Analogue is dead – long live analogue!

Today I went to a shop in Berlin to try to find a cheap analogue camera. That was quite fun. The shop assistant looked at me as if I was from a different planet. Why the hell would I want an analogue camera – no one buys them anymore, so they don´t sell them anymore. I had to smile to myself, but at the same time I was not exactly sure who of the two of us was the one missing out on something. So on my way back home – without any camera of course – I kept thinking what it is that made me want to buy an analogue camera anyway. Is it because I have seen so many beautiful analogue images lately? Or am I indulging myself in old memories after burrowing in my aged photo box and trying to have a little revival of the good old times? Maybe I am just trying to folllow a sort of anti-trend and secretly developing into a hipster?

When I had my first camera it was just so exciting to take pictures – you were thinking carefully about what to photograph – 36 images on the camera and still some time to go until the end of your holidays. Still with the sand in your shoes and the sun in your heart you are back home and taking the film role to the shop to develop, not knowing about the exact outcome. Like waiting for a present. And you count the days until they are ready for picking up. And then the moment arrives when you open the enevelope, fraught with happy tension, and finally you are able to look through them. Erm, ok maybe you should not have hold your thumb against the lens opening. Well, nevermind. It is the imperfection that also feels real. Aww, and the rest looks great. You leaf through them and you dive into the moments that date back in time. And your heart smiles.

So at the end I came to the conclusion that in a way analogue has a lot to do with how I feel about life. It is the urge to rediscover slowness, suprise and realness. And I love the fact that with analogue you cannot control everything. You focus and you press the button. But then you can´t go back and delete. A bit like life, isn´t it?

Text by Sigrun Guggenberger
Image by Vera