Dispos & Digitals
Capturing moments with different cameras
By Caroline Kawabe
One thing I don’t leave my apartment without is my digital camera, and I am sure many of you are the same way. Taking photos and capturing memories is truly one of my favorite things to do. Though I am a COM student, I am by no means a professional or artistic photographer. Honestly, I just enjoy doing it, and it makes me happy to see other people excited (and sometimes a little scared) to see the camera out.
I made a film account during my junior year of high school to have a place to display all of my film photos in one place. I was using the average Fujifilm disposable camera (“dispo”) and got my rolls developed at a local shop in my hometown. Being from Southern California, most of my content revolved around the beach and surfing — two of my favorite things. By senior year, this trend continued, but I also made sure to have a camera at all the big senior events. It was a really fun way to capture memories during my senior year of high school.
Come college, I put the camera away for a bit. My favorite film developer’s home base wasn’t in Boston, so carrying the film camera around daily became impractical. I brought it to a few events here and there, but I mainly used it when I went back home.
During the second semester of my sophomore year, I decided to make my Boston debut. I brought my film camera to a few different sorority formals, and it started gaining a rep. I continued putting these photos on my film account, which was followed by my friends; it was just a hobby I did for fun. My friends and I had a lot of fun bringing it with us wherever we went, and I guess people started to notice. It got to the point where when I didn’t have the camera, people would come up to me asking where it was.
I found this pretty funny because, again, I am not even what I would consider a photographer. I just genuinely enjoyed the idea of bringing my dispo around and the quality of the photos it produced. I didn’t see anything particularly special about it, but I was happy to see others enjoying the photos.
However, going through film rolls as quickly as I did proved very expensive. Luckily, during winter break of my junior year, I came across an old digital camera. I brought it back to school, and its unlimited capacity was both scary and exciting to everyone I was around. The digital camera has saved me a good amount of money — which I am very happy about — and I can get my photos within 24 hours… but at times, I still miss my real film photos.
In the end, whether disposable or digital, each medium has its merits. For everyday use and practicality, digital cameras reign supreme, especially for those on a budget. However, there’s an undeniable charm to disposables and film, particularly for special occasions or when seeking a touch of nostalgia. So, whether I’m clicking away with my digital companion or savoring the tangible feel of a disposable camera, one thing remains constant — my love for capturing moments, big and small.