I watched this video (CNN I think) that interviewed a guy and asked him his opinion on phoneography. He said something about photography that exactly describes how I feel about it. A photo is a memory, and our memory isn't perfect. Memories fade in and out of our mind, they are blurry and unclear. And when they come into focus, they can bring us joy or perhaps pain. But we love our memories, and this is why we love photographs. We love reflecting and looking back into a part of our life that evokes memories and emotion. That is why I love taking photos with my phone. The photos turn out imperfect. They are grainy, they can be out of focus, they remind us of a time that once was. The quality of the photo is a lot like our memory.
Anyway, this blog post isn't about phoneography. But phoneography reminds me a bit of film (the imperfect aesthetics), which lead me to some polaroid photos I took awhile ago. Last January I was lucky to attend a work trip (aka, workation) with my company Photojojo, where we ventured to Puerto Vallarta and set up shop for two weeks. Our presence as a company is online, which makes it so that we can work practically anywhere, as long as we have an Internet connection. We stayed in a condo in the middle of the city, which for me, was more intriguing then staying at some fancy resort. It gave us a chance to explore the beautiful city and people, giving us a taste of the culture down there. On this trip, as you can image, we all photographed the shiznit out of it.
This morning I took a look at some of the photos I took from that trip. I used various different cameras (including my phone, which I ended up losing in Mexico, and therefore losing some photos). Two of my favorite polaroid cameras (ever) I shot with were the Fuji Instax Wide Instant Camera and the Fuji Instax Mini 50s Piano Black Camera. I'll admit, the quality of the photograph isn't exceptional, but for a polaroid, it's pretty damn good. Plus, I love the fact that the photos are imperfect. They captured that moment that is now a fading memory. In some ways, the photos I took with these two cameras were more meaningful than the photos I took with my Canon 5D Mark i. I love the blur, I love the fading, I love looking back at a moment lost in time, trying to rediscover what I was doing at that very moment. Here are a bunch of the photographs.
Fuji Instax Mini 50s Piano Black Camera:
1. A wall and plant I found to be beautiful. 2. Lisbeth & Jen in the ocean. 3. Jen in the sun. 4. A city street. 5. Mexican sunset. 6. Two men playing chess. 7. A (presumably American) couple holding hands. 8. The horizon.
1. Stairs leading to our condo. 2. Art work betwen symmetry. 3. Meow. 4. A house amongst a jungle of trees. 5. See last statement. 6. A river barely visible, overgrowing forest. 7. A gated archway to our condo. 8. Sandcastle.
1. From the street. 2. Man on a donkey. 3. VW. 4. Tiny parachuter. 5. Wave crashing on person. 6. Catholic church. 7. View from condo. 8. From the street.
1. People sleeping under tree. 2. A hut. 3. Boat in the ocean. 4. Photojojo team on the beach. 5. Man running through ocean. 6. Resorts. 7. A river. 8. People performing an Indian dance.
1. Jen (actual size of photo from Fuji Instax Mini 50s Camera)
Fuji Instax Wide Instant Camera:
1. Bridge (actual size)
1. Market
1. Pool in condo (lucky us)
1. Birds for days.
1. Shoe cleaners. 2. Girl on beach.
1. Jen with backpack
1. Boy on bike. 2. From the street. 3. Aaron with camera.
1. From the street (pretty flags).
1. Resort sunset. 2. Police station. 3. Jen catching frisby in sun.
And that is that. These are my memories, the photographs which I reflect upon. They help me remember a culture and place I feel like I'm falling in love with. Not for the resorts. Not for the sandy beaches. But for the people, the community, the lifestyle, the beauty.
More photos of the trip that I took are on Photojojo's Flickr.