Saturday 31 August 2013

My Lomography & I


I noticed a lot of Lomography chat going around and a few giveaways hosted by different blogs, so I decided to share my experience with these cameras.
I have been passionate about photography since I was a child and I've been a Lomography fan for many years, since I bought my first Holga camera in 2005.
 At the time I was studying photography at Cardiff Univesity so it was only natural to branch out and experiment with different means.
I actually did my final colour assignment exclusively using this camera and 2 of my pictures were chosen and hang at an exhibit.

Lomography Holga


They are definitely great fun but be prepared for frustration - you need to wait to develop the film - and disappointment - for the only 1 shot worth saving from the whole roll. These cameras are also called 'toy cameras' because they look more like a cheap plastic toy than an high technological piece of engineering... but after all, that is all that you need: an hole and a film; it also means that they leak light and, of course, it adds charm but can also ruin a photo.

Lomography Diana F+



Both the Holga and the Diana F+ are medium format so they use a larger film size than your typical holiday photos camera; personally, I love medium format and they also come with different frame masks that will let you shoot square or rectangular pictures. 
You can actually also use a 35mm film with a bit of modification, involving some elastic bands and cotton pads. Settings are pretty basic (cloudy, sunny, foreground, background) but I'd recommend to have a minimum of photography knowledge because developing films is getting more and more expensive and you want to maximise every frame. It's probably better to start with Black&White so you can develop and print your own photos in the darkroom.
The pleasure of printing on photographic paper is nearly arousing - most definitely exciting - and I will never rely only on a memory card to preserve my precious memories.


Although digital photography has made huge improvements in quality, I will always be an analog at heart and the darkroom one of my favourite places; sometimes I wish digital was never invented - crazy, I know - but it obliterated what photography is all about for me: 'The Decisive Moment'.
Of course, I rely on digital on a daily basis (like for the blog, for example): it's convenient and fast but it also makes us lazy and breeding worst disciplined photographers. 
I see the world in a frame, I'm constantly scouting for the perfect composition and I own that to my traditional training.
Anyway, if you're not as extreme like me and you're not ready for a full film commitment - but still want to give film a go - I think these cameras are ideal to play with and the fun is endless.
They also offer a great variety of accessories and you can really get creative and obtaining beautiful and remarkable pictures.

... and talking about fashion accessories - my much used and loved bags ;)





Have you ever used a Lomography camera?

14 comments:

  1. These are so cool! I have never used one before xx

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    1. they are great fun and they look cool, too - I agree xx

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  2. I never used a Lomography camera but yours look like you can have a lot of fun with them :D
    xx

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    1. you can really get creative and get beautiful results with a bit of practice. :) xx

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  3. I've never used one before but they are so cool! And I love the effect it gives! (:


    Yuen @ The Craziest Paradigm - a 'lil bit of rust & stardust

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    1. you should definitely get one, great for outfit photos too :)

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  4. Awesome post!
    I have used one, and played with my cousin's one. They are lots of fun, but it is heartbreaking paying for the prints only to realise you wasted your money and not one is good :(
    This was before I knew much about photography at all, and I would love to play with another one with the knowledge I now have!

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    1. I agree about the prints disappoitment :( You should definitely get one, now that you're more confident in how they work
      . x

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  5. Nice ;)
    http://comestilomodaebeleza.blogspot.pt/

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  6. Wow!
    I deff thought they were toy cameras :)

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  7. These cameras are ace, lots of fun to play with :) x

    Evelyn @ We Were Raised By Wolves

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