By Elin Spring
One of my favorite events of the season has arrived: The Somerville Toy Camera Festival (STCF) is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in three galleries across the city through October 7th, 2023! Harvesting this year’s imaginative range of lo-fi photography is juror Ann Jastrab, Executive Director at the Center for Photographic Art (CPA) in Carmel, California, who shares “So many photographs, vignetted and sun-flared and just soft enough, to make me remember the dream that life can be. Thank you to all the artists for taking me on an incredible journey!”
An unpredictable blend of artistic vision, alternative equipment, films and methods, and the fairy dust of serendipity, toy cameras enable a genuine “see different” experience. Each fall, the STCF presents a dynamic array of color and B&W images made with medium-format film icons like the Holga, Diana and Kodak Brownie Hawkeye cameras. Add to those, dreamlike photographs made with handcrafted pinholes (not “officially” a toy camera, but just as variable in result), the undulating panoramas from the Spinner 360, and vertiginous fantasies made with the Sprocket Rocket, among others. These erratic “toys” produce a wonderland of images that inevitably reach beyond the subject to the subjective, inviting viewers into a kaleidoscope of sensations.
Join me here for a teaser of the treats on view at Nave Gallery, Brickbottom Gallery and Washington Street Arts Gallery, then go see for yourselves. You can find links to all the galleries and a slate of associated programming at the end of this article. Photographs as unique as these are even more enchanting in person and since most works are for sale, you have an opportunity to nab something truly special for your own collection.
Nave Gallery, 155 Powderhouse Blvd, Somerville | Regular Hours: Sat-Sun 1-5pm
Ed Doucette (Hudson, MA) “in the round tower, 2017″, P-Sharan 35mm pinhole camera, 35mm, 14″x 14”, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Bob Shonkoff (Danville, CA) “Bird Bath, 2023,” Holga 120N, Ilford HP5 Plus, 20″x 20,” courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Paul Sharratt (Tacoma Park, MD) “Untitled #1, 2016,” WOCA or HOLGA, Kodak Tri-X, 16″x 20,” courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Michael Zeis (Uxbridge, MA) “Saucers, 2018,” Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash with flipped lens, Kodak Portra 400, 14″x 14,” courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Richard Bonvissuto (Palm Springs, CA) “Final Resting Place, 2022,” Holga 120N, Ilford HP5, 8″x 10,” courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Joshua Sariñana (Malden, MA) “Mapping, 2023,” Holga 120 GCFN, Kodak Gold 200 120 film, 14″x 14,” courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Brickbottom Gallery, 1 Fitchburg St, Somerville | Regular Hours: Thu, Fri, Sat 12-5pm
Christopher Turner (MA) “Empire State Eve, 2023,” Sprocket Rocket, Lomography 400, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Bo Brout (NY) “Glare, 2023,” Kodak h35, Lomo Turquoise, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Christianna Kreis (OH) “Crossing a Bridge, 2023,” Holga 120 Pan, Kodak Portra 400, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Susan Swirsley (MA) “A Dreamy Sunday, 2017,” Lomography Fisheye, Lomo purple film, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Silke Hase (MA) “Cypress Trees in Florida, 2020,” Ziatype, Holga 120, Ilford HP5 or Kpdak Tri-X, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Lisa Tang Liu (MA) & J. David Tabor (AZ), “Palm Tree in Arizona and Hosta in Massachusetts, 2023,” double-blind exposure, Holga 120N, Fomapan 100, courtesy of the artists and STCF.
Washington Street Arts Gallery, 321-D Washington St, Somerville | Regular Hours: Sat 12-4
Chae Kihn (New York, NY) “Strawberries Market Day, 2015,” Holga 120, Kodak Portra, 18″x 18,” courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Tom Hart (Ashland, OH) “Stairway, 2022,” Holga 120 GCFN, CineStill 800T, 16″x 16,” courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Chuck Baker (Nijmegen, Netherlands) “The Edmund Pettus Bridge – No Shortcuts, 2022,” Lomography Sprocket Rocket, Fomapan 400, 8″x 16,” courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Coleman Rogers (Lowell, MA) “Ride to the Light, 2023,” Holga 120N, Ilford Delta 100 Pro, 12″x 12,” courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Tonee Harbert (Roswell, NM) “Untitled (fuselage), 2023,” Vintage Diana, Kodak Tri-X Pan, 16″x 16,” courtesy of the artist and STCF.
Robin V. Robinson (Carmel, CA) “Old Faithful,2023,” Holga 120N, Kodak TMax 400, 14″x 11,” courtesy of the artist and STCF.
There are a selection of these quirky cameras on display at Brickbottom and Washington Street galleries, a few of which I picture below (with apologies for reflections).
Diana and Holga cameras, courtesy of STCF.
Sprocket Rocket, Holga, Diana, Brownie Hawkeye Flash and pinhole cameras, among others, courtesy of STCF.
For more information about STCF and links to all associated programs and events, go to: http://www.somervilletoycamera.org/
NOTE! STCF and PRC, Boston present PRC NIGHTS: TOY CAMERAS, featuring exhibiting photographers Jennifer Erbe, Marky Kauffmann (Feature Image and below), Kerrie Kemperman, and Mary Kocol, hosted by STCF organizer Bruce Myren on Wednesday, September 27th from 6:30 – 8:30pm at Washington Street Gallery. Free and open to the public, no registration required. For more information, go to: https://www.prcboston.org/prc-nights-online-toy-cameras/
Feature Image: “Star Tree, 2023” by Marky Kauffmann, courtesy of the artist and STCF.
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