Photographing a Mexican Drug Cartel with Fujifilm Instax Mini 12

I guess most of us associate Fujfilm’s plastic, pastel-colored instant cameras and printers (of which I own a few) with lighthearted moments such as birthday parties, weddings or casual snapshots with friends.

But Henry from “THROUGH THE GLASS” took his Insax Mini 12 to a wedding of a Mexican drug cartel, where he wore his cheerful Instax camera around his neck while guests carried massive rifles – a surreal contrast between the playful innocence of instant photography and the bizarre, tension-filled reality of cartel life.

And while the casual Instax prints where sometimes able to break through the tension and bring a smile even to highly armed people, the underlying sense of danger was never far behind.

The result is a very interesting, 17 minutes long mini-documentary that brings you right into the heart of one of Mexico’s most dangerous places, offering an unfiltered glimpse into cartel life through the lens of a toy-like camera.