Falling Back in Love with My Point and Shoot

How I Fell Back in Love with My 35mm Point-and-Shoot

(And why I’m done overcomplicating things)

I’ve shot with everything.

SLRs, rangefinders, digital rigs with more settings than I’ll ever use. I’ve loaded film like I’m chasing some kind of artistic enlightenment. I’ve carried gear that left me sore the next day. And for what?

Lately, I’ve come back to the camera that never asked for anything but attention—my 35mm point-and-shoot.

No manual control. No changeable lenses. No ego.

Just a plastic box, a roll of film, and a whole lot of trust.

The Simplicity is So Sick

Here’s the thing: when you strip away all the technical decisions—shutter speed, aperture, metering, lens choice—you’re left with one question:

Is this moment worth capturing?

That’s it.

And the second I stopped overthinking and just started seeing again, I started shooting more. I started having fun again. That little point-and-shoot reminded me why I picked up a camera in the first place—to document life, not to obsess over it.

The Limitations Are the Point

Autofocus is a little slow. The lens? Soft in the corners. Flash? Hits when it wants. But there’s a charm in the imperfection. The flaws became part of the story. Not a glitch—a signature.

This camera doesn’t let me control the scene. It lets me respond to it.

No preview, no playback. Just gut instinct and anticipation.

I stopped trying to make things perfect. And somehow, my work felt more honest.

It Goes Where I Go

It fits in my back pocket. I take it everywhere again—coffee runs, concerts, parking garages, late night outings, road trips, beach days.

No one feels threatened when I pull it out. There’s no “photo shoot” pressure. It’s just there, quietly waiting for the moment that matters.

The best camera is the one you actually bring with you.

This one earned that spot.

Final Thought

I didn’t expect to fall back in love with my point-and-shoot. I thought I’d outgrown it.

But it turns out, I just needed to unlearn some stuff.

The weight of “professional” had started killing my creativity.

This camera brought me back to being a witness—not a technician.

And that’s where the magic is.

So yeah, I’ll keep chasing the perfect light. But I’ll be reaching for a $60 plastic camera a little more often.

And I’ll be smiling when I press the shutter.

— Brendan