Outfit: Vintage Conway

Thomas's first gift to me was a vintage Super 8 camera and he continued the tradition of giving me vintage cameras this Christmas with a beautiful Conway box camera. Since I move a lot I've tried to resist collecting anything other than clothes (and the occasional book), but I'm steadily amassing a sweet collection of vintage cameras. I only really shoot with my dad's old Pentax and very rarely with my Polaroid cameras (film is expensive!); the rest tend to be more for aesthetic enjoyment. The Conway is a really nice addition because it comes with a little vintage camera bag and even the original instruction pamphlet. Even if I don't buy film for them, I like learning how the cameras work--it also adds perspective to many of the vintage photographers I admire. It's really interesting to look at an old photograph and know what camera was used to take it and some rudimentary knowledge of the process. Knowing the process lends perspective to the work from past that I really admire. It's incredible to think about really iconic images and realize how much skill it took because of less advanced tools (i.e. older cameras) and it is a good reminder that it's not the camera, but the photographer that takes a good image!