Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tim DeCesare. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tim, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Much of what I’ve learned about Polaroid photography I’ve learned through trial and error. Every camera handles light slightly differently, and there are so many factors behind the film chemistry that it takes a lot of practice to get used to. I owe a lot of my knowledge to fellow Polaroid photographers as well. The community is very kind and always open to questions, which has been extremely helpful. If I could go back in time I’d tell myself to be patient and not to get discouraged when a photo doesn’t turn out perfectly. Since film is so expensive it’s easy to feel held back by your failures, but in my case the old saying of “you learn more from your failures than from your successes” definitely holds true. Photography is all about growth and seeing your creative vision change and grow over time.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Photography has always been an interest of mine going back to a young age. The first camera I used as a child was a Nikon Coolpix S8200. I loved that camera, brought it on many trips, and still look back on memories captured with it. Once I got a smartphone in high school, I found myself using a stand-alone camera less frequently. Over the years I found that I was treating photography more and more like a tool and less like an art form. Of course there is nothing wrong with using photography as a tool and it is incredibly helpful, but I was losing touch with what I loved about photography.

It wasn’t until a few months into the pandemic that Polaroid photography caught my eye. Polaroid piqued my interest as it was both an interesting lesson in history and a more tangible form of photography I wasn’t yet used to. With Polaroid I can’t take a dozen shots of a scene and hope one turns out, like I can on my phone, since it would drain my wallet dry. Polaroid photography has taught me to stop and think about each individual shot with care and to not take the act for granted. I’m also continuously fascinated with the chemistry and slight randomness of Polaroid film. You never know exactly what the picture looks like until you’ve shot it and the image slowly develops before your eyes. Some of my favorite photographs that I’ve taken didn’t come out as I originally expected them to. It’s the part of Polaroid photography I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

It’s tough to narrow it down, but I’d say the most rewarding part of being an artist is helping other artists in the community. Since Polaroid photography is a niche of film photography, which in turn is a niche of photography as a whole, I found it quite difficult to find the info and resources I needed through simple googling. I was hesitant to reach out to other Polaroid photographers on Instagram at first since I didn’t want to be a bother but everyone I’ve interacted with online is extremely kind and always willing to help. Social media can trick you into thinking that it’s you vs them and that there is only so much success to go around, but that is the furthest thing from the truth. There is no greater fuel for inspiration and creativity than through helping and learning from others.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

An idea that got drilled into my head early on, both consciously and unconsciously, is that in order to be a great photographer you needed the best (and usually most expensive) equipment. Fancier gear certainly can have its benefits. It might make certain processes quicker and easier or give you slightly sharper images, but fancy equipment alone cannot produce great images. You get great images by practicing your craft and finding your unique voice.

I’ve found that the artists I look up to most have found creative and unique ways of utilizing the equipment that they have lying around instead of focusing on using the top of the line cameras.

Using a camera you have fun shooting with will always give you the best images because it’s the camera you’ll actually use.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/TimDeCesare
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tim.in.technicolor/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TimDeCesare

Image Credits
Tim DeCesare