New exhibition celebrates 'the most photographed man in Australia'

In what is a uniquely Melbourne story, the Centre for Contemporary Photography (CCP) is set to showcase the work of Alan Adler, who operated and serviced photobooths all over the city from the 1970s.

Adler, while little known, was likely the most photographed person in Australia, and also perhaps the oldest and longest-serving photobooth technician in the world.

He died aged 92 in 2024.

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, he contributed to the photography of over a million people, and his work meant generations of people were able to record themselves, their relationships and create personal and expressive images using his photobooths.

Now, a new exhibition, 'Auto Photo: A Life in Portraits', will explore the history of the photobooth and its cultural significance, alongside visual stories told by the community who preserve and use Adler's photobooths, to record their lives or in the pursuit of creative expression.

This exhibition also marks 100 years since Siberian-emigre Anatol Josepho filed a patent for his 'Photomaton' - a coin-operated photobooth, in New York City. This exhibition is among many worldwide events which mark this important centenary and reflect on the photobooth's power to delight and inspire.

"Alan Adler's story is so wonderful; a dedicated technician who inadvertently created a unique archive of self-portraits over half a century," says Director of CCP, Daniel Boetker-Smith. 

"Through the daily testing of his booths Alan built a visual story of his life, and that of his family and pets. He also inspired generations of Melburnians, and tourists and visitors to record their own moments and stories."

'Auto Photo: A Life in Portraits' features images from Alan Adler's extensive archive, alongside additional works by and drawn from the collections of Katherine Griffiths, Mark Holsworth, Kyle Archie Knight, Ruth O'Leary, Nicky Makin, Jesse Marlow, Brian Meacham, Metro Auto Photo, Patrick Pound and Joshua Smith.

'Auto Photo: A Life in Portraits' opens on 5 June and runs until 16 August 2025 at the RMIT Gallery, 344 Swanson Street. 

You can find out more here.