Latest news with #AlanAdler
ABC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
For 50 years, Alan Adler had one job – to keep Melbourne's analogue photo booths alive
It was on Broadway in New York City, in 1925, when a man named Anatol Josepho patented and operated the first coin-operated self-printing public photo booth. Back then, the cubical machines that people entered to enjoy a few minutes of privacy, covered by drapery on one side, did not have a "specific usage". A hundred years later, their numbers faded amid digitisation with only approximately 200 operating photo booths left in the world. Melbourne is home to seven of them, thanks to a man called Alan. At a gallery space in Melbourne, attached to white four-metre-high walls, hundreds of photo strips of a smiling man with wavy hair line the horizon like a pixelated timeline. As you follow on, the man ages, skin steadily wrinkling, but his grin remains. Ms Langford said the exhibition "Auto-Photo: A Life in Portraits" celebrates the life of Alan Adler who, for decades, was the sole keeper of Melbourne's analogue photo booths — notably the one on Flinders Street. The exhibition zooms into Alan's life through black and white, and sometimes coloured, snaps and photo strips. Alan, who died earlier this year aged 92, would start work at 6:30am to check his photo booths, printing hundreds of his own photo strips as a part of a test run. "Alan Adler's archive [is] where … hundreds of strips show him aging across 50 years. So, we've had to hang every single one of those individually," Ms Langford, who has been working on the exhibition for more than a year, said. Ms Langford said she was one of the "fortunate" few who has met Alan in person to talk and write about his story. A book that shares the name of the exhibition has also been published to honour Alan's life and the individuals around him who have committed to keeping Melbourne's photo-booth tradition alive. The publisher of the book, Perimeter Editions, told the ABC 1,500 copies have been sold in Australia and internationally so far. In the lead up to the exhibition, work has been busy for Chris Sutherland and Jess Norman, who are the current custodians of Melbourne's seven working photo booths. The exhibition involved reviving what was left of Melbourne's operating photo booths, years of mentorship with Alan himself, and compiling a collection of photo strips dating back from up to 50 years ago. Ms Norman and Mr Sutherland said they gave up their nine-to-five jobs to continue Alan's business venture and "wouldn't have it any other way". Ms Norman said at his peak, Alan ran a total of 16 photo booths all by himself. "It's a mammoth task," she said. Mr Sutherland said Alan would have been doing the same job for decades alone, even after the industry started to dwindle. "This exhibition was celebrating the man behind the curtain … the man that made all that happen." One of the goals of the exhibition, Ms Norman said, was to reunite "lost strips" to their real owners. There have been about 250 unclaimed photo strips found over the years, which are on display at the exhibition. Nine out of 10 times, strips are left because patrons may have forgotten their photo strips on the strip holder, or the photo booth encounters an issue. "There's a couple of hundred moving parts within the machine … for something that's 50 years old, on the odd occasion something can go wrong." The couple said people can claim their long-lost photographs after the exhibition ends. "They will need to contact us and then we will contact them for the retrieval of their strips and proof that it is them," Ms Norman said. Ms Langford believes Melbourne's photo booth culture will live on for more decades to come. In a progressively digital world, she said photo strips are mementos that offer a sense of tangibility. "It's a very one-off moment that's kind of held forever." Auto-Photo: A Life in Portraits is an exhibition by the Centre of Contemporary Photography (CCP) and is held at the RMIT Gallery until August 16.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The SPAC is back: Kodiak Robotics eyeing a merger
The SPAC is back. Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that Ares Acquisition Corp. II is in advanced talks to merge with Kodiak Robotics. Ares is a blank-check firm, led by CEO David Kaplin, that raised $450 million in April 2023 and has said in the past it could pursue a combination in any sector. The special purpose acquisition company is 'a way for a small private company — often with no revenue — to access public markets and investment without going through a cumbersome initial public offering' notes Alan Adler, former FreightWaves Detroit bureau chief. For Kodiak, more revenue is on the horizon. The company announced in January that it had sold its driverless RoboTrucks to Atlas Energy Solutions and that Atlas had completed the delivery of 100 loads with the Kodiak-equipped vehicles. The Bloomberg piece estimates the value of the transaction could result in a combined entity of around $2 billion with Ares vying for Kodiak against rival bidders, according to some of the sources. Bloomberg adds, 'A transaction hasn't been finalized and it's possible terms could change or that the talks collapse.'FreightWaves reached out to Kodiak Robotics, which declined to comment. On Tuesday, Volvo Trucks North America announced the redesign of its VNR, the smaller regional haul cousin of the VNL, the sleeper tractor whose refresh was announced last year. The release notes that the new regional haul tractor is a 90% redesign compared to the previous truck, with updates to its proprietary safety systems. Production will take place at Volvo's New River Valley Plant in Dublin, Virginia, with sales beginning in the coming months. Specs for the more maneuverable Class 8 include 4×2, 6×2, and 6×4 tractors and straight trucks with multiple body types. The tractor is also equipped with updated safety features as part of the Volvo Active Safety Platform, including Volvo Active Driver Assist with forward collision warning, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking. The tractor is estimated to deliver up to 7.5% improved fuel efficiency from a combination of better aerodynamics, powertrain adjustments and idle reduction tech. The VNR's co-roll technology will disengage the driveline on a downhill grade and let the truck roll for an optimal amount of time to help save powertrain, the tractor has an improved 13-liter engine, the next-gen D13 VGT, which ranges from 405-455 horsepower with 1,450 to 1,850 pound-feet of torque. Kalmar Ottawa, a pioneer in terminal tractor manufacturing, announced on Tuesday the launch of its OT2 EV Electric Terminal Tractor. The company began sales of the third-generation electric terminal tractor at the Technology & Maintenance Council's 2025 Annual Meeting & Transportation Technology Exhibition in Nashville, Tennessee, Monday through Thursday. This third-generation electric terminal tractor is a leap forward in Kalmar Ottawa's commitment to innovation and sustainability in the logistics industry, according to the company. Eric Streich, western regional sales manager at Kalmar, said in an interview with FreightWaves, 'The Kalmar Ottawa T2 EV, as we refer to it, is our third-generation electric terminal tractor. We launched our Gen. 1 tractor back in 2018. We've gone through a couple of iterations of that, and what we're really excited about on the T2 EV is that it is 100% designed by Kalmar engineers in Ottawa, Kansas.' One of the more significant advancements in the OT2 EV is its streamlined drivetrain design. Streich highlighted this improvement, saying, 'I think probably one of the biggest lessons that we learned with this Gen. 3 tractor is that it does not have a transmission. It has a traction motor that goes directly to the rear axle. So there's a tremendous amount of efficiency that you can pick up with that. And you also have reduced maintenance costs that come with the reduction of that transmission.' Read the full article here. Commercial EV charging and infrastructure provider Greenlane recently unveiled its branded technology suite as part of the ongoing development of the I-15 Commercial EV Charging Corridor. The products include an online mobile app and fleet management portal, expected to be rolled out in phases. Greenlane's flagship charging site in Colton, California, is under construction, with an expected opening in April this year. FreightWaves reports the Trump administration has nominated Seval Oz of California as an assistant secretary of transportation in a role created by the administration, according to a posting by the Senate on Monday. Oz was recently on the board of directors of MicroVision Inc., an advanced driver-assistance systems software company. Range Energy, a commercial trucking electrification startup has completed rigorous winter testing of its advanced eTrailer system, which turns diesel trucks into hybrid electric. The testing involved the performance, safety and reliability of its technology in subzero temps and extreme road conditions conducted in Northern Michigan. Testing also confirmed its system integrates with existing braking and stability control systems from its collaboration with post The SPAC is back: Kodiak Robotics eyeing a merger appeared first on FreightWaves. Sign in to access your portfolio
