Once upon a time, I used to shoot with something I liked to call the “Snappy”. Chances are that you probably did too. It was the stalwart of carefree shooting where your only responsibility was to push a button and capture the moment. If you wanted to get fancy, you could trigger the flash, but mostly you just clicked and documented your world without the worry of settings or being perfect. Your primary decision was how to frame your story. Remember those times?
Otherwise known as the disposable camera, back in the not-so-long-ago day, we relied upon these little beauties in a pinch, or as was often the case for me, as the ultimate party-cam which I lost on several occasions (and still miss those rolls film to this day). Enter Stuart Chapman from Australia who not only recognized the ingenuity of these pocket-sized cameras, but who has created a non-profit organization to celebrate them. Allow me to introduce you Stuart’s brainchild and labor of love The Indisposable Concept.
Jasmine, Narrabeen, NSW. Australia, March/April, 2013
The concept itself is simple: 1 roll of film over 1 week with 24 opportunities to capture the indisposable world around you. What can you not do without? What will you share? What do you want to tell the world? It’s all up to you. Because we cannot delete any of our submissions, the project aims to share an honest representation of our worlds in their purest forms. We are all sharing our life experiences here and now, and the beauty of the Indisposable Concept is in its level playing field. The unpretentious, almost-defunct disposable camera becomes our tool for sharing the wonder of our worlds. In fact, Muse Nikki Gardner used this humble camera as the first lesson for her photography students back when she taught introductory photography classes during graduate school.
Breny, Gold Coast, QLD. Australia, April, 2013
Light leaks, expired film, lots of noise, washed out colors and images cut off short. The foibles of film for sure, but these subtle nuances bring the project right down to earth and are some of the reasons that makes The Indisposable Concept that much better.
This is not a competition. There will be no cash or prize giveaway. Indisposable Concept is a social collaboration to gain insight into various people’s lives and what they perceive as important and impactful on their daily lives, big and small. We aim to build a community through diversity and a willingness to contribute.
Pheona, Qatar + New Zealand, March, 2013
One of the things that I love about this project is how easily I can identify with many of the angles, subject matter and emotions behind many of the images. After all, we all know I love shooting images from where I stand! But it’s more than that. Having a brief glimpse into these people’s lives, seeing what they want me to learn about them, gives me a sense of who they are. The fact that there are no second chances strips their lives down to the basic beauty they want to showcase from their worlds. Or maybe it was just an instantaneous moment where they connected with their worlds. I can see that in these photos. I can feel how freezing that moment spoke to them. The light leaks, the grainy shots, the chopped off edges just sweetens the deal!
I caught up with Stuart after discovering the project earlier this week. He was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.
Fea, Milan, ITALY, May, 2013
1. How big is your team, and how has it grown with the project? The “Team” consists of me, myself and I at the moment and lots of support and understanding from the people around me for whom I’m super grateful to have in my life. There’s a lot of interest from people who want to get on board and help promote the concept, and the plan is to grow the team and develop the concept moving forward with lots of social activations planned for the future online and in the community. Right now, we’re just working out the best way to build the team. We like to encourage contributors to shoot numerous rolls as feature contributors and promote their own creative endeavors via the Indisposable platform.
Citizens of the World, Bondi, NSW. Australia, April/May, 2013
2. Have you noticed any particular themes that run through the submissions? Do men and women shoot differently and do they seem to shoot the same things? There are certain trends generally that I’ve noticed from majority of the rolls that come through. As a social exploration into people’s lives, the contributors are encouraged to document the stuff that’s unique and special in their lives. I’ve noticed a tendency for people to shoot at least one or two shots of the sky, plants or the ocean. There’s a true affiliation with the sense of space, freedom and nature that people connect and associate with. It’s actually quite beautiful that we instinctively look for the beauty and harmony in nature as the “indisposable” elements to our life.
Aga, Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, March, 2013
3. I love that you ask that your participants include a self-portrait…we LOVE selfies here at Mortal Muses! Outside of the obvious, having a visual of the person sending in their submission, how did you come about with this idea? I think it’s important to have a face to go with each roll. 90% of the selfies look absolutely terrible and there’s no way to delete or know how they turned out so it’s quite a unique and slightly terrifying experience for some as we’ve become so accustom to having total control. I think it’s a very couageous thing for the contributors to do, and we appreciate their willingness to play along. I’ve received various stories how people have taken warm up shots with their smart phones before hitting the button on the disposable camera. Others have tried the reflection in the mirror selfie but usually get caught out with the flash… It’s a unique and fun element to the concept.
Terry, Brisbane, January, 2013
Fea, Milan, Italy, May, 2013
Courtney, Brisbane, QLD. Australia, March/April, 2013
4. Do you have a favorite submission you’d like to highlight?
There’s been many submissions that have I’ve connected with for different reasons. I’ve received entire rolls that tell such a beautiful story visually and emotionally including individuals that have documented a particular hardship or celebrations in their life. We also receive a lot of hand written notes thanking the concept for the opportunity to be involved with the experience inspiring people to embrace film photography once again.
Brodie, Barcelona, Spain, May, 2013
It’s been very heart warming and motivates me to keep developing the concept further. To answer your question, the whole concept has been a highlight, the people I’ve met that I would never have had the opportunity to meet and the personal interaction with each and every one. It was a buzz to meet people for the first time at the Indisposable Exhibition last month even though I felt like I knew them so well through their photos. The fact that they’ve opened up and shared their personal world with us has been a wonderful experience that we’re blessed to be involved in.
Thank you Stuart for taking the time to answer our questions and for sharing some of the beauty that has been taking place around the world over the past few months. So are you ready to send in your submission to The Indisposable Concept? I know I am! In fact, I’ve been driving around with the same disposable camera in the back of my car since before I bought my first point-and-shoot, digital camera over 8 years ago! Will I get lackluster results? or will my expired film yield more interesting ones? I will certainly find out over the next few months when I choose my week to begin shooting.
Talia, Brisbane, January 2013
I challenge you to join me in this endeavor too! I promise to follow up with Stuart in a couple of months to see how the project unfolds and will share my submission and some of yours here on Film Friday should you choose to participate. Just send us a note with the link to your submission on The Indisposable Concept’s website. Here are instructions for how to submit.
Note: For those of us submitting from outside of Australia like myself, we simply email our 24 images to indisposableconcept@gmail.com
You can learn more about The Indisposible Concept by checking out their website and on Facebook. (Be sure to “like” them while you stop by!) You can follow them on instagram and twitter too. Back in April, Lomography.com interviewed Stuart about the project where he said something that touched a chord inside of me:
I started the concept to try and build a community of people that wanted to embrace old techniques and mediums to take time out and have a look at the beauty and space that exists in their world.
Let’s join him, shall we?
Makes me smile this post, i always get disposable cameras for the kids when we go Camera Walking. Its time i get one for myself and get this done. Thank you Holly, for the reminder.
Awesome Van! I was totally thinking of you when I was writing this post!
Oh I’m totally in! I love this! Thanks for telling aboutit!
Sweet Kendra! I can’t wait to see what you turn up down in Austin! xo
What a brilliant idea, Holly! I love this! It’s a wonderful way to get lots of people involved in enjoying film.
Thanks Kirstin! I think it would be cool if you, Tom, Ella & Miles all did your own one week. That could be soooo cool! xo
I’m all for projects and this one is just amazing. I’ll definitely be part of it, soon!
Awesome Caro! Germany definitely needs to be represented and your vision is so stunning!
Holly, wonderful read, I loved seeing little bits of peoples lives via real photo’s. I’m in too, sounds fun, I just need to buy a camera. Today after work as a matter of fact, we have a ride tomorrow and that would be a nice place to begin.
Fantastic Tracie! I could totally see you giving a camera to Aus & Abbie too! xo
I’m SO in! Thanks for sharing this, Holly. LOVE it!
Woot Woot! That’s great Meghan! Your’s is gonna ROCK!
What a fun idea! I’ve often purchased disposable cameras for my kids for them to take on field trips, but never thought to do it myself now that I’ve gone digital. I remember the days of buying a roll of film and being very selective about the photos I took — I always loved the surprise of picking them up from the developer and seeing what I’d captured!
I know! So cool right? I have some of my favorite shots from snappies! I’ve taken them all over the world and there is something about the carefree nature of these little babies that get to the heart and soul of the moment 🙂
This is excellent. Can’t wait to go pick up an indisposable and join in!
Yay! I’m so glad you’re going to play along!
Of course I love this idea and project, Holly! Count me in.
Sweet! Your old assignment was one of my favorites! I wish my instructor had done that too!
oh my goodness this is so fantastic and super fun. I will get a couple of these this week (one for me and one for each of the kids). We are heading out on a little trip, so I can’t wait ti see what we can capture!
thanks you for sharing this project with us all.
Awesome! I love that you’re going to give the kinds their own too!!! How fun!
how fun!
i think i’m gonna do this 🙂
Sweet Michelle! I hope you go for it! YES!
What an awesome project, Holly – thanks for bringing this to our attention!! I’m in as well – absolutely cannot resist 🙂
I knew you couldn’t resist! Yeehaw!
I love coming here. You always find the most amazing projects to get involved with and this one is no exception. Thanks for sharing it here.
I never started with a film camera, I seem to have come back to it though. Theres something magical about getting a roll of film back from being developed that staring at a digital screen simply cant compete with.
Todays tasks will definitely include stopping for a disposable camera so I can participate
Thanks again
Thanks Leoni! I’m so glad you like the project and intend to participate! Fantastic! And I am beginning to agree with the magic of film. I’m already there with Polaroid, but I’m coming back around to 35mm.
This is such a great project, thanks for introducing me to it. It reminds me of a project I did a couple of years ago – I sent disposable cameras with a letter asking each person to take one photograph (and ONE PHOTOGRAPH ONLY!) and then send it on. I got two of the three cameras back, and only a few photos came out, but it was a really fun project, and so exciting that people carried the mission on!
You can have a peek at the results here:
http://jesuisunemonstre.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/adventures-of-disposable-camera.html
I think I will send a few more out into the world again soon!
And in the meantime, I will definitely take part in the Indisposable Concept.
Now I’m looking forward to checking out more of your super site!
Katie. XXX