Hoxton Hotel hosts rare old-time photo booth
One of perhaps 300 working analog photo booths on the planet is in Old Town
The Hoxton Hotel in Old Town, 15 NW Fourth Ave., has an analog photo booth with real film and a photochemical development process. There are only about 300 such booths left in the world. One reason analog booths became scarce is that the special paper they require is made in Russia, and the war with Ukraine disrupted its production and export.
Scarity became an issue even before then, says Jocelyn Dean, otherwise known as Photo Booth Chick. Dean owns and oversees maintenance of 38 photo booths in Portland, plus three in Astoria and one in Troutdale. A PNCA graduate in film and photography, Dean got into the photo booth business approximately 20 years ago.
“At one time I had 23 analog photo booths. I got chemical poisoning. I got electrocuted.” No one really cares much about the change to digital, she says, although she is rebuilding a few of the vintage booths she owns. Finding parts for them is a tricky since they are all 40-50 years old.
We have a digital photo booth at my other job. It’s so popular that we had to cool high spirits with a sign that says, “Cramming or packing-in not allowed.” During a cramming event, as many people as possible pack a booth. Or kids run in and out of the booth between shots so the strip includes a maximum variety of friend shots.
One young woman took a flying leap into the photo booth to capture a mid-air shot of herself. The photo booth rocked back and forth, and a basket of dried flowers atop it fell to the ground. We admired her daredevil spirit, but the stunt gave birth to the sign.
Dean says stunts aren’t uncommon but nine times out of 10 it’s wholesome. “It’s sweet, really.”
According to an article in the New York Times, couples are using photo booth photography to announce their engagement in a casual, cost-effective way.
Meanwhile, the Hoxton photo booth cost $7 if using a card, but only $5 if paying with cash. The four black and whites on my strip look almost like a tintype photograph, which only enhances the vintage, nostalgic feel.
