Picked up a vintage camera at a thrift store and it changed how I see things

I stopped by the Salvation Army over on Elm Street last weekend and found this old Kodak Retina IIa from the 1950s for $8. It was dusty and the shutter felt a bit sticky, but the glass looked clean. I spent a few evenings cleaning it up and shooting a roll of cheap film through it. There's something about winding the film and guessing the exposure that makes you slow down and really think about each shot. My neighbor Bill, who is 78 and shot these cameras back in the day, told me that taking pictures used to cost money per frame so you had to make every one count. That hit me different because now I just snap 100 photos on my phone without a second thought. Has anyone else found an old piece of tech that forced you to change your habits for the better?

2 comments

2 Comments

lily_gibson1310d ago

Not sure I buy that older tech automatically makes you a better photographer. My phone camera lets me experiment with angles and lighting instantly, which taught me way more about composition than guessing exposure ever did. Maybe the real change isn't the camera but just deciding to be more deliberate, which you can do with any tool.

anthony42610d ago

Dave from my hiking group switched from a DSLR to his phone last year and his photos got way better, not worse, because he stopped worrying about settings and just started shooting. It's like when people spend months researching the perfect camping stove but never actually go outside and cook on a fire. The whole "limitations make you better" thing only works if you actually get out there and use the gear you've got instead of chasing the next upgrade.