For anyone who knows me well, I can assure you that when looking in my backpack or purse there will always be a disposable camera. No -- I did not buy it when I was 10 years old and find it in one of these bags. Yes -- it was most likely purchased in the past month, and I happen to take photos with it in the year 2016. Whenever I whip out my old school disposable camera to capture a moment with friends, I consistently get the same responses. Whether it is baffled expression or the usual, “Why the hell do you have one of those?” without any shame I explain that I like to use them and continue to ask someone to take a photo for me.
With the advanced era we are in, one may wonder why I pull out my disposable to take a photo from the same bag that holds my iPhone? "It’s not the same,” is what I tell people. There is something different, special and unique about the moments that I capture on my disposable camera. While my disposable comes with only 27 photos, doesn’t have a selfie camera, takes up to two weeks to develop and costs money, I believe the humiliation, expense and wait for the prints are all worth it.
When I take photos on my disposable camera, I feel as if I am savoring all life has to offer. I am aware that I am limited to a certain amount of pictures so I wait for the right moments to document what’s before my eyes. I like to know that I have such limited chances to take a photo and that I won’t even know what the picture will look like until I get it developed. To me, it makes the experience of photography all the more worthwhile. With our digital devices constantly at our fingertips, sometimes we forget to take in the world around us as we tend to live life through our screens. I believe documentation is a beautiful thing, but only when it has limitations. We are fortunate to have these technological privileges and forget that we don’t actually need to document everything that we do; most are scared that they will regret not having a picture of that beautiful sunset, their visually appealing meal or friends spending time together. It’s completely okay to take pictures and record life’s moments, but it is OK to exit your camera app every once in a while.
During my senior year of high school, I began a photo project where I documented my life using disposable cameras; I took one photo each day for a consecutive 365 days. The project was called, “A Day in the Life of J.” When I began the project, some of my friends and family were confused about my choice of camera, but as it came together with time people gained a better understanding. If I used a digital camera, I would have had the opportunity to delete a picture I’m not happy with, or take as many as I wanted until I got it right. On a digital camera, I could have edited the photo to make life seem perfect, while on film I got life precisely how I saw it before me. Some of the photos didn’t end up developing due to bad film or the flash ruining the picture. Regardless if the photo came out, or not, that was the beauty of it all -- I documented my life exactly as it was.
Buying a disposable camera today is even more exciting for me, now, than it was when I was 10 years old. The camera holds a deeper meaning to me, and helps me see more of the world than I would be able to with my iPhone camera. While I will never be able to escape the puzzled looks and remarks I receive every time I whip out my disposable camera, I will always know that there is more that can’t yet be seen within that undeveloped film.
Link to my 365 photo of the day blog: http://dayinthelifeofj.tumblr.com.
