Toy Cameras "Tools/Apprentice" (TtV) w/fakematte by S. D. (2009)

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Available Sizes inches / cm
Petite $57.50
Small $69.00
Medium $86.25
Large $115.00
Grande $230.00
Massive $345.00

Description This image, 'Tools of the Young Apprentice', is great for any playful young-at-heart photographer! ~~ The print presents a colorful, artfully-arranged mosaic of individual 'TtV' photographs depicting a variety of whimsical vintage toy cameras. ~~ (Please be aware that TtV-captured imagery sometimes contains subtle imperfections, such as dust, ghosting, or distortion, and these should be recognized as 'features' of the artwork rather than 'flaws'.) ;) ~~ For this rectangular version of the print, the area surrounding the original square camera content has been expanded and designed with a neutral-tone 'artificial' matte to fit the dimensions of a standard rectangular frame ratio (8x10, 16x20, etc.), which provides the option to conveniently frame and display this print without a genuine matte. (Alternatively, the square portion can be custom-matted at a later time to suit an individual's decorative style.) ~~ [fyi - I have another format of this print available which is cropped to the square TtV content, with black borders to accommodate square matting or frame.]

S. D., Wisconsin
Member Since October 2009
Artist Statement Hi, thanks for visiting!

Those alluring TV-shaped bubble-lenses atop the old TRL cameras have hypnotized me into adopting the technique of through-the-viewfinder photography ("TtV") as a personal outlet for photographic exploration.

For many, no doubt it's difficult to understand the appeal of shooting TtV. So much effort goes into obstructing a perfectly good, high-precision modern digital camera lens with a bunch of salvaged junk, and then struggling to capture quality photos in spite of it. The act of snapping even a simple photo is clumsily awkward when shooting through-the-viewfinder.

But for me (and many others), somehow the process of creating new images through the workings of a sixty-year-old-ish camera has sincere charm. I find that the aesthetic aberrations introduced by optic "imperfections"--- such as grit, distortion, ghosting, light flares, and dodgy focus --- all add low-fi analog character to what may otherwise have been cold, bland, stark digital "perfection". Happy accidents abound in TtV! I enjoy working within a square format, as well.

Overall, it's a uniquely enjoyable challenge and, in conjunction with sharing and interacting via flickr, it's been a very fun pastime!

[fyi - A wealth of information about TtV can be found at this flickr group:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/throughtheviewfinder/]

In this shop I'll be making prints available for some of my popular images. Thanks for looking, I appreciate your interest. Enjoy!