As more teenagers are starting to follow more vintage-Esque trends, disposable and film cameras are officially back in style. I have fallen to the newly reawakened photography method and I adore it. Adults often question me on why shooting film is my preferred hobby, they have already experienced the joys of receiving your developed roll back many times before, and of course, why would anyone nowadays enjoy waiting for your photos? It’s quite understandable, with phone cameras at our fingertips, you get instant results, save a lot of money, and get guaranteed good pictures, but nothing will feel as cool as saying you shot film in your teenage years.
A handful of Glacier Peak students have taken on the art of film photography, many have shared their partying and vacation pictures on their Instagram pages, encouraging more people to join the trend. Some, including myself, even have separate Instagram pages dedicated to spotlighting film photographs. Senior, Julia Pankevich runs a film Instagram account, along with a digital photography account. Her Instagram, @filmby_julia, is mostly filled with fun candid pictures of her friends that were taken on a disposable camera.
“I shoot film because it’s special, it’s only one take and you can’t see the photo after you take it until you get it developed. I love it because it makes the picture more special and genuine, especially when looking at the pictures for the first time,” Pankevich said.

To show off the special memories these pictures hold, it is very popular to hang the pictures on bedroom walls or keep them in photo books to be looked at by future generations. My mom has kept hundreds of photos taken on disposable cameras in the ’90s and looking at them feels like time traveling. Many parents have passed on their love for film photography down to their children and inspired them to keep the art alive. Incoming freshman, Genevieve Bock, loves the look of how film pictures turn out and is very grateful to capture the silly, pretty, and even random moments in such a cool way.
“I got into it because my mom showed me all of her old film [pictures] from when she was younger and I thought it was really cool. She gave me her old camera and I started taking pictures from there.” Bock said.

If you are interested in starting a new hobby, film photography is a decently easy one to do. Disposable cameras can be purchased for a decent price in many places, such as Amazon or Bartells. After years of using those, I made the leap and bought a real used film camera, they help save the planet and ultimately will also help you save money. I purchased my Nikon N60 off of Etsy but they can easily be found at many thrift stores, antique stores, and eBay. 35mm film can be found on Amazon and many drug stores. Pankevich and Bock mentioned that Walgreens is their go-to spot for film development, other drug stores and film labs, such as The Darkroom, are also great options.
To view some very cool pictures taken on disposables and film cameras, check out the Instagrams below:
@filmby_julia @lillysfilmpics