Pen of the Day and a Decidedly Retro Camera

My pen of the day is something I recently bought from Everything Calligraphy. I used  to have three Lamy pens–a Lamy Umbra (Safari in charcoal black), Vista, and Studio. I gave the Vista to somebody who wanted to try out fountain pens, but I’ve been missing it since. I’m not really a fan of Lamy Safari, but I want the Vista as a partner to my Umbra to round off my Safari collection (until they come out with a nice-looking brown and green).

Oh, in the background of the photo above is a gift my husband gave me yesterday. I often include photos in my journal entries–I print them out on photo paper or I (less frequently) have them printed out at digital photo printing services. My husband thought it would be fun to give me something that would let me print photos instantly. This was actually on my Christmas wishlist, so I’m crossing it out early. He’s such a sweetheart.

It’s surprising that Instax cameras have developed a cult following in Asia. I’ve wanted one for a while now, but I never seem to get around buying myself one of these. Maybe because the designs were a little too colorful for me? This one’s the Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic, and speaks of the distinctive, two-tone retro camera design. I really love the way that it looks. It’s also light, and has a lot of options that give you a lot of control over the photos you shoot. The lens collapses when you turn the camera off, so it’s not as bulky as other Instax cameras.

I think that one of the reasons why Instax camera appealed to me (aside from that magical feel of getting your photo printed out instantly), is that I like how the photos you take with it are unique and cannot be reproduced. You can scan it and print it again, but it won’t be quite like the original print. It’s as unique as the moment it captures. 🙂

I already started to include some photos in my journal entries last night (yes, they’re photos of my cat). It’s good that Instax film isn’t very bulky. The paper of my journal holds it up pretty well and it doesn’t really bulk up the pages too much. 🙂