Taken with my “Snap Crackle & Pop” Trash cam, while driving along the Lions Gate Bridge.
Category: Toy & Trash cameras
Morning Lion
I know. I know. It’s well past time for me to write something on this photo blog. I’ve always intended it to be more than just a place to showcase my photos outside of Flickr. Writing something good and informative will take more time than I seem be able to spend on an entry here these days…
This is one of the stone lions at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the photo was taken with a Holga CF 120.
Her name is Diana
My friend Christopher Evans recently lent me one of his Diana cameras to try out. The Diana is a plastic toy camera very similar to the Holga. Both shoot medium format film, and produce artsy fartsy photographs through their respective technical faults, such as vignetting and light leaks. The Diana’s image size is slightly smaller at 4cm square which allows for sixteen shots per roll of film.
The above shot is from my first roll taken with the Diana and I’m happy with the results so far. I’m glad to get the chance of working with this camera more thoroughly and really see what I can do with it.
I touch the earth
“I know I am made from this earth, as my mother’s hands were made from this earth, as her dreams came from this earth and all that I know, I know in this earth…and I long to tell you, you who are earth too, and listen as we speak to each other of what we know: the light is in us.”
~ Susan Griffin
Flight
Taken on Broadway Avenue as I was waiting for the bus. I wanted to try capturing the pigeons in flight, which was hilarious to do with a holga.
Pink shoes
I just happen to be wearing these on my feet today.
The above shot was flickr blogged yesterday, which is pretty neat. It’s not a photo I would have chosen to represent my work to a wider audience, because it’s underexposed, the scan was really dirty, and I have a bazillion other shots that are so much better. (That’ll teach me to be lazy about cleaning up my scans when posting to flickr…)
Snap, Crackle & Pop
I have the first roll of film back from the “Snap Crackle & Pop” trash cam I bought at Value Village a few weeks ago and I’m very happy with the results.
The film I used was Fujicolour Superia X-tra 800 ISO, shot under very sunny lighting conditions. I decided to approach it the same way I would shooting with the Holga, keeping in mind the exposure limitations of having a shutter speed around 1/60 or 1/100.
Crossing lines
Taken with a “Snap Crackle & Pop” Trash Cam.
Toy cameras
I’m a fairly recent inductee into the world of the of the toy camera enthusiast (also called trash or crap cams). It’s a very unexclusive group of those who enjoy the challenge of taking photographs with cheap plastic cameras with questionable exposure control and wonky image quality. Here’s an excerpt from the toy camera website on what it’s all about:
Who are toy camera photographers?
The toy camera photographer eschews the modern developments of camera technology, the reliance on computerised exposure systems, motorised film transport, PPI, TTL, CCD, DOF, the drive for higher and higher resolution, for gizmos, gadgets and carbon fibre tripods.
They believe focus is an over-rated commodity in most photographs and a focusing ring to be a needless gimmick on your average camera.
They may however enjoy painting their Holga a pretty color.
Toy camera photographers are rebels who want to prove that you can make a silk purse out of a sows ear.
Toy cameras are for the artist within. It’s all about the photograph, and not about the price of your gear.
They may even make their camera themselves out of an oatmeal box.
They agree that depth of feeling is more important than depth of field. Toy camera photographers probably would probably get kicked out of the f64 club.
Toy camera photographers would probably call themselves Neo Photo-Secessionists who believe in the intrinsic revelatory power of the snapshot, if they knew or cared what that means anyway.
They are also sick and tired of getting stiffed by ridiculous ‘collector’ prices for old Diana’s on e-bay.
Toy camera photographers believe:
“If it’s plastic, it’s fantastic”.
“I can never be bothered with dials and things anyway”.
“My camera is not a status symbol of my upwardly mobile social standing”.
“You may or may not use the viewfinder- it’s up to you”
“It’s all just a bit of fun”.
-Don Brice
My first introduction to toy camera photography came in 2005 when I began shooting with a low quality medium format camera called a holga. I found this camera fascinating and challenging because of it’s limitations, and was determined to figure it out and make it work for me. A full set of these shots can he found here on flickr, and more of my thoughts on the holga can be found in it’s own section of my portolio.
My success with the Holga, in combination with the influence of my friend Christopher Evans, has led to further acquisitions of trash cams. The two shots below were taken with a Time Magazine camera that I bought for five dollars at a camera show last fall. At the same event I picked up a Konica Super Wide disposable self-portrait camera, and I absolutely love it for the weird distortion of perspective the lens creates.
I’ve found that part of the fun of toy cameras is trying to find interesting ones at places like camera shows, flea markets and second-hand stores. Yesterday I went on a hunt for something new, and hit the jackpot at Value Village of all places. I am now the proud owner of an Akira focus free, a Kellogg’s Snap Crackle & Pop, and a no-name yellow camera once intended as a starter model for kids. I can’t wait to get out and start shooting with these once the weather improves, and see the weird and wonderful things these cameras can do.