Jay Ybarra's Sprocket Rocket First Impressions

Jay Ybarra is an Austin-based photographer who specializes in street photography and portraiture. His work is heavily inspired by hip-hop album art, comics and movies. Through his work he tries to find the beauty in the world around him that most people might look past. He recently tested out the Sprocket Rocket 35 mm Panoramic Camera and gave us his first impressions after testing it out in various settings.

Photos by Jay Ybarra

Hi Jay, welcome to Lomography Magazine! Can you please tell us a bit about yourself and your work?

Hello! I'm Jay Ybarra, I'm a portrait and street photographer based in Austin Texas.

Can you tell us about what you decided to shoot with the Sprocket Rocket?

Most of the photos I shot with the Sprocket Rocket were portraits. I wanted to see how some of them would look with the vertical orientation, and get a lot of the environment in some of the portraits. I really wanted to see how it would look with a flash, so I even took it to a Drag Show I was shooting at hosted by Harlót, YvonnaFMei and Brigitte Bandit and threw on a Contax flash I had, which worked amazingly.

Photos by Jay Ybarra

What was your first impression of the camera?

It's a very simple camera. I thought the shape was really interesting, but everything was pretty straight to the point with it. I was wondering if I was using it right, mostly because the shutter was very different to any camera I'd used before.

What kind of film did you use with the camera?

I used Fujifilm Fujicolor 200. I wish I had some more options, but the shop I go to didn't have much at the time I was using this. Though after seeing the results I'm not mad at all, even with the fairly dirty at home scans I did with them I feel it adds to it.

Photos by Jay Ybarra

Do you have a favorite shot taken with the camera?

I think the metal dandelion sculpture are the ones that really stand out for me. That was always a thing I would test new lenses or cameras on when I used to live in the area. I had driven back around there for a shoot one day, and had to pull over and use it there. It reflects light so well, and you can see a lot of detail on each of the spikes.

Do you have any tips or tricks for shooting with the Sprocket Rocket?

Make sure you keep track of whether you've advanced or not. I had a few photos where I couldn't remember if i had, and got a double exposure accidentally. They worked out in the end, but I wish I would have been a little more intentional with it!

Photos by Jay Ybarra

Who would you recommend the camera to?

I think anyone can really have fun with this camera. It's a cool camera for people who travel and want to get some landscape photos, and its also great for just the daily point-and-shoot type of camera. It's fun to get so much in the frame when you're taking portraits.

Has your approach to shooting with the Sprocket Rocket been any different than with other point-and-shoots?

When taking portraits I would kind of stand a lot closer than I normally would with a narrower point-and-shoot. Even a fairly wide lens, like say 24-35 on a standard 35 mm point-and-shoot, I think I would stand back a little further so I can get more of the surroundings. With this I could fill someone's face with a 3rd of the frame and still get so much around them as well.

Photos by Jay Ybarra

Do you have any upcoming content or projects you can tell us about?

Check out some of the work I'm doing with Fujifilm. I've been doing some short videos with them lately, as well as some for myself. It's been really interesting to try out so many cameras lately. I want to eventually work on some books, or photo shows at some point in the near future, but nothing immediate at the moment.


If you're interested in keeping up with Jay and his work, check out his Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and website!

written by eloffreno on 2023-04-29 #gear #people #wide-angle #experimental #street-photography #portraits #sprocket-rocket

Mentioned Product

Lomography Sprocket Rocket

Lomography Sprocket Rocket

A camera dedicated to those preciously analogue sprocket holes, the Sprocket Rocket features a super-wide lens that flawlessly exposes the whole width of the 35mm film. Flaunt those sprocket holes in every shot! Enjoy a super panoramic view of the world with our series of Sprocket Rocket cameras and accessories.

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