Mike Pham on Staying Creatively Curious with the LomoChrome Metropolis Film

Mike Pham is a Southern California-based lifestyle, portrait, and fashion photographer who dedicates his creative process to staying curious and exploring the unknown. He's in search of the raw moments, willingly capturing both beauty and pain, to reveal the authenticity of life. His mission shines through, especially in this LomoChrome Metropolis series he shared with us as he blends the grandness of landscapes with the emotions of the human experience. Check out what he has to say about his work below!

Hi Mike, welcome to the Online Magazine. Please let the readers know who you are and what you do!

I’m Mike Pham, a film and digital photographer based out of Southern California. While I like to shoot whatever I’m drawn to, I like to focus on portraiture and editorial.

What's your relationship to film photography? Why analogue in a digital age?

I started to get serious with digital photography around 2016, then a friend gave me a disposable camera and that’s how I got introduced to film. That’s when I really started to learn about exposure and lighting because, with analogue, you have such a limited number of shots. That challenged me to learn how to tell a story, through my perspective, in, let’s say, three shots.

Do you have a specific style of photography? What subjects do you gravitate towards?

I love a good story, character, or concept and I always try to bring some sort of feeling to the images I make. Other than that, people doing their passions. That always makes for a great photograph.

How was your experience with our Metropolis film? Does it complement your style or was it more of an experiment?

Metropolis was a fun challenge for me because I knew the colors were going to be different than anything I’ve worked with before. Maybe I was just overthinking it? Either way, this photo series was taken over the last eight months.

Which photo from this series do you find most special and why?

I really like how the light leak came out, adding a little orange and purple. I had accidentally opened my backing, thinking I was done with the roll, but I quickly realized I had one more shot. I closed it up and pretended nothing happened.

How do you like to challenge your creative process?

I am constantly learning new things and, even if it’s not photography-based, it informs my creative process. Music has always been a huge part of my life; I play banjo and guitar which gives me a chance to escape from everything. I’ve always believed in a work-life balance and I try to keep a sustainable schedule because, honestly, I think when I’ve been eating right, exercising, and getting sleep, my creative work is better for it.

What are your top three gear to bring to a shoot?

My Mamiya RZ67, Leica m6, and sekonic light meter.

Is there anything we can expect next from Mike Pham?

I really want to try the Lomography Color Negative film.

Follow Mike on his Instagram and visit his website!

written by kaylalew on 2021-12-01