Low tech on the streets of China

When it comes to videography and photography I love fancy new gear and all the state of the art technology we have at our disposal. Portable 4K drones, image stabilized ultra fast glass, light weight carbon fiber tripods, you name the new toy and I'd probably like to try it out. We live in an amazing age where camera tech seems to be advancing at an exponential rate. All this gear opens up so many doors for creatives. If you can dream it you can probably create it. While I love having all of these options for my photo/video kit I've been finding myself drawn to lower tech gear, especially when it comes to street photography or capturing my travels. In my recent travels to China I found myself leaving my DSLR kit back at the hostel more often than not. I was finding carrying a backpack around everywhere to be a bit of a hindrance. When you are walking around in the heat all day carrying a backpack full of gear can be such a pain, unless you enjoy a sweaty sore back. In this scenario I would feel pressure to get shots, because if I didn't, I was hauling a backpack full of gear around all day for no reason. I would force shots rather than just letting things unfold as they were. On top of this even the smallest DSLRs are not discreet. If you are trying to capture a moment that is unfolding in front of you it is easy to distract your subject when you pull out a big flashy camera body and massive lens. The solution for me ended up being a small pocket sized disposable camera. There are obviously limitations with a disposable, but something about just being able to throw it into my back pocket and go was worth these limitations. These disposables are amazing too because it's so easy to get a street photo while also blending into the background. Also who doesn't love the anticipation that comes along with waiting for  photos to develop. After this journey through China with my disposable I'm looking into buying a compact 35mm camera. Until then here are a few of the photos I took with my disposable. Most of these were shot in Dali and Lijang in the Yunnan province in China. These photos are grainy, some of them are maybe a little crooked and have a strange tint, but I think all of these imperfections are just part of the overall charm.

Be sure to click on the thumbnails to see the full image!