This summer I got hooked. I found some websites, read some articles, looked at some jpegs and fell in love. Over the summer my collection has grown from one plastic 35mm camera to seven cameras of various sizes, shapes, and film types. I’ve shot more rolls of film than I ever have before and created some really exciting images.
I’m still new at this, but I’ve already taken some grief from my photography friends. They think my toy photography is either dumb or pretentious or both. I just think its fun. I guess I don’t take the actual photographic process very seriously, just what comes out of that process. For me it’s not a job or a competition, it’s a game and an adventure. I never know what I’m going to get.
But this isn’t completely true. I feel that regardless of the lo-fi nature of my cameras, I have grown in my photographic art. By shooting with no options in regards to lens choice, depth of field, or zoom, I’ve been forced to focus on the subject matter of my shots. I’ve learned about the importance of human interest and the placement of subjects in the frame. I’ve also had the opportunity to create some very distorted and crazy images. And it’s been a blast!
Here are some of my favorite Toy Camera shots from this summer.
