With the rise of film photography, using film on my Japan trip naturally became a dream of mine. However, not owning a good film camera didn’t help with that plan. With my limited experience with a Minolta that I purchased in a garage sale, I didn’t know what I was doing without a light meter. Every shot was a guessing game based on my digital camera experiences. Later, it would prove I was wrong most of the time.

While looking for my dream film camera, I purchased two disposable cameras from the Big Camera store. Here are some pictures I took when I first got them.

As you can see, the exposure was not on point at all. I tried to use the flash once and found it to be very intrusive, so I stopped. However, pictures without the flash were very underexposed. I couldn’t develop them there, so I was taking pictures blind. And honestly, I don’t think I would use disposable cameras again because of the lack of control. During the day, however…

The photos from the disposable cameras used for quick street captures during the day are simple and clean. They have an authentic, unpolished, yet stylistic look. This is what I like about film photography: the uncompromised documentation of the big and small moments that return the favor of surprises days, if not weeks, later.

On some level, the underexposed night photos delivered the same: the crowded, sensory-intense, dark alleyways that my memory recalls for that night. Technically, they may not be good photos, but they documented those unconscious moments perfectly. Look at them again. I would argue that they are more artistic because the ghostly figures that are not identifiable, simply existed in a moment in time and accurately represent the modern human condition.

9/30/24 - Chao

Film Photography in Japan - 1