My muse.
It’s fair to say that becoming a mother has been a life-changing experience and I don’t just mean in the obvious ways. Stanley soon became my muse – I’d spend hours photographing him and documenting his life. It’s really where my passion for photography started.
Last year, I vowed that I’d print and frame more photos of him.
I have thousands and thousands of images, but what good is it if we don’t see and enjoy them? One of my good friends bought an instant camera and I was immediately intrigued. I decided an automatic instant camera would be a great acquisition for several reasons. My professional work is very structured – I can’t help it – it’s how I see the world and I think it’s largely due to my background in graphic design. I’d hoped taking photos with an instant camera would help loosen up my style a bit and allow me to take pleasure in the ‘perfectly, imperfect moments’.
I use an Automat Playa De Jardin camera from Lomography. It’s become a staple in my camera bag for our cities tour. Because it’s an automatic camera, it’s something Stanley can use too, which I love. He’s starting to understand about the world of work and what mummy and daddy do whilst he’s at school. So it’s nice he can use this camera and see a direct ‘cause and effect.’
I particularly love the quality from the black and white film (I use Monochrome Instax) and have been creating a series of portraits of Stanley, my muse, over the last couple of months.
I genuinely can’t recommend enough the use of an instant automatic camera to anyone who enjoys making pictures.
A little tip – I’ve bought film in bulk to save on the unit price.
Words and photographs by Fiona Burrage.