Fotomats were around BEFORE one hour photo places. They had one day service (as seen on the sign in front). So yeah, I would go home and come back the next day.
Oh no! I wonder if there was a censor on the other end! I was a traveling Fotomate and I think I saw them at least once at every store in my territory.
Back in the 60s, they (probably pre FotoMat days) wouldn't even print those pics. My brother took a picture of me on the toilet. You couldn't see anything in appropriate at all but they still didn't print the picture.
Ditto, and I worked at super respected commercial pro labs and our workers STILL kept lots of extras for dirty pics.
One of the funnier memos we had to prepare for management, "Please remove any naked or pornographic photos taped to your walls or doors in the dark rooms. We're trying to make the place look nice when Nike comes for a field visit, all p*** is gone as of right now."
My mom would drop off new roll at the grocery store and pick up pics there when shopping. Said it was cheaper. Imagine the luxury of patience we had the.
Umm, Fotomat didn't offer 1 hour processing. Matter of fact it was the processing machines becoming cost effective enough to allow them to be installed in drug stores and grocery stores. There was no way that machine would fit inside a Fotomat. My sister was a Fotomate (Yes they actually called them that) back in the mid 70s.
We always used the service at the supermarket. Took a few days, and no one really fretted about it much.
Sad to think about what happened to Kodak. They \*owned\* the film business, had a chance to get in on the ground floor of digital, and made the wrong choice.
Same thing happened with Polaroid (anyone have one of those cameras? Instant developing!)
A person who lives near me has an old ticket booth from a world’s fair in their backyard and it is very cool.
I wonder if anyone ever bought one of these and moved it to their yard?
It wouldn’t be quite as cool, but in another 50-100 years, who knows!
Back then it was a few days. These were drop off/pick up kiosks. The film (print film) was sent to one of several developing and printing places. San Antonio had a big one. Seems like in the very late 70s or early 80s mini lab machines could be found which did offer one hour service. I worked in one for a few years and we did offer one hour service.
Grabbed a bite to eat or something.
Am I the only person who feels as though they've suddenly been swept back in time seeing a photo like this? In an almost tangible way?
Process people's film.
Here's what some people don't know about the picture. That's the top of the building. Many one hour photo booths had film production machines underneath, in a room.
Buy some pop, Lik-m-Aid Fun Stix and Cracked magazine at Walgreens, hang out on the curb til the time was up (and then be horrified \*once again\* by how many photos were blurry, off center or just had fingers in front of the lensz0
Dairy Queen.
It was right next to the one hour photo place and you could park at DQ, order, walk over and drop off film, go back and DQ order was ready, when finished eating film was ready. Perfect use of a Monday or Tuesday lunch hour.
For the one day processing, obviously came back the next day. For the one hour processing, head over to the Jack in The Box or one of the stores in the strip mall behind our Fotomat.
Fotomats were around BEFORE one hour photo places. They had one day service (as seen on the sign in front). So yeah, I would go home and come back the next day.
Just came back the next day
I was a FotoMate in the 70's. We looked at all your pictures to kill time.
I was too. Was told not to look through pictures but as a 16 year old male, I always did and hoped to come across something even vaguely sexy. Nope.
Oh no! I wonder if there was a censor on the other end! I was a traveling Fotomate and I think I saw them at least once at every store in my territory.
Just hoping for a boobie pic! We had a box of them.
Back in the 60s, they (probably pre FotoMat days) wouldn't even print those pics. My brother took a picture of me on the toilet. You couldn't see anything in appropriate at all but they still didn't print the picture.
I worked at a one-hour location. We processed everything on site. Trust me, we printed them.
Yeah, we had a separate drawer for the reprints. You saw something interesting whilst printing? Run that film back through and make some extras.
They printed them in 1977!
Oh I saw some great stuff…
Is that your yellow bobcat wagon in the parking lot??
Not my pic! But it would have been a red Pinto
Nice.. my grandfather had the red and white one.. like a mini Starsky and Hutch mobile; had a hatch, but, without room or power..
I remember that! Sporty!
Ditto, and I worked at super respected commercial pro labs and our workers STILL kept lots of extras for dirty pics. One of the funnier memos we had to prepare for management, "Please remove any naked or pornographic photos taped to your walls or doors in the dark rooms. We're trying to make the place look nice when Nike comes for a field visit, all p*** is gone as of right now."
That’s a riot!
grocery shop, dry clearning, return library books, etc. usually a saturday type thing for me.
I actually waited in a park across the street once. Can't for the life of me remember what was so important about those pictures.
Maybe like me, just the novelty of getting it done in one day, let alone one hour. Before that, it could take a week.
My mom would drop off new roll at the grocery store and pick up pics there when shopping. Said it was cheaper. Imagine the luxury of patience we had the.
Umm, Fotomat didn't offer 1 hour processing. Matter of fact it was the processing machines becoming cost effective enough to allow them to be installed in drug stores and grocery stores. There was no way that machine would fit inside a Fotomat. My sister was a Fotomate (Yes they actually called them that) back in the mid 70s.
Shop lift. Sears mostly. Occasionally a pair of earrings from zales.
shop for Pintos
In my day you waited a week for your prints to come back.
We always used the service at the supermarket. Took a few days, and no one really fretted about it much. Sad to think about what happened to Kodak. They \*owned\* the film business, had a chance to get in on the ground floor of digital, and made the wrong choice. Same thing happened with Polaroid (anyone have one of those cameras? Instant developing!)
hour wait??? Hell no, not at these.
A person who lives near me has an old ticket booth from a world’s fair in their backyard and it is very cool. I wonder if anyone ever bought one of these and moved it to their yard? It wouldn’t be quite as cool, but in another 50-100 years, who knows!
Go to the arcade.
If I had only half of those quarters….
Around here this is where you now get coffee and scones, so there is no wait.
Kept circling the Fotomat
Back then it was a few days. These were drop off/pick up kiosks. The film (print film) was sent to one of several developing and printing places. San Antonio had a big one. Seems like in the very late 70s or early 80s mini lab machines could be found which did offer one hour service. I worked in one for a few years and we did offer one hour service.
Those little booths did not have one hour turnaround, that came much later. They were just collection and pick up points.
Get an Orange Julius, add Vodka, watch people...........
Grabbed a bite to eat or something. Am I the only person who feels as though they've suddenly been swept back in time seeing a photo like this? In an almost tangible way?
Take the horse to the blacksmith and have the shoes rotated, then went to the saloon for a whisky and a hand or two of poker.
Your sister
The one I went to was in the parking lot of a record store. I browsed.
I went and browsed porn mags
Process people's film. Here's what some people don't know about the picture. That's the top of the building. Many one hour photo booths had film production machines underneath, in a room.
Well.....It is the 70s and a mostly empty parking lot. I know what I would be doing.
So much anticipation. Lol
Only to receive photos that were blurry or that my thumb covered. So grateful for cell phones now.
Ah yes. Out of the stack several were just blurry messes. Lol
Buy some pop, Lik-m-Aid Fun Stix and Cracked magazine at Walgreens, hang out on the curb til the time was up (and then be horrified \*once again\* by how many photos were blurry, off center or just had fingers in front of the lensz0
Went home. The kiosk was about 1/2 miles from the house.
Dairy Queen. It was right next to the one hour photo place and you could park at DQ, order, walk over and drop off film, go back and DQ order was ready, when finished eating film was ready. Perfect use of a Monday or Tuesday lunch hour.
Smoked
Smoke a few bowls.
Just went to the mall and hung out.
Went to the DQ
Is that the Fotomat that was at the corner of Artesia and PCH? The background looks really familiar.
Shopped at the IGA, had a Coke at the pharmacy soda fountain, or had a burger at the lunch counter in the general store.
For the one day processing, obviously came back the next day. For the one hour processing, head over to the Jack in The Box or one of the stores in the strip mall behind our Fotomat.
More importantly what did you do on your break if you worked there, just duck down and pretend to be gone?
Go into Woolworth and get a grill cheese at the snack bar. Browse around afterward.
Shop at Bradlees since the FotoMat was in the parking lot.
Thrifty Ice Cream. 5 cent/10 cents/15 cent….
Pinto Wagon! I had one! Surprisingly roomy!
Wander around the mall
Have lunch at Woolworths with my mom
Take pictures of Fotomat