Payphone Pictures: France, India, Iceland, Laos, and more

Olivier Beyssac sent this e-mail:

“I love your site. It reminded me of the strange feeling I had when seeing a phone booth a couple weeks ago in the French  countryside.”

Olivier’s e-mail (and the beautifully evocative phone booth photo which accompanied it) reminded me that I have been meaning to call out some of the excellent phone booth and payphone photos that have arrived at the Payphone Project both recently and not-so-recently. This is the first of what will be occasional updates, pointing you to the newest or most interesting payphone photos and content on this web site.

Several long-time contributors have been sending payphone photos to this web site for many years. A few of them are mentioned in this posting, others will be highlighted in the near future.

Achim, who has shared phone booth and payphone photos from several countries, recently sent a set from Iceland, including this bulky booth at Skaftafell National Park. Some of Achim’s other photos come from Wroclaw, Poland; a series from Turkey includes this shot from Istanbul Beyoglu near Galata Tower; and the Czech Republic series includes Achim’s shot of this payphone at Prague, Mala Strana.

My friend Silas, who conducts the Astoria Music Society, also added some nice shots from the Czech Republic, including this classy phone booth in Kromeriz.

One of my all-time favorite series of payphone photos is from India. These photos come from long-time contributors Frank and Meeta Parker, whose payphone photos at the Payphone Project come from such far-flung locations as Simonstown and Cape Town, South Africa; the Republic of Maldives; and the sunny beaches of La Jolla, California. Frank and Meeta’s pictures are all over the Payphone Project.

Another shot which I had not seen lately but which I like a lot is from Sweden: a wooden phone booth from Galma Stan, Stockholm sent in a couple of years ago by Benjamin Hedrick.

Lastly (for now), a recent e-mail from Loren Everly reminded me of these nice shots he took of phone booths and payphones in Laos. Laos is a particular interest of mine having there as a small child and attended school for 2 years at the American School of Vientiane. Loren’s photos revive my thoughts of re-visiting that fabled land.

That’s all for now. Look for more Payphone Project updates in this space.