out here. The idea of the photobooth fills me with so much child-like glee that it's ridiculous. I find myself literally skipping, dragging friends behind me, whenever we are in the vicinity of a known photobooth. And if I discover one on accident, by god 
cover your ears as I emit such high pitch squeals of delight that bartenders duck for the accompanying shattering of glass. Otherwise in my daily life I am a pretty serious and together person.
It was during this fit of jealously that I started to seriously track down as many photobooths as I could find in the Los Angeles area but since they are usually partially hidden I was finding it difficult. One of the best resources that I stumbled upon was photobooth.net. Which is incredibly comprehensive and just plain neat. It also ended up being a launching pad 
for a trip to San Francisco in March of this year where I engaged in my first photobooth bar crawl. It's a great way to document how drunk you're getting. Surprisingly, in the first set of photos I'm already trying to fit my fist in my mouth and by the end of the night I've found myself attacked by lettuce.
Having an extensive list to file through I started a quest, partially out of boredom, to take photobooth pictures in every photobooth in LA. It's about 2/3s complete. With this last third we here at No-Fi, and we meaning me cause no one obsesses about this stuff like I do, have decided to let some of our readers help complete the last hump in documenting these photobooths. If you're a reader and want to be in an upcoming photo spread including sets from bars all over L.A., then get in touch through the handy email on the bottom of the page. I'll be coordinating times and locations once I have some people willing to commit. Who knows, maybe we'll make it a No-Fi themed drinking night too. Anyways... let's Shoot 'Em Up!
(Elana Bean is a staffwriter for No-Fi "Magazine"
and plans to meet all of you in the photobooth!)
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