Last Updated on 10/02/2018 by Mark Beckenbach
Today’s Kickstarter find is for fans of found images.
There’s something innately fascinating about found images. Old snapshots unearthed from stacks or boxes at flea markets and vintage fairs, a forgotten roll of film halfway finished inside a secondhand camera – we can’t help but be excited whenever we stumble upon one of these, with our imaginations going into overdrive trying to picture the stories of the people, places, and objects captured on film.
And so if you like found images, today’s Kickstarter find will surely pique your interest. Stevie Boyar, or SBthree, is seeking funding to publish a photo book and an accompanying art show scheduled next month in Buffalo, New York that will feature photographs he discovered in the Game Boy cameras he had collected over the years.
Titled Lo-Fi Memories: Found Game Boy Camera Photography, the book will feature 200 photos curated by Stevie. On the project’s Kickstarter page, he related when and how he started collecting Game Boy cameras specifically for found images. Part of it read:
“[A] major limitation of the Game Boy Camera is that the device can only store 30 photos at a time. In the early 2010s I wanted to experiment with the Game Boy Camera and 30 photos at a time was simply not enough. I began to purchase more Game Boy Cameras online. However, when I received them I discovered that the previous owners had not deleted their photos. These photos were fascinating and hinted at unknowable stories. Who took these photos? Where and when did they take them? Why were these the 30 photos that they decided to save?
“I wanted to see more of these photos and continued to buy more Game Boy Cameras online and at local gaming stores. My collection now has more than 70 Game Boy Cameras, and continues to grow.”
Game Boy cameras were first released 20 years ago by Nintendo and, as its name implies, required a Game Boy to function. Perhaps some of you might even have vivid memories of having a Game Boy camera as one of your first-ever cameras and would find a personal connection with this project.
As for the reason why he wished to publish these images, Stevie said:
“Even though the photos in this collection were never meant to be seen publicly, I wanted to show them to the world. The photos found in this project are all from this collection. The stories behind these Lo-Fi Memories are for you to consider.”
As of this writing, the project has already reached over half of its US $1,000 goal with more than 20 days left. Visit Lo-Fi Memories on Kickstarter to find out more and back the project, if you wish.
Photo taken from Lo-Fi Memories: Found Game Boy Camera Photography on Kickstarter.