Opening Event & Talk | Auto-Photo: A Life in Portraits

Next date: Saturday, 28 February 2026 | 03:00 PM to 05:00 PM

When

  • Saturday, 28 February 2026 | 03:00 PM - 05:00 PM
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CCP Director Daniel Boetker-Smith’, Christopher Sutherland and Jessie Norman (Metro Auto Photo) introduce us to Alan Adler (1932 – 2024), the oldest and longest serving photobooth technician in the world: Most notably the site at Flinders Street Station. Adler’s story shows a fascinating dedication to repetitious image making and is supported by the artworks of Melbourne creatives who have passionately used his photobooths. 

Welcome drink and grazing platters.

 

Image credit: Alan Adler, Photobooth portraits, gelatin silver prints © Alan Adler/Metro Auto Photo

 

Event Description

A Centre for Contemporary Photography exhibition, curated by Catlin Langford and Metro Auto Photo.

Auto Photo: A Life in Portraits is a distinctly Australian story, centred on the figure of Alan Adler. Adler, while little known, was likely the most photographed man in Australia and is also the oldest and longest serving photobooth technician in the world. For over 50 years, Adler maintained a suite of photobooths across Melbourne/Narrm, most notably, the site near Flinders Street Station. As part of his business, Adler would undertake weekly services of his photobooths, a process that produced a strip of photographs to check focus, flash and print quality, leading to an archive of thousands of photographs. These self-portraits are the only surviving record of Adler’s impact and his role servicing these photobooths. Since the 1970s, Adler's photobooths have contributed to the photography of over a million people.

Auto Photo: A Life in Portraits will feature Alan Adler’s extensive archive, alongside additional works by and drawn from the collections of Metro Auto Photo (Christopher Sutherland & Jessie Norman), Katherine Griffiths, and Patrick Pound.

Online or phone03 9784 1060 registration essential.

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