So here it is! Weeks (almost a month) of waiting to see what I shot using a simple vintage Point and Shoot camera.
I took this while sitting at a stop light after a hard rain. The sky was shifting from purple to orange and before the light turned green, I pulled out the camera and took this photo. Here you can see that it's a little blurry, because it's at sunset, with not a lot of light available. I'm happy with the composition and colors, but the blurriness bothers me. Just one of the limitations of shooting with one of these little cameras. If you don't have enough light, don't bother taking the photo. I know now that if and when I shoot at sundown with very little light, it would be best to either use a tripod, or to try and stabilize the camera somehow. like maybe on the car window edge. It's also worth noting that I also have shaky hands. It's something that affects a lot of what I do artistically (especially photography), but something I'm having to learn to work around.
Here's another one from that very same evening, literally just a few minutes earlier (you can see the Shipley's sign waaaaay back there to the right if you look hard enough). Here I could tell the sky was already starting to shift from orange to purple, and I really wanted to get those palm trees, so I just pulled into the middle lane of a 5 lane 2-way street just to snap this quick photo. As you can see, it's a little clearer than the other one, and I took this sitting in the drivers seat shooting through the windshield. I'm very happy with this image. It's exactly what I saw while looking through the plastic viewfinder and it represents not only the place I live pretty accurately, but also the style and aesthetic I was going for.
Here's a perfect example of an amateur rookie mistake. Where I live, it's hot. Very hot and the humidity is insane. A/C is a must, no matter what class you fall under down here. It's a necessity. And here I learned that you can't have the A/C going nice and cold in your car, and then stick the camera out the window into 104 degree heat with 100% humidity to get a quick photo. The worst part is that I had no idea this happened until I got the photos back. Since I am looking through a little plastic viewfinder and not the actual lens on these old plastic cameras, I don't see what is being seen through the lens, so imagine my surprise! I've since learned that if I'm going out in this crazy heat and humidity with the specific purpose of taking photos, I will just leave the windows down and sweat.
This is an old bank teller machine from an old bank that sits abandoned here in town.
Very cool vintage truck I see parked next to a business while driving around. I was finally able to capture it by itself and not surrounded by a bunch of new cars. The old house in the background gives it a little more vintage authenticity too.
Ultimately I'm happy with what this little old plastic camera can produce. It's pretty much exactly what I was hoping for and my little experiment has turned into a part time hobby. I love taking this thing around with me everywhere. You never know what you might see worth taking a photo of.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
.jason
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