Hihn tells the story of finding and wanting to make use of his father’s old analog camera and searching for a way to circumvent the high cost of purchasing and developing actual analog film. Instead of putting the camera down, however, Hihn re-strategized and combined his vintage equipment with his digital photography skills. By holding his high quality digital camera over the older analog model and positioning it so that the lens looks directly into the older camera’s viewfinder, Hihn is able to capture an image that’s even more beautiful than the original gorgeous landscape shots he would have taken using a single camera. Instead of portraying solely trees, fields, and sunny skies, Hihn’s combination shots capture that scene through the vintage camera so that observers can see the scene through the viewfinder rather than head on. Perhaps the best part of these photos is that Hihn doesn’t crop them. Instead of trimming the image so that only the outdoor scenery shows, he keeps the image of the vintage camera within the frame, creating a gorgeously unique image. We also adore that, in each photo, the background on which the camera is placed changes and complements the landscape you see in the vintage camera’s viewfinder. This elevates the “outdoors” element of each shot, creating a balance between that and the emphasis on technology where Hihn’s cameras are concerned. If you’d like to see more photography by Oliver Hihn and keep up to date on his work, check out his Instagram page!
