Everybody's got a camera in their pocket. From smartphones to compact cameras and high-end DSLRs, the already blurry line between keen amateurs and dedicated photographers is becoming even hazier. 

When I shoot a jiu-jitsu tournament, I'm usually lugging around a few thousand dollars worth of equipment. I don't know if it was some kind of hipster-inspired backlash against technology or just a desire to do something different, but I had an idea brewing for a few months and felt this was the perfect time to execute. 

For the recent IBJJF No-Gi Pans in New York, I bought three $10 single-use Fujifilm cameras from a CVS in Manhattan. I hadn't shot a film camera in over 10 years, and I wanted to see what kind of photos I'd end up with. 

Each camera came with about 30 exposures. I kept one and gave one each to Dominyka Obelenyte (yep, the four-time black belt world champion) and my friend Nico, who were both helping out behind the scenes. Between us, we took photos of anything and everything. 

Gui and Rafael Mendes with Mason Monsevais 

Dillon Danis 

What jiu-jitsu looks like photographed with a $10 camera

The answer is pretty crappy, but pretty cool at the same time. As you might expect, $10 cameras don't take great photos. 

But photos from a $10 camera have this great retro image quality that fancy-schmancy digital cameras just don't deliver. It's like having a real-life instagram filter in your pocket. 

60% of the photos I got back were complete garbage. I'm talking milky photos with only a few spots of light visible. It's probably a good thing I bought three cameras, otherwise i probably would have ended up with a handful of images. 

Marcelo Garcia 'Chokeboyz' 

Dillon Danis and his gold medal



Looking back through the photos that did come out, I remember taking almost all of them. I think it's because I was the only person using the flash, so unfortunately we'll never know what moments Dom or Nico saw. 

Many of the photos did not turn out as I expected, both for good and for bad. Some pics ended up with amazing vignettes and color contrast that I would have spent hours trying to replicate in post-processing. In other photos I cut off people's heads or it was all completely out of focus. Whatever, they all look pretty cool. 

Gordon Ryan and Garry Tonon

Gianni Grippo 

How photos taken on a $10 camera made me fall back in love with photography

It felt incredibly liberating not to have to carry around my DSLR. And pulling a real camera out of my pocket instead of a cellphone made me feel like I was still a photographer, not just somebody taking photos. 

Everybody got a kick out of seeing me use this shitty little camera when they're so used to seeing me carrying a pro rig around. It meant insta-smiles and great interaction with people who maybe otherwise don't like posing for photos. 

I automatically kept looking at the back of the camera after I took a photo, only there was no screen there. Digital cameras and iPhones have ruined me. Not knowing how they would look was both exciting yet infuriating. I really wanted to see those photos. 

That led to a genuine sense of anticipation and excitement while I waited for the photos to be developed (a loooong-ass three working days). I had started flicking through them before I was even out of the store. I can't remember the last time I'd experienced some good old-fashioned delayed gratification.

Take a look at the full gallery below...

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