A Tough Sell

I have seen this vendor on Playa La Ropa since arriving here in Mexico four years ago. He sells instant prints of people in the water. They used to be Polaroids, he had an ancient SX-70 when I first saw him, but judging by the equipment I can see in the photo he appears to have upgraded to some kind of Fuji product (at least that is the brand on those film packs in his gadget bag). Probably couldn't obtain the film for his old Polaroid. In this age of cheap point and shoot and any number of cell phone cameras, it would seem there would be little market for an instant print person, yet while I sat enjoying a cold beverage at our favorite beach restaurant I saw him sell not one, but both prints he is reviewing here, to a mother of two adorable little girls. The poses were nothing fantastic, the setting nothing special, but she obviously wanted a physical record of their time at the beach, not just an electronic memory.