lomo lc-a+

lomo lc-a+
Originally uploaded by kenibatz

When I shoot with my LC-A+ (Lomo Kompakt Automat), I'm never completely sure if I've captured a moment properly. The results I get when the film rolls have been processed are usually somewhere between "WOW" and "WTF". I think that's what I like best about Lomography.

Lomography's "The Ten Golden Rules" encourages one to have fun. With photography being the most inexact of sciences already loaded with jargons like f-stops and "the inverse square law", lomography just encourages one to "Don't Think" and just shoot.

I'm not completely sold on that. I suppose that rule is great if you just want to let go and have fun. Depending on what kind of pictures you want to take, a more academic path to photography is still worth considering. "Learn the rules before you break them", or so I've heard. Besides, when you know how to shoot like a pro, imagine what wonders you can do with a lomo cam.

Nonetheless, I love my LC-A+ and thoroughly enjoy having it by my side when I don't want to bring my DSLR. It is lightweight, elegant, and durable. People are also less likely to think I'm a professional photographer (a big advantage when taking pictures of my friends at the local park).

In my almost-semi-professional career as a photographer, I've used the LC-A+ for portrait and fashion, but my creative preferences lean towards using it for editorial and landscape photography. The blurred effects and over-saturated colors results seem to visually resonate better with me when the photographic subject just needs to be as real as possible.

To find out what kind of results you may want, here's a snippet of tips on choosing film for lomography that I learned from Daniel Y. Go, one of my favorite photographers. Check out his incredible photostream.

as for film, I buy and use expired film simply because it is cheaper :D

You need to know what type of images you prefer. When cross processed, different slide films give different results. For example, Velvia and Sensia, (35mm) gives off a pinkish/reddish/orangy color tint. Provia/Kodak elitechromes/Agfa CT Precisa gives off greenish/bluish tint naman and more often than not expired film will give off funky color shifts and added grain. But it all depends. Kaya I agree, expired film is not that crucial, more crucial is the film brand and the developing process.

If you want vignetting. Shoot in bright condition, using slower film. I find ASA 50 to ASA 100 to gives off more vignettes, But if you want vignettes regardless of the light condition, invest in a Holga 135BC, the lens there has a mask that "forces" vignetting regardless of the light condition.

If you want to see the different effect and looks of different films. Do a search in my photostream for the following keywords. Sensia, Velvia, Provia, Kodak Elitechrome, Agfa CT Precisa, Holga 135bc :)

One final thought on the subject of lomography. As with all fields of photography, lomography is expensive and often quite a lot of fun.

I believe that's the only thing you can be sure of. :)


Strobist lighting setup explained at my flickr account.