“Childhood Summer” by Alison Amick.

By Manna Parker

The 4th annual Somerville Toy Camera Festival (STCF) is now one of the largest toy camera festivals in the world. The festival, which features photographs submitted by a diverse range of artists, is running from September 8 to October 15 this year.

The STCF “grew out of a number of alternative process photo shows held at the Nave Gallery,” explained Susan Berstler, director at Nave Gallery/Nave Annex and head of the festival. The event eventually expanded to include many more artists and galleries devoted to the art of photography.

Berstler spoke about the easy attraction of photographs saying, “Photography is one of the most user-friendly mediums out there. One that most people are comfortable with, respond to and are willing to try themselves.”

Since the invention of the mass-produced toy camera in the 1960s, everyone had the ability to take a photograph. The lack of control of lighting and focus is also what makes this type of photography so compelling. “I find this focus on plastic or no lens, expired or deliberately not perfect film, refreshing in today’s world of digital photography,” said Berstler.

“Katie Did” by Meg Birnbaum.

The festival celebrates that spontaneity of imperfect film photography. The artists who submitted their toy camera photographs to the contest this year embraced that in their images. Juror for the festival, Christopher James, is also a fan of toy camera photography. His career as a photographer has led to internationally recognized work shown in museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Additionally, James has published extensively on photography and is University Professor and Director of the MFA in Photography program at Lesley University College of Art and Design.

The winning photographs are displayed at several galleries in Somerville. With STCF’s original intent to include many different Somerville galleries, the festival spans across several spaces including Nave Annex, Washington Street Art Center, and Brickbottom Gallery. Also included is a walk-in camera obscura installed by Marian Roth at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA until October 2.

Next year, Berstler hopes to expand STCF to include Spencer Lofts Gallery in Chelsea and The Photographic Resource Center in Kenmore Square. Berstler also hopes to increase the number of submissions from a variety of national and international photographers.

If you are interested, you can check out the Somerville Toy Camera Festival Facebook page or join the Nave Galleries mailing list. You can also get more information about the festival at their website: http://www.somervilletoycamera.org.

“This Love” by DeAnna Foran.

“Ann On The Dock” by Sarah Holbrook.