TV, Stoke on Trent, Matthew Martin

Video: Street Photography with a Disposable Camera

In case you missed me talking about it on Instagram, I was recently challenged by Pablo Strong to spend some time using a disposable camera. I kind of liked the idea of having to work within the limitations of a disposable camera so I agreed and Pablo sent me a Kodak Funsaver. And that’s when the dreaded creative block struck me.

Shortly after he sent it to me I got myself into a bit of a rut, and I didn’t feel like shooting much. I didn’t want to use the camera while I wasn’t feeling inspired, cos I’ve never get good results when I force myself to shoot. And unlike a digital camera, you can’t just delete the image and move on.

Anyway, the camera sat on the shelf for a month or so while I procrastinated about it, until I decided that enough was enough and that I should just get out and shoot some street photography on the damn thing. I headed into town and spent a very cold day shooting my usual mix of street photography and documentary photography.

After I’d shot the roll, I had the film developed and scanned and Pablo and I made a video to review the shots. We talked through some of the shots, what I liked or didn’t like about them, and we also discussed my more general thoughts on photography.

Anyway, here’s the video if you want to check it out.



I actually had a lot of fun using the camera. You have no settings to worry about at all. The only technical decision you have to make is whether to turn the flash on or not. It taught me that regardless of the camera I am using, I still approach photography in the same way. At the end of the day, the finished article is what matters, not the tool you used to capture it. I wasn’t entirely happy with the results, but I got a couple of keepers from the roll. The fact I managed to get my finger in front of the lens was rather embarrassing too haha (top tip: don’t shoot disposables on a cold day with gloves on). The challenge actually spurred me on to shoot a bit more film and I’ve actually made it one of my new year’s resolutions to learn to develop and scan my own film – not quite sure when I’ll get around to that though!

Go get your own disposable and have some fun, it certainly made a change to my normal routine.

If you enjoyed the video then make sure you subscribe to Pablo’s YouTube channel. You can also find Pablo’s work on his Instagram feed and on his website.

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