Auto-Photo: A Life in Portraits

screenshot-2025-06-04-at-6.33.07-am.png

Auto Photo: A Life in Portraits is a distinctly Australian story, centred on the figure of Alan Adler. Adler, while little known, is 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 has been maintaining a suite of photobooths across Melbourne/Narrm, most notably, the site near Flinders Street Station. His story reflects the local communities and a shared dedication and passion for image-making and creative expression.

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 has contributed to the photography of over a million people. In Auto Photo: A Life in Portraits discover 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.

Auto Photo: A Life in Portraits will feature 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, Brian Meacham, Metro Auto Photo, Patrick Pound and Joshua Smith.

Auto Photo: A Life in Portraits is a Centre of Contemporary Photography (CCP) exhibition, presented in partnership with RMIT Gallery.

Opening night 6-8pm Thursday 5 June 2025

Check the website for various visiting hours.

Upcoming Events Submit an Event

July

Perth: From 31 May – 28 Sept 2025. Featuring 85 works from three major series – Deep Springs, Overpass, and Cross Country – the exhibition spans twelve years of Contis’s evolving photographic practice.

Adelaide: 7 June – 16 August. Drawn from the National Portrait Gallery collection, this photographic exhibition captures the experience of lives lived through dance.

Sydney: Until 31 Dec 2025. PIX, Australia’s first pictorial news weekly, is brought to life in this exhibition, showcasing its archived images and stories for the very first time.

Melbourne: 7 June – 31 August. Protest is a Creative Act seeks to address issues around the body, sexuality, race, national identity and the environment.

Sydney: 15 May – 19 October. Showcasing 100 incredible images, this remarkable exhibition offers a window into the astonishing variety of life on our planet – and the critical importance of preserving it.

Canberra: 17 July – 9 August. The Canberra Contemporary Photographic Prize is an exhibition and competition celebrating both emerging and established talents in photo media.

Brisbane: 19 July – 17 August. Presenting the results of the 2025 World Press Photo Contest, the annual exhibition showcases the best and most important photojournalism and documentary photography of the last year.

Sydney: Until 22 August 2025. Sandy Edwards was instrumental in the feminist photography movement, using her documentary style to challenge traditional narratives, highlight issues of gender and identity, and question societal norms.

August

Leica Store Gallery in both Sydney & Melbourne present a unique photographic dialogue between Steve McCurry and Jessie Brinkman Evans. Until late October.

Ballarat: 23 August – 19 October 2025. This year’s theme is Lifeforce, and it ties into an eight-week program of exhibitions, public art, talks, and workshops across more than 100 venues throughout Ballarat.