Photos shot on antique cameras are usually snapshots of years gone by, often found in a cherished family photo album or perhaps displayed on the walls of a museum. However, 19-year-old photographer Aila Ru recently went viral on TikTok for a series of vintage-looking portraits of their friends, all captured in the present day with a 100-year-old camera.
Ru has been practicing photography since they were 15. Viewing photography as “an under-appreciated and underutilized art medium,” they felt compelled to pursue it as a creative form of expression and documentation.
“I love alternative and historical photographic processes,” Ru tells My Modern Met. “I think there’s something very special about older methods of photography and it’s becoming somewhat of a forgotten art, so that’s what inspired me to take photos on such an old camera.”
Given the sepia-toned, soft-focused nature of the images, the average onlooker could easily mistake them for vintage photographs that have been touched up with modern fashion or perhaps some sort of AI filter. But this is not the case. By using a No. 2 Folding Autographic Brownie, which was manufactured by Kodak between the years of 1915 and 1926, Ru was able to capture photos of their friends that have an old-world charm to them.
“I really love testing the boundaries of what a photograph can be,” Ru says. “I’m currently a senior in highschool planning to attend art school next year, where I can hopefully grow as an artist and pursue more projects like this.”
You can keep up with Ru's work and even book a photo shoot with them on Instagram.
Aila Ru is a 19-year-old photographer who recently went viral for taking portraits of their friends with an antique camera.
The Atlanta-based creative captured the portraits using a No. 2 Folding Autographic Brownie, which was manufactured by Kodak between the years of 1915 and 1926.
Thanks to the unique color scheme of the photographs and the modern styles of their friends, Ru is able to blend past and present together.
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Aila Ru.
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