The first automatic photo machines date from the late 1880s, and the earliest commercial model was the German Bosco of 1890, which made ferrotypes. The modern photo booth, with a curtain for privacy, came from Anatol Josepho, a Russian immigrant who opened a booth on Broadway in 1925. It took, developed and printed eight photos for 25 cents, and in its first six months it was used by 280,000 people. Josepho was paid $1 million and guaranteed royalties in 1927 for the invention, and the Photomaton Company then placed booths across the country.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.