Trends are such an interesting thing, and they really are a proof that, in the end, everything circles back. Innovations do exist and they are important, but humans sometimes come to the realization that there is no point in changing what was done in the past. And there is this thing about vintage stuff that makes it so special and somehow new. You may think I am introducing fashion trends, but no, I actually want to talk about photographs.
Photography is a form of art that has been alive for more than a century, and it has evolved a lot. We can now take very high-quality pictures with our phones, and it is something that pretty much everyone does. But in the last year or so, I started to see more and more people go back to film cameras. It is a trend that is very alive on Instagram to post pictures of pictures taken with this vintage type of camera. Polaroids had their turn, but now film cameras prevail.
I might be extremely biased because I am human and I tend to follow the trends of my society, but I have to say that I do see the point of this trend. First of all, the colors of this type of picture are different in a way that it is as if they had this vintage filter, and I personally find it artistic. It brings the photographs closer to paintings. In addition, there is no way to see the picture right after taking it, which I like because it makes it much less staged. You will only know that your hair looked crazy once the photograph is developed, which means it will tell the real story of the memory, and not a fake version of it that you got after seven takes. Finally, who doesn’t love a good surprise? For a lover of photographs, nothing comes close to the excitement of seeing them for the first time at the photo studio!
I really feel like film cameras bring back a piece of magic that photography had lost with smartphones. To share my love for these vintage pictures, here is a beautiful art piece a friend of mine took in Mexico last year with his film camera.
-Pénélope Simard
Peas and Jelly 