disposable cameras

fun facts

In 1998, a very beautiful retrospective on Magritte was organised in Rome... I decided to take my first holiday alone by going to Rome and, after taking some information, to spend a week in this city with a very rich history and heritage.

It was my first job and I was building my flat at this time.  So the budget was as low as possible: a very small room far from the center and the cheapest possible plane ticket.

I didn't have a camera yet (not even a clic clac schrak) and I took with me in my luggage 4 disposable cameras of 27 poses each.

4 what?

OK, just kidding, many of you know (not so long ago we saw a lot of them on the tables for birthdays or weddings).

In the 80s and 90s, these small, light and not (too) expensive devices invade the market.  The system was very simple and there were (unfortunately) no questions about plastic, whose deplorable impact on our environment we have since understood.

The huge advantage of these small boxes was their simplicity.  All you had to do was arm, aim, frame and press the button... The quality of the photos was very approximate and not only because of the non-respect of the sacrosanct rule of thirds (we will certainly come back to this one day)...

And so?

So what happened with those 4 disposable cameras?  Well, I left with 4 and came back with, my memory is a bit fuzzy, 9 or 11 cameras.  I do so take between 250 and 300 photos... 

You see the connection with my passion for photography? still not? lol

What next?

You can find them everywhere: 27 or 36 poses, with or without flash, waterproof or not... For a price between 8 and 12 euros.

The aim is clearly to get you back to film photography.  But will it work? If your mobile phone is not waterproof, you can at least take one to take pictures in the swimming pool.

But, frankly, I think it's a shame that this return is made out of plastic (recyclable maybe but we know it has limits) and I honestly think that as long as they're not made out of cardboard, I wouldn't advise anyone to buy them - even if it's a good souvenir for me despite half of the missed photos.

by laurent 'cosmic' henneaux
smile collector

20 years

smilecollector 2004

10 years

Lola & Caro 2014

.

.

A23If you're underage, you MUST talk to your parents BEFORE making any decisions or contacting me about a possible photo shoot…

.

.

QR of the page:

sharing is caring

.

.

.

.