Thick Boi Film: An Interview with Kaela Barker
For Pelican Magazine. Photo credits to Ainslie McLellan.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for anyone willing to brave the challenges of analogue photography – its cost, its intricacies, inconveniences, and limited availability – all in the pursuit of creating unique, beautiful art that captures the timelessness of frozen moments. Much like the sentiments that vinyl collectors proudly share over drinks on a night out, there is something fundamentally different about engaging with a timeless – some consider dated – artform.
Unlike the mundane digital photography of my iPhone, analogue photography requires a bit more skill, patience, and careful consideration of what it is that you feel is worth shooting on one of your limited – and pricey - frames on your roll of film.
Indeed, film photography seems to be more popular now than ever. My bedroom walls and Instagram feed are lined with compilations of film photos – the real ones and the filtered edits. They’re all a little burry, grainy, and chaotic; but, ultimately, perfectly curated, bold, colourful depictions of precious memories with my favourite people.
From amateurs like myself to professional photographers in the Australian and international industries; analogue photography is undertaking an absolute resurgence over all the social platforms that my generation engage with day in and day out.
Perth company, Thicc Boi Film (TBF) (@ thiccboifilm), originally caught my eye when I stumbled upon their Instagram page with its cute graphics, quirky name, and clever business model – film photography made available at the press of a button. Not a button on a camera, but on a brightly designed vending machine in Perth’s Raine Square.
Like any good millennial, my response was to commit to a good Instagram scroll and see where this COVID blessing had come from; how Perth became host to an initiative that was the first I’d heard of this concept; and how I might actually better take photos with the point and shoot camera I had inherited from my parents, that they used throughout my childhood. We organised a call with TBF cofounder Kaela and sat down to unpack, frame by frame, the story behind this intriguing start-up.
Izabela Barakovska: Tell us a bit about Thicc Boi Film as a company – what do you do, what’s the origin story, what’s your vision and mission.
Kaela Barker: We’ve only just turned one, so we’re very much still in the start up stage. At the moment it’s just the two of us – James and myself – and we started out of COVID-19 and everything that happened last year. James’ background is in cinematography and film-making, and mine is in marketing. In retrospect, it seems very natural that this happened, but we were just both focussing on our own individual things. When COVID hit, everything was turned on its head; I was out of work for a few months, it was a rough time for everyone, of course. It made us re-evaluate everything.
Film photography is ‘art as therapy’ for us. We’re both creative people and we love shooting as a hobby. Eventually we decided we didn’t want the year to be a complete waste and tried to take ownership of it. With the extra time we were given, we were shooting more and ended up directing more of our energy and time to that. In the beginning, it was to keep us sane, but it took off quicker than both of us had anticipated.
Getting the vending machine out was a big process – kind of feels like a whirlwind now – and it’s hard to believe it was little over 12 months ago we started Thicc Boi.
We still work two jobs each, and Thicc Boi is still our side hustle. We have big plans for it, and I’m sure this year is going to see it grow even more. I’m really excited for it.
James’ mum actually owned a film lab when she was about his age. Thicc Boi Film feels like a rite of passage now – a full 360. We had both forgotten about it actually; it wasn’t until we told his parents we were launching TBF and had just visited Adelaide and seen the old film lab that we realised how cool and full circle this was.
I handle the business side of things and James handles the stock and refurbishment of cameras. He has a natural talent for that, and I’ve been in retail and marketing for a while now. Neither of us thought that this is what we’d be doing right now, but we wish we had started years ago.
IB: Where did the name come from?
KB: The name was all James and his friend Andy. It’s the product of a good night out with mates.
The branding and illustrations are all hand drawn by our talented friend Mira (@atelier. mira) – and the hand-drawn illustrations are loosely based on what James looks like!
IB: What got you into film?
KB: I haven’t been shooting for that long at all – James has been trying to get me into photography for years, but I always left that as his thing and focused on graphic design and art as a creative outlet. I studied analogue photography as an elective unit at university – and that involved learning in a dark room and the whole process from start to finish, which really interested me. I wouldn’t call myself a professional by any means – I’m definitely just an enthusiast. James has been shooting, photography and cinematography, for well over a decade; analogue is another medium for him to learn to master.
IB: What do you say when asked ‘why film’?
KB: Even when it came to finding our supplier for the vending machine, we really had to explain to them what our concept was because they’d never heard of anything like it before. Now it’s fun to watch people come through the vending machine and experience something new. We had a customer message us about these two older men walking past the machine that were taking photos of it and were so happy to see film wasn’t dead. They couldn’t believe that something like this was in demand today. That in itself summarises, “why film?”
I believe every film photographer is invested in keeping it alive. Much like with any artform, you don’t want to see it die with the previous generation – that’s our motivation. ‘All things analogue’ is what we do, but ‘film for all’ is really our why – whether you’re just starting out like me, or if you’ve been shooting longer than I’ve been alive, we are about serving the whole community.
It’s all about making this medium more accessible to all generations of film photographers. They all have a valuable place in the community.
Putting a vending machine in Perth really shocked people – there’s an idea that Perth is very detached from the Eastern states and what’s going on, and we always seem to be the last to get anything. We wanted to speed that up for everyone and ultimately increase access to the medium.
IB: How did the vending machine idea come to be?
KB: A lot of it was about increasing that accessibility, especially during COVID and out of sheer necessity. We realised that our goal was 24/7 access because people who shoot don’t shoot between traditional retail hours. If you’re going out to a party, or going out really early to shoot sunrise, or whatever it is – you need that accessibility. It’s currently available 20 hours a day, 7 days a week.
But also, for myself especially, when I was first going into camera stores in Perth there was an intimidation factor from typically the older men that run these stores. It’s off-putting when you’re not wanting to come off as stupid or ask silly questions – it was a barrier for me to want to pursue film photography.
I knew that situation wasn’t unique to me. They are like gatekeepers in a way – the artform is from their generation, and there isn’t always that excitement about teaching the next generation so that film doesn’t die. If you’re unwilling to pass on the knowledge, then it’s bound to become lost.
By having our vending machine and online platform, it’s such an easily accessible place to get film. You can ask those stupid questions, you don’t have to look silly in front of your friends or parents, or you may not have anyone to ask those questions to. We’re a place people can go, and our aim is to break down as many barriers as possible so people can keep or start shooting.
The film community in Perth is incredible for the most part. Everyone is really supportive, there’s organic photo walks that happen all over Perth, all the time, and it’s awesome to see that. Outside of that space, however, it can be hard. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a professional or a beginner, you need to be able to have those conversations to learn more.
IB: Who is a film photographer you admire and why?
KB: I fell in love with the story of Vivian Maier when I was studying at university. She’s a French photographer and shoots a Rolleiflex, which is also what I shoot – a camera that you hold down low (a waist level viewfinder), rather than up high at your eyeline. She wasn’t a professional photographer – her day job was nannying – but her artwork was found years after she passed when someone bought it in an auction.
She was such a prolific shooter, but she was also a 6ft woman who managed to seemingly disappear in her street photography – and I was just very intrigued by her. She would take the kids out and shoot during the day whilst she was looking after them and had thousands of photographs that she’d taken – some of which are truly incredible.
I just felt connected to her – she wasn’t a professional, she wasn’t a celebrated photographer in life, but she definitely had an eye for it, and her story really drew me in. She even got photos of a famous actress at a movie premier, and you just stop and think – how did a nanny get those?
You can find the documentary, Film Finding Vivian Maier, here: http://www.vivianmaier. com/film-finding-vivian-maier/
IB: What are you most drawn to, to want to shoot on film? And what are your cameras of choice?
KB: Me and James have about twentyplus cameras between us. James jokes that Thicc Boi started just so he could buy more cameras and wine.
My favourite is a Pentax K1000 which was my first camera, and then the Rolleiflex that James gifted me. I also have a camera that my father gave me, a Canon T50 he travelled the world with. When I was young, we had all of these photographs in our laundry lining almost the entire wall from my parents’ six-month around-the-world honeymoon trip. I didn’t realise at the time, but those photos were taken on the T50 – so there’s a great deal of nostalgia for me there.
James shoots a lot of medium format – he shoots a Pentax 6x7. He also never leaves the house without his Olympus XA in his pocket.
In terms of what we shoot, it’s a lot of dayto-day life. I don’t know that I have a label really but I take a lot of street photography. We bring our cameras with us everywhere, and it’s really just about documenting our life. I’m really big on moments and memories, and we’re both pretty sentimental – we want to be able to tell stories with images. A lot of that nostalgia comes from the family photos we have, and we want to be able to slow down enough to appreciate everyday beauty. That’s something analogue photography can do that digital can’t. It’s about taking a breath and seeing your everyday in a new light.
It was our therapy during COVID to do that, and I would recommend it to any and everybody.
IB: What have been your biggest highlights and biggest challenges so far in starting a small business and in working within this industry?
KB: The highlight has been the incredible response. There was such a need for it in the Perth film community, and we knew that because we – as photographers who were a part of that community – felt it. Everyone was so grateful, and we’ve had so much support since December when we launched the machine.
As for challenges…there’s a lot of people in the scene, that’s for sure – especially given the rise in demand in the last few years. Sometimes it can feel like you are getting lost in the noise. But I think the biggest challenge across the globe for film photography now is that the suppliers can’t keep up. We are constantly struggling for stock – and that’s with everybody: Fuji, Kodak, they’re filling in orders from a year ago in some cases. Suppliers are really behind in terms of production; I don’t think they saw this resurgence coming. People are rediscovering film, and they just can’t keep up with the demand. That’s our biggest struggle right now.
IB: If you could collaborate with any brand, who or what would it be and why?
KB: If James was here to answer that he’d have a running list! We’ve already managed to collaborate with a lot of local artists and local businesses. We have good friends at a lab here in Perth – who we only met through Thicc Boi – called Silver
Halide Studios. But we’ve also got friend photographers on board: local artists like Mira who did our branding illustrations for Thicc Boi, etc.
Trying to cultivate a creative community is what we’re all about – it’s not about chasing the biggest brand names in film, it’s more about uplifting other small brands. Dubblefilm (@dubblefilm), for example, are a family-run business in Barcelona. To be able to get WA people this excited about a homegrown brand in Spain is exciting.
Our aim is to work with more brands like that.
IB: What’s your best advice for someone looking to start with film, who may not know how to interpret the goodies within the vending machine?
KB: We had a business mentor, and that was the biggest help for us. Every time we were like, ‘nope, too hard, it’s for somebody else’ and ready to give up, our mentor was truly invaluable. You have to hit the bottom at some point – a point where there is no other choice, an all or nothing situation – like the wall most of us hit with COVID, to really push you to focus and stay motivated on a project.
In terms of the work-life, and work-passion project balance, we’re in the middle of our hustle right now. James works 6 days a week, and me pretty much the same. We are not yet on the other side, ready to give advice, we are still very much in the hustle. I know we have to find that balance before we hit burnout, but at the moment we have a lot of adrenaline behind us that we’re still going through the motions. You can’t do it without hard work. If you are going to pull the trigger on a passion project, you do really need to hustle and make it happen. It doesn’t grow without cultivation, but there will be a point where you can employ other people and let other jobs go – but until then you still need to pay bills while you’re putting in the work to do what you love.
IB: Any insider tips on what TBF has in store for us for 2021?
KB: More vending machines for Perth are in the works for sure. Our online store is the next step so we can reach more people and provide a better service. We also definitely want to up the community factor so that people have a space to come and learn more – whether that’s workshops with local creatives or collaborations, photo walks etc., we want to impart what we know and keep the community strong in Perth
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