Snap, Snap!

Canon AE1 Program 35mm SLR, via Etsy

As of late, I have been spending a considerable amount of time looking at vintage cameras. Online, at the local vintage store, anywhere really. Even on the iTunes App Store. Perhaps it may come off as hopping on the whole photography bandwagon, but it really isn't. For starters, I am Asian. It is already surprising to most people that I don't have an SLR (forgive me for feeding into the stereotype), so really I have a rightful claim to the Pentaxes and the Canons of the world. Not to mention, I am like 1/18th Japanese. It's practically in my blood. LOL. But really, the truth is, I've been playing around with the idea purely because I am not really that keen on the newer HD crop of Kodaks that we have on the market. While it's good that every photo comes out clearer than the next, it doesn't really do me any favours when I can see every pore and line on my face. I suppose you could say that this recent obsession is borne out of vanity, which doesn't make it sound any better.

Putting my Adobe-fixable problems aside, one of the reasons why I would like to revisit old cameras is the image itself. Because the images are not so meticulous and so piously clear, it looks softer and to my personal taste, aesthetically more beautiful. The overall effect of being dated and the idea of having developed and tangible photographs again is also very appealing to me. Here are some of my favourites from the family albums. 

You can't see it, but Kocoum's necklace had blinking lights. Ah gotta love the 90s!

I think I still have this outfit somewhere actually.

The Parents on their big day

I'd put in some that were taken not so long ago, around 2004 maybe? Unfortunately, when I arrived in England then I had a really horrid, puberty-driven acne problem, so as beautiful as the places are in the photos, I will save you guys the pain of looking at them. 

The fact that Urban Outfitters sell Lo-Fi toy cameras prove that once again, just like with everything else, I am way behind every other fashionista out there. The niche has become the trend. But it's not about that. In fact, I like blog surfing and seeing all the fun images they take from their Fish-eyes. It's very interesting to see that in an age and industry (fashion especially) where moving forward is the constant order of the day, this vintage renaissance resonates so strongly, and with the younger generation too. 

When I showed my dad a couple of cameras I saw on Etsy, he said that he actually has the same ones back home in Philippines and that he'd bring them over when he visits this October. Makes sense, since they're just gathering dust somewhere in the Pacific. For the meantime however, I have my eye on the one above, and a couple of others that I spotted at Sue Ryder's Vintage. No idea whether the ones in the store work or not but they're only worth a couple of quid, and so does the film. I'll have a gander next week and see what I can find. Until then, I got a couple of nifty apps for my iPhone.