As a very forgetful person, I operate heavily under the rule: “pics or it didn’t happen.” I take tons of pictures so that when I look at my camera roll, I smile a little, remembering the fun things that I did and the side quests I went on. However, there is that beautifully nostalgic feeling of holding film in your hands which is really like no other. Of course digis are great for a story post on Instagram, but there is just something more meaningful about physical pictures that you can keep, put in your pocket and have forever. Pictures are a beautiful thing in that they capture a moment of time and make it last forever. They are little snapshots into the beautiful and messy and funny moments of our lives. At Photomatica, this is exactly what happens. The old is blended perfectly with the new, through revamped vintage photo booths dating back to the 1950s. So come with me as I explore all that this place has to offer.
Upon first stepping inside we saw six photo booths. Five of them vintage and one a new digital photo booth. We walked around the room to do a loop and figured out how we were going to do this. Outside of each photo booth there was a small sign with a description. The description included when it was first released, the aesthetics of the strips that would come out and what the photos were most ideal for. There were booths for groups, for if you were wearing darker or lighter colored clothing, for if you wanted different sized photos and more. All the old booths printed in black and white. I looked closer at the sample photos and smiled at the way they gave me a small glimpse of a stranger’s memories.
After a couple of rounds, we picked our photo booth. We were told that the booths go fast and to have everything ready beforehand. After quite a bit of debating and scrolling through Pinterest to find poses, we were finally ready. We practiced a couple of times before actually starting, usually lagging and forgetting the pose we picked out and looking at each other and laughing. For the first one, we took individual photos for each frame with a final group one at the end. This meant we had to switch out. There was a setup for a phone on the inside and so we decided to record, obviously. I laughed as I ran out of the booth so my friend could climb in. The photo strip came out a little wet, but thanks to the foresight of someone who I’m sure is a star employee, there were stations to blow dry them. I tried very hard to make sure it didn’t fly away. After many more photos, we walked around the area for a little while longer. At the front there were areas to turn the photo strips into magnets and keychains. And of course, in the true spirit of “pics or it didn’t happen”, we took pictures for Instagram and chatted trying to figure out how to make them look the most aesthetic.
As we finished up, I looked at the photo strips in my hand and smiled a little. The lighting of the black and white photos made it look like something straight out of what I would only ever see in movies or online. Even though we were still there, it already felt nostalgic. A snapshot into this piece of my life where I had fun with my friends, got to be silly and have moments that last forever. In this place, I got to make memories that stay alive forever in a physical and metaphorical sense through the beauty of photography, bringing new meaning to the phrase: “pics or it didn’t happen.”
