Video: Thomas Heaton has spent 6 frustrating but fun months with an instant camera

 

 

Improvements in camera equipment make photography easier and more accessible. New camera models often feature incredible advancements in autofocus, automatic exposure, and burst shooting speeds, allowing photographers to capture more tack-sharp, well-focused images. However, photographer Thomas Heaton prefers to make photography more restrictive, rather than less restrictive, which flexes his creative muscles and helps him improve his skills. We've seen Heaton shoot with film and use an infrared-modified camera, but for the last six months, he's also been shooting with a Lomography Instant Square camera.

The instant camera has proven challenging, which is precisely what Heaton wanted. Landscape photographs comprise many aspects, including composition, light, texture, color, detail, and so much more. Plus, once you've captured the shot, there is a nearly endless number of edits you can make to your digital files. An instant simplifies photography to its most basic form. No fussing with lenses, no editing, and no need to worry about sharpness because the format is inherently sharpness-limited. "For me, it feels like photography sometimes can get overcomplicated, almost to the point that it feels clinical," Heaton said. "So, I thought shooting instant film would be a great antidote to this feeling I get from time to time." If Heaton captured worthwhile images using Instax instant film in his Lomography camera, he figured that would provide satisfaction and validation.

The success and the validation that followed would prove elusive. After six months of working with the instant camera, Heaton estimates his success rate is low, barely over 10%. Some of this is the fault of the camera. The viewfinder is tiny and challenging to use due to framing issues. Focusing accurately is "nigh on impossible," said Heaton.

If you get accurate framing and nail focus, "you're still at the mercy of the camera," Heaton remarked. The camera meters the ambient light of where you're shooting rather than the subject you're pointed at. There's some exposure compensation control, but that requires you to know how the camera will meter a scene in the first place. If you don't get the shot the first time, you'll find your bank account shrinking at an alarming rate, as each image is about $1.30. A day out with the camera is an expensive endeavor.

So far, it's all sounded bad. However, Heaton has a lot of fun shooting instant film on his Lomography Instant Square camera. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about, right? The camera has its fair share of shortcomings, but these are offset by pure enjoyment.

Have you ever shot with an instant film camera? Let us know in the comments below. To see more of Heaton's photography, visit his website and Instagram. You can check out more of his videos by visiting YouTube. If you'd like to buy the 2023 calendar Heaton mentioned in the video and have a chance to receive one of his Instax prints, click here.

(Via Thomas Heaton)