I love film cameras. I have a small collection of lomo, smena, ricoh, canon, minolta point-and-shoots and SLRs which I've gathered over yeeeears of slowly learning how to take real photos, by trial and error!
A few of my cameras are almost rarities, but the reason I like them is just that I like using them! Unbelievable quality (when all of the factors that can go horribly wrong go right for a change) images and the strange, unplanned results which are achievable are often mind-blowing. This is great if you are patient and naturally organized.
I'm not.
I have a drawer full of used film waiting to be processed, most with no notes on them or dates when they were taken!
GET ON WITH IT
About a year ago I got told about an iphone app called Instagram, that turns your phone into a retro camera with a feature to share your pics with friends, twitter-style. I downloaded it and took a couple of pics and didn't think much about it at the time. A neat toy but not the real thing by a long shot.
Then I had another look at it towards the end of last year and the amount of people using it had rocketed! I got posting and, while I still prefer the magic of clunks, clicks and expectation that comes with using film, I have to admit that being able so share the image immediately is loads of fun!
The simple effects options on Instagram are a quick way to present your pics with a bit more atmosphere and a few unexpected results.
Are you a camera puritan? Do you do Instagram? Which do prefer? Message me.
Get Instagram here. And if you're already on it, follow: cosmicimages
4 comments:
i have a small collection of old cameras, that have come my way by chance, rather than by design. Having experienced using some 35mm SLR's over a period of 15/20 years, and that was over a decade ago, i feel i have lost the knowledge and the time to re use such lovely pieces of equipment. This , i feel has been largely because of the predominant use of the instantly assessable digital camera, instant because of both the sharing facility and the editing capabilty. It is also considerably cheaper to use than the more traditional film camera, because of the film cost and processing cost. Having said all that, there is the hankering to go back and try one of the old cameras, just to see whta the results will be.
nah no way, it's like going and buying a faux vintage chest of draws from ikea. it's the exact opposite of what you are trying to achieve, it's new, on closer inspection it's quite easy to see the shittyness in quality and lo and behold suddenly everyone has got one. so the originals lose any feeling they had. im all for post processing but this is something far more sinister. this vintage style is a fad and it's pretty much killed the beauty that certain old cameras/film had. If thats the stylr your into go out, find the real camera and do it the real way otherwise get a normal camera and actually be creative instead of putting a crappy filter over a crappy photo. /rantover.
http://runningfromcamera.blogspot.com/ for another take on camera usage
Hey, thanks for your comments. I know you both as being creative people so it's great to hear your opinions..
I can see a huge interest remaining (and growing) in old cameras because of digital being cheap, accessible and disposable. It creates the need for more from a photo.
Vinyl records sound better to me than CD or MP3. More real. Just as the few decent 'real' photos I've taken are real treasures! There is one in particular that I won't even put on the internet because I want to keep it real!
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