Liberated from technical perfection ~ some city snaps from the Kodak Charmera

Posted in Photography, Toy CamerasTagged , , , ,

It’s the last day of 2025 and there are plans afoot for the evening. I’ll be taking a bag of cameras, including the Kodak Charmera. There has been a certain freedom in using such plastic junk – dropping all pretense of aspiring to image perfection and controlling the light. It promotes presence in the moment:

Food court ceiling geometry – Kodak Charmera
Reflections and observations in the shopping mall
Shadow spears and a surveillance camera

An installation of spears, made by the First Nations people of this country, provided an interesting moment of juxtaposition in the Art Gallery: the shadows of spears on the ceiling, criss-cross where a security camera is mounted. A nearby art piece makes the point that all such colonial governments stamp their mark strongly on things – land, water, stuff – as if to say their word is the only word that counts and they get to have the final say in all matters.

Old and new under cloudy skies

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14 thoughts on “Liberated from technical perfection ~ some city snaps from the Kodak Charmera”

      1. You have to zoom right in. You can just see my legs in the dark part of the sphere, where shops are reflected. The resolution and tiny lens aren’t good enough to really pick out the detail at distance. Things get blockier and less distinct at distance. Definitely works for me in this one!

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      3. I wasn’t far at all, perhaps 4 or 5 metres. But the distortion of the sphere, the lack of fine detail, and the fact I am standing in shadow makes it look as though I’m not there. I assure you, I certainly was there!

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      5. It was. And I was holding it. I mean, it’s barely the size of a matchbox, so most people have no idea. I can just pick out my bare legs. The rest of me is lost in lack of detail and added grain.

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      6. I suppose I have to take your word for it … but it could have been anyone holding the camera. You could have hired a street urchin as you hid nearby. I mean, it’s not like I have any familiarity with your bare legs.

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      7. Luckily, I’m familiar enough with my legs to recognise them in the grainy shadow. I could have hired someone, buuut I prefer to do the work myself and not hand cameras to strangers. Not that I have anything against street urchins, mind you. I just prefer to make my own pictures.

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