A point-and-shoot film camera was made for friends
An alternative to our phones
One month ago I was back in Houston, one of my favorite places. Surrounded by old friends from fellowship, incredible neighbors, and very happy dogs. The sun was going down over a crawfish boil. It’s not just about the crawfish (which are freaking delicious). It’s really about being in a backyard with friends and friends of friends, all at once, all in the same place.
There is no better way to capture this than a film point-and-shoot camera. Not an iPhone. Not a fancy DSLR. A small unpretentious camera loaded with film, doing its job.
I use a Canon Autoboy, but the specs of the camera are less important here than the process. Film is fleeting — and at a gathering like this, that’s the gift. With this camera, we don’t have to think. With a digital camera or phone, the image exists the moment we take it and we often immediately become editors. We check the screen, retake, and curate in real time. With a point-and-shoot loaded with film, we press the shutter and move on. As a result, we stay with the people in front of us.
There are also joys that only reveal themselves at development. There’s the unexpected blur that was the feeling of the moment. The expressions you would have missed if you’d been looking at a screen. The flash that makes everyone look like they’re at the best party (because they are). But mostly, it’s the feeling of having been really, truly there.
The thing I love most, which might drive some people crazy, is the reunion. Weeks after development, back in my new home across the country, I sat with this set of photos and rediscovered this trip. For this particular set I also printed out a bunch and shared them.
You don’t need to know anything about photography to do this. A point-and-shoot is small, unobtrusive, and almost entirely self-sufficient — a little flash for low light, and that’s it. The imperfection makes the image feel like a memory instead of a record. We can easily make taking pictures a natural part of our lives with other people in a way that doesn’t feel like always being on our phones. This is an invitation to just get started.
