The photos are grainy, poorly lit or pixelated. The flash has washed out the subjects or illuminated only a portion of the scene. There may be a tiny orange time stamp in the bottom right-hand corner.
But the photographers don香蕉视频直播檛 mind; it香蕉视频直播檚 what they香蕉视频直播檙e going for, said 20-year-old Anya Chigak.
香蕉视频直播淚t captures the vibe a lot more than a clean photo taken by your phone.香蕉视频直播�
Like many of her peers, Chigak has embraced compact digital cameras 香蕉视频直播� a token of the past she hopes will keep her tethered to the present.
The marine biology student from Cambridge, Ont., pilfered one from her mom and purchased the other second-hand for $10. Neither can produce the quality of the camera built into hersmartphone.
Chigak was in Grade 10 when she started using her mom香蕉视频直播檚 old digicam from the mid-aughts, wary of the allure of her phone香蕉视频直播檚 notifications and looking for a way to capture memories while staying in the moment.
The results also match her esthetic sensibilities.
香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檓 very into antiques and vintage,香蕉视频直播� she said. 香蕉视频直播淚 work at an antique store and I collect records and vintage clothes and cassettes, so I香蕉视频直播檝e always liked the older look of photos better.香蕉视频直播�
They remind her of the contents of her parents香蕉视频直播� old photo albums, which she always preferred to the well-lit, perfectly crisp and immaculately edited pictures that populated her social media feeds.
Selma Purac, a professor at Western University香蕉视频直播檚 faculty of information and media studies, said the digicam is just the latest in a long line of out-of-date technology to capture the youth zeitgeist: vinyl, yes, but also disposable cameras and instant cameras, reminiscent of old Polaroids.
香蕉视频直播淭hese are artifacts of an earlier time, and I think that makes them kind of transportive,香蕉视频直播� Purac said.
Her students and those younger than them, the ones embracing the digicam trend, came of age during the COVID-19 pandemic and are entering a precarious future shaped by climate and cost-of-living crises.
香蕉视频直播淎nd then there香蕉视频直播檚 the mental health crisis that香蕉视频直播檚 been brought on by their engagement with digital media,香蕉视频直播� Purac added. 香蕉视频直播淪o this desire to reach to a mythical past, a more positively framed past, kind of makes sense.香蕉视频直播�
That framing of the past is a key ingredient to nostalgia, she said.
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香蕉视频直播淭here is a real simplification underlying most nostalgia. Nostalgia is memory that necessitates forgetting. It香蕉视频直播檚 memory that necessitates erasure, because what we香蕉视频直播檙e doing is we香蕉视频直播檙e reaching back to a perceived simpler time.香蕉视频直播�
Emma Soper, a 23-year-old linguistics student in Hamilton, can put an exact year to that time: 2011, when she was nine years old and got the digital camera she still uses today.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 comforting to go back to a time when there was less responsibility and things felt more like someone else was deciding for you 香蕉视频直播� it香蕉视频直播檚 kind of a break from the mentality of: 香蕉视频直播業香蕉视频直播檝e gotta figure this out on my own,香蕉视频直播櫹憬妒悠抵辈 she said.
She also likes that the photos she takes with the digital camera aren香蕉视频直播檛 necessarily for sharing.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 not like, 香蕉视频直播業香蕉视频直播檓 gonna upload this to VSCO and adjust the contrast and the sharpness and the saturation and make sure I have a nice caption,香蕉视频直播櫹憬妒悠抵辈 Soper said. 香蕉视频直播淚t was just, smile for the camera, and that香蕉视频直播檚 it 香蕉视频直播� even though I know full well I will likely post some of those pictures on Instagram.香蕉视频直播�
Cedrick Pizarro has perfected his process for sharing the photos from his digital camera.
The 20-year-old flight services student from Toronto has become his friend group香蕉视频直播檚 de facto photographer 香蕉视频直播� and unlike Chigak and Soper, he香蕉视频直播檚 editing his pictures. He uploads them to Darkroom, an app in which he香蕉视频直播檚 created preset filters to enhance the retro feel.
Then, Pizarro shares the photos to his Instagram stories so his friends can see them and ask for copies.
But Pizarro is using more than just his digital camera: he also takes photos with his phone and an Instax instant camera.
The phone is good for videos and immediate sharing, while the Instax photos feel more spontaneous.
香蕉视频直播淭here香蕉视频直播檚 no second take,香蕉视频直播� he said of his digicam. 香蕉视频直播淲ith the digital camera, you can take more and more, while Instax only has 10 (sheets of film.)香蕉视频直播�
In that sense, the digital camera is unlike the phone and the film camera, he said.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 so fun taking photos without knowing the outcome,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淵ou can see it in the camera, but it香蕉视频直播檚 so small香蕉视频直播f you take a photo on your phone and then you see it, you香蕉视频直播檒l want to redo it.香蕉视频直播�
An added bonus?
香蕉视频直播淲hen I was a kid I wasn香蕉视频直播檛 able to use the digital camera because it could be broken easily,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淪o now I get a chance to take pictures whenever I want.香蕉视频直播�
Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press
