The INSTAX brand encourages creatives to capture life through their personal lenses with products that not only commemorate special occasions but allow individuals to impart their own creative vision onto each moment. The latest INSTAX MINI 99 camera is an ode to individuality, offering up six color effect dial options to explore with while shooting quality images.
Photographer, director, and filmmaker Aidan Cullen often pulls from his life to create visions or snapshots that really captivate audiences. After getting into skate culture while growing up, he found himself immersed in the worlds of streetwear and fashion. Shooting skate films of his friends helped Cullen to realize a larger passion for storytelling — something he now continues to do for brands through lookbooks or exclusive campaigns. “I try to repurpose a lot of my actual experiences and interactions. I’m trying to show subjects very vulnerably and make the work feel super personal, even if the production is quite put together on the back end,” he explains.
But after spending time working as an artist and freelancer, Cullen began to notice many gaps or disconnects in the industry. Not only did he see a lack of resources available to creatives, but he also saw a lack of connectivity between creatives. It is out of this blank canvas that he and his partner Alex’s platform, Nova, was born. “Nova stands for network, opportunity, visibility for artists,” he says.
“Creatives need other creatives just as much as brands need creatives. We gave people about $10 million worth of jobs in a year through a private Instagram, which is nuts. Around two-thirds of that was creatives hiring other creatives,” Cullen continues, “I think it’s amazing for people who are in a younger stage in their career. I built this for me right now, but also me five years ago. This type of platform would’ve changed my life. My best advice for growing creatives would be to work really hard, keep your head down, and try to have a vision for what you want your career to be.”
Like the INSTAX brand, Cullen fuels artists, photographers, and multifaceted creatives to pursue their passions without bounds. The two teamed up to shoot scenes across New York City, showing off the camera’s different capabilities in nostalgic settings from Paulie Gee Slice Shop to Cato’s Army and Navy.
The INSTAX MINI 99 premium analog camera equips users with six playful color filter options — warm tone, light blue, soft magenta, sepia, light leak, and faded green — created from the 4 LED lights, a manual vignette switch, and multiple modes including Sports mode, Indoor mode, and more. These effects are able to be seen in action as each INSTAX MINI photo prints. “I loved the double exposure feature. It was seamless and very easy to use,” Cullen shared, as he used the different settings to capture the city in his own fresh way.
To learn more about the INSTAX MINI 99 camera, visit instaxus.com.
