Stacks of Instax: Shooting Instant Film to Climb out of a creative rut
In 2023, a bulky little piece of plastic saved my photography. I realize that sounds quite dramatic, and it is. But I hadn’t shot a single frame with my Pentax in close to a year, and I was feeling truly stuck. I sat staring at my cameras, unable to engage and push the shutter.
And while I’ve always had a blast shooting the Instax at parties and while visiting friends and family, I hadn’t considered the possibility that this was just the tool I needed to climb out of a creative rut that had left me feeling disappointed and frustrated with myself. I decided to shoot with abandon, just around the house, on a cold winter’s morning. It was the most fun with a camera I had had in a long time.
Instant film isn’t cheap, to be sure. But for this one day, I didn’t care. The point of the exercise was to simply SHOOT. Do something. I burned through a two pack of film in a few hours, but in that time I had conceptualized an idea, gathered and staged props from my closet, and felt like a photographer again. Now a few months later, I feel fully like myself again.
I have several Ziplock bags stuffed with Instax photos from the last few years, and I know this isn’t an ideal way to store these mini treasures. But since that cold morning in January, I’ve started to slowly scan my instant photos with my basic at home printer/scanner and edit them into the neater images you see here. I have so many moments stored in these bags that I’d forgotten about, which is half the fun as well. Exhibit A: This series of snapshots I took at Bowery Ballroom in New York two winters ago. I mean, look at that bathroom!
Most importantly, I’m forever thankful to have some beautiful memories captured of friends and family; I’ve taken far more snaps of the people I love with the Instax than with even my cell phone over the last few years.
The priority now is to digitize and preserve these photos, and one I day I’d love to make a more well-rounded photo book or multiple zine projects with them. The tactile nature of the textured frame, the anticipation of watching an image develop before your eyes, gifting a friend a pocket sized moment of intimacy — what’s better than that?
Until next time — happy shooting,
Paige
