Phone booths of the world
Like the Galapagos tortoise, the polar bear and New Zealand’s own kakapo (a peculiar ground-dwelling night parrot), the phone booth has sadly become an endangered species.
Once a ubiquitous feature of our urban landscapes and a lifeline in times of need, phone booths have been rendered all but obsolete by the relentless march of the mobile phone. There are now few places left on our planet free of the blight of cellphone towers and too-loud conversations on public transport.
I have therefore made it my solemn mission to preserve, by means of photography, these cultural and technological artifacts in all their glory and variety, wherever I find them.
Click on the thumbnails below to view a selection of phone booths from Albania to Vanuatu.
I absolutely love your work. Photography and words.
Thanks Sue!
My fave, the red hooded variety masquerading as parking meters
Good choice Sandra, a very rare species that. Possibly even critically endangered now that their habitat is no longer in Ukraine but part of Russia. (Bakhchissarai, where that photo was taken, is in Crimea.)
Great blog Peter… Keep up the good work!
Thank you Roger!
I have two favorite’s, the one on Port Vila Vanatua, because of the design and the contrast with the food wrapped in banana leaves. Number two is Mardin, Turkey because of the contrast of modern technology with ages old architecture.
Good call Ben. Some day I will visit you again and Mexico to the collection.
Bring back the phone booth! There’s no where more convenient for a person of super stature to change otherwise
Agreed Geraldine! But I think you’ve just given away your secret identity…
Sensational photos – not just the crazy phone boxes but your beautiful composition, and those locations! The oddest “box” is Georgia – it looks like the phone was housed in some piece of ‘ancient’ / industrial architecture or plumbing which may have been re-purposed.
Thanks Kerry! That’s also a personal favourite. At that time half the country looked like some kind of post-apocalyptic, post-industrial wonderland. It was awesome.