The Photography/Lomography Paradox by @corktiles

I feel that if photography looked into a mirror, it would see a Lomography image staring back—truthful, unique, and imperfect.

There are so many reasons why I love Lomography. I always smile when I think back to my resistance to the thought of a plastic camera (the Holga) in an advanced photography course that I paid a lot of money for. A leaky light box with no adjustable settings made me lose control and wasted a lot of film. It was a semester of angst and challenges.
Long story short is that it changed my creative life. I adapted and I continued to grow from that class. There is an implication of unattainable perfection in almost all of the creative arts and photography is no exception. This was once my path.

Nikons are sometimes my tools of choice and they are heavy (if you own a Nikon F, then you know what I mean). I love the fact that plastic weighs next to nothing and that it is also a great companion. People will see the bright pink or sunny yellow camera and dismiss it. Access granted in an instant.

I develop my own film and that is another reason I love Lomography. Anticipation, expectation, and success or failure—all of those are literally at your fingertips at that moment. How often can we say that? Working in complete darkness, focused only on your film with heightened senses of touch and hearing takes the Lomo experience to another level of cool or panic.

Do you recognize the names of Parks, Salgado, Evans, or Newton? If so, then you know the impact that these photographers had on the craft. These are traditional photographers who owned their individual styles. One of the best parts about Lomography is that it is never the same, no two images look alike.

I have a collection of Lomography cameras and I love to combine them with specialty films such as Revolog and the Lomography line. My collection is large, so in addition to my staples of the Diana F+ and the Holga, I like to add an Action Sampler or the Sprocket Rocket to the mix. I recently bought the Lomography LC-A+ which I took to the state fair with me, and I was immediately impressed by it.

Here are my fair images, so long summer. They could not be more different. I love that. One day, one location, one photographer with completely unique images, one after the next. Lomography reveals individuality and as a traditional photographer, I champion that.

We would like to thank @corktiles for this submission. Follow them on their website and Instagram to see more of their work.

written by cheeo on 2022-11-06 #culture #places #submission #analogue-photography #community #lomography #film-photography #corktiles