These days everyone is shooting with a digital camera—the new Nikon or Canon, the higher mega pixels, the memory cards, Photoshop this or that. This is the talk of the trade among photographers. Camera companies are ceasing production of many of their film camera bodies and film companies have noticed a decline in sales as well, but all is not lost to the surge of the digital era. Film is not yet dead; there are still legions of purists out there who recognize the nuance, beauty, and depth that cannot be replicated with any computer program.
Among these film users are a growing group of camera enthusiasts who use Toy Cameras. Armed with their Holgas and Dianas, various clones, homemade pinhole cameras, or even a vintage flea market Brownie Hawkeye, these photographers have established a unique niche in photography. Images that are often blurry or obscured, rich with texture and unexpected variation, Toy Camera photography is on the rise.
To showcase the beauty that can be created with these odd little cameras, Kentucky-based photographer, Tread (GoTreadGo), has brought together 30 Toy Camera users for an international event called Toy Polloy. On Friday, November 17, 42 images from thirty artists will be displayed at the Icehouse in Lexington, Kentucky.
Recently I was fortunate enough to interview Tread and a few of the talented photographers who will be featured in Toy Polloy. This is what they had to say about their cameras, their art, and their vision.
Chantal Stone: What is Toy Polloy?
Tread: Toy Polloy is the name for an international photography show featuring work created with Toy Cameras. The term is taken as a play on the phrase "hoi polloi," which is derived from the Greek meaning "the many." The term is used in a more derogatory fashion to mean "the common people." Most artists wish to be anything other than common, so Toy Polloy is that push for the toy camera photo artist to be thought of as uncommon in the current world of digital media.
CS: How did Toy Polloy come about? Where did you get the idea?
Tread: I've been lucky enough to have my Toy Camera-produced shots end up in some good gallery shows: Krappy Kamera at the Soho Photo Gallery, for instance, and Toy Joy in Houston, as part of their FotoFest. The success and professionalism of these events inspired me to try and curate a show similar in scope, but a bit differently here in my neck of the woods, Lexington, Kentucky.
CS: What is your definition of a Toy Camera?
Tread: The $64,000,000 question, I guess, but I'd say any camera meant to be used by a kid. Cheap, plastic, not very durable, but the primary and consistent defining characteristic is a plastic lens.
Warren Harold (That Was My Foot): Ultimately, any camera that throws control out the window is a toy camera to me. You can filter that down to any camera that has a plastic lens and/or minimal controls. Beyond the Holga and Diana, I consider a lot of the mass-market cameras of the past to be toys as well. The Brownies, Imperials, Anscos, a lot of those.
Article comments
1 - tread
Fantastic blurbs, thanks for the attention!
2 - chantal stone
You're welcome Tread...Toy Polloy is an event to be noticed!
3 - Howard Dratch
That was fun. Thank you, Chantal.
It made me remember my Diana when they first appeared, taping up that light-leaky body and making pictures that were just fun and no other thought had to cross your mind.
Later I tried a point and shoot Olympus but the pictures were pretty much the same as I always took, merely of poor quality. The Diana made part of the fun, that lovely plastic, a few Waterhouse lens stops of different sized holes. The "toy" part means something special.
My Hawkeye I have to admit being new, my second camera traded for my mother's Brownie and I was about 7 with my pennies saved up for, I think, the big $2.50 purchase.
Nice trip to have taken us on. My only fear is of a world where the reference to hoi polloi from Toy Polloy needs to be explained.
4 - chantal stone
Thanks for reading, Howard!
Maybe it's time to brush off the old Diana and give it another try? Toy camera usage is definitely on the rise...just check out sites like Toy Camera.com and Light Leaks magazine. Photographers of all skill levels are discovering and RE-discovering the beauty that can be created with these crappy little gems.
If you decide to shoot with your Diana or Hawkeye, let me know, I'd love to see what you get :)
5 - DAVE
Great Article and many more feeds to add to my Bloglines now :D
Personally I don't give a rats ass how the final product was produced. No one asks painters what oils they use. The important part is the final product. What does it create for the viewer.