One shot. One shot! ONE SHOT!

Essay by Zack McDonald, co-founder of One Shot

 

That's Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken talking there.

A brief moment from arguably the most intense scene in movie history.

A scene that hinges on chance and consequence.

The unknown and the inevitable.

It ends with Mr. Walken getting his brains blown out.

Bummer.

Undeniably electric, also.

Now.

We're no soldiers.

We're not even tough guys.

The closest we've come to that sort of danger is playing Five Finger Fillet with a butter knife.

But somehow, this idea of risk and reward, explored so brutally in The Deer Hunter, is one that haunts us.

No, we didn’t seek out a revolver on the black market.

We decided to explore the idea the way you explore things in the Pacific Northwest:

With a high-concept art project.

One Shot is the Russian Roulette of photography.

A game that could result in a masterpiece or a mistake, if not life or death.

But One Shot is more than that.

It's our way to shine a light on the more-or-less forgotten world of analog photography.

That imperfect realm of split second decisions.

Happy accidents.

And opportunities, both missed and made.

If you're reading this, chances are, you share our love of film.

Not only for the beauty.

But also for the mystery.

The weight.

There's a wildness there that we've forgotten.

Having only a handful of chances to land that perfect shot is almost unthinkable.

Waiting days or even weeks to find out if you got it is damn near unbearable.

That way of shooting feels dangerous.

And exciting.

And oh-so-different from the way most of us take pictures in 2016.

We founded One Shot to highlight everything that's remarkable about analog photography.

We aim to do it in the most fun, interesting and accessible way possible.

Where else can you get an affordable 1/1 original print from one of the best photographers in the world?

We dare say, "Nowhere."

The fact that you have no idea what that 1/1 original print is going to look like when you buy it?

That's risky.

And kinda scary.

And undeniably electric.

One shot.

One shot!

ONE SHOT!