The Joy of a Thermal Printer Camera

I do not often make gear recommendations to other photographers, but today I will, because it is not some great flash new bit of kit that will revolutionise your workflow. I am recommending it because it will revolutionise how you look at photography, and remind you of the very core of our art.

So, if you are an even half-way skilled photographer, go out and get yourself a kiddies thermal printing camera. And a bunch of thermal printer rolls of paper. You'll set yourself back about AUD50 for enough supplies to print thousands of images.

Don't bother getting a microSD card for it. That's not the point.

The point is the immense freedom and creative challenges that working with a fixed aperture, fixed focus plastic lens that will then print out on a short-lived high-contrast paper will bring.

And it is a freedom being so highly restricted.

It is also freeing to be able to shoot with abandon, not worrying about any sort of post-processing, and not worrying about the cost of the shot - you will be spending a fraction of a cent per frame.

Think of the joys of pinhole photography, but with the instant gratification of Polaroid, and the costs of digital. And the only thing you have control over is your composition.

This ties in very strongly with the ideals of the Shitty Camera Challenge, and there is a joy in being able to shoot without consequence. You do not ever have to show these to another person (although you might). These are photos for you, and no-one else. They are a chance for you to cut loose, and play with ideas that will probably not work, and that you have shied away from because of the pressure to create something worthy of showing off.

With a cheap and nasty format you can play. And maybe, just maybe, learn something new and exciting for your more serious photography.