Adding Sparkles to Life in LomoChrome with Kate Hook

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Pioneer of photography Alfred Stieglitz once said "Wherever there is light, one can photograph", and this is certainly the case for Brighton-based photographer Kate Hook. She shoots exclusively with film and channels her passion for this medium to push her work to the far corners of analogue creativity. She also runs a popular YouTube channel dedicated to all things film! We sent her some rolls of LomoChrome Metropolis and she added a bit of sparkle into the mix to create a series of photos that shimmer and dazzle.

Photos by Kate Hook.

Hi Kate, please tell us a bit about yourself.

I'm an artist-photographer who works solely with film and I'm based in Brighton UK. Since I was a kid I've been messing around with cameras, discovering new and usual methods, all while creating some interesting imagery along the way.

What's the appeal of film and why did you decide to make a YouTube channel dedicated to it?

For me, the appeal is that it's so tangible and kind of magical too. You've got to trust yourself and the universe with it! Especially if you want to push the limits and get creative with it. I noticed there were a few channels on YouTube that focus more on the basics, gear, etc etc. Which is great! However, my journey into the more experimental side of analogue photography was quite limited in regards to resources and I don't want to be a gatekeeper. Often, I had people get in touch with me to ask how to do certain techniques and methods. So to me, it made sense to start a channel and create some videos so I could reference them whenever someone asked me about double exposure, film soup, you know- all the good and weird stuff. Granted, I haven't been able to create more videos with the channel due to my personal life. However, it's so encouraging and humbling when I get feedback and even see photos people have taken based on my videos! It's definitely something I want to keep doing and I'm working towards a position where I have more time and resources to do so. In the meantime, I've been able to whip together some fun little videos for TikTok and Instagram over the last few months and I've been getting great feedback on those too.

Photos by Kate Hook

You recently shot with the LomoChrome Purple and LomoChrome Metropolis films. Tell us about these photos, did you have something specific in mind when you set up the shoot?

My work is typically very vivid in colour and I tend to shoot with LomoChrome Purple when I want something a bit more quirky, fun, and otherworldly. With the purple shots, I wanted to capture the aura and energy while keeping it fun and light-hearted. I wanted to create something bright as the previous 18 months weren't the best time for me. Now with LomoChrome Metropolis, I wanted to add the element of brightness as a visual metaphor of coming out of darkness to light, all while kicking ass and to never let the previous year dull the shine of creativity.

How did you find the results of these films, were they what you expected?

I can always count on LomoChrome Purple to help deliver bright and beautiful photographs. Recently I found pairing the film up with some creative filters really adds an extra boost too. Now honestly I wasn't too sure about shooting with LomoChrome Metropolis and for me, it was a bit of a risk but it certainly paid off. A nice discovery was shooting with this film during golden hour really accentuates the colours! Even though the film creates a very muted tone it still had that bright element all thanks to the setting sun.

Photos by Kate Hook

If you were to shot with these films again would you do anything differently?

I would love to with LomoChrome Metropolis when the sun is rising as I'd like to see how it works in the morning light. With both films I would be interested in be looking into using more different creative filters, including colour filters such as vairocolours, to see what kind of tone and effects I can achieve. It's all about the art of play in my work and I find these LomoChrome films really do accentuate that.

Photos by Kate Hook

What have you got planned for the rest of the year?

Recently I've moved into the other side of film photography and currently work in a lovely little photo lab in Brighton! My plan really is to connect with other photographers that are local as I'd like to help build up the analogue photography scene in Brighton and Hove. Also, I plan on creating more super short films on 35mm as continuous shooting has been my obsession lately! Definitely want to create more videos for YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Last but not least I would like to release some limited prints of my work and maybe start working on publishing a book too. In the meantime, I'm just enjoying creating fun stuff with other artistic souls in Brighton and feel so lucky to do so!


To see more of Kate's work visit her website and Instagram page. Thanks to the models Ines Pissarro and Zellda.

2021-09-03 #people #videos #review #purple #brighton #beach #uk #youtube #metropolis #sparkle #freelance #lomochrome #kate-hook

LomoChrome Metropolis 35 mm ISO 100–400

This film comes with a unique chemical formula specifically developed in our Lomography film manufactory, which desaturates colors, mutes tones and makes contrasts pop.

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