Have you ever photographed a night out and been disappointed at how
little the shots match up to the level of fun you remember? Have you
ever stopped what you're doing to look at the photos you've just taken
and then hated yourself for it? Do you find it strange how older
photos seem somehow 'warmer' than more recent ones?
If you've ever downloaded a toy camera app to use on your phone in
order to make the shots from its camera seem a bit nicer, then
perhaps it's about time you tried the real thing. There is a movement
out there that can introduce you to an awful lot of friends, cameras
and, most importantly, fun. It's called lomography and, if you
love taking photos but feel that photography's lost its magic, then
this is definitely for you.
In the 1980s, a factory in Russia started to churn out a little
compact camera called the Lomo Kompact Automat – commonly known as the
LC-A – and one of these little soviet beauties ended up in a camera
store in Vienna where it was discovered by a couple of students in the
early 1990s. They popped some film in, rattled off a few shots and
were amazed with the results. Even with little or no technical skills
in photography, it seemed like anyone could get fantastic results from
the LC-A and its amazing little lens so, before long, lomography was
born.
Where photography has rules, lomography has none – well, a handful
that end with "don't worry about any rules" – and this gave
people more freedom with their cameras. Just because it has a
viewfinder, doesn't mean you have to use it. Just because a double
exposure is usually an accident, doesn't mean you can't try it on
purpose. Just because it's daytime, doesn't mean you can't use a
flash.
The movement grew and other fun cameras began to be sold alongside the
classic LC-A. Cameras made entirely of plastic, with multiple lenses, strange formats, and quirky effects – lomography revived old classics
and created new ones.
Despite this new digital age, lomography has survived. In fact, it
may be because of it that the movement has flourished as more
people now own a camera than ever before and, attached to a phone, you
they can now more easily take it everywhere they go. This means that
more people take odd photos of things in the street and don't worry
about why they're doing it. Lomography never thought that photographs
had to be of an occasion, and now the rest of the world is inclined to
agree.
Lomography is about the mood and feel of an image. Someone once told
me that the shots on my LC-A were like beautiful memories, whereas the
ones from our digital cameras just look like real life. So, if you
feel like your photos are lacking something, why not get down to your
local lomo gallery store and find a workshop to try, or
just take the plunge and snap up a film camera to work it all out for
yourself.
Remember the anticipation of waiting for your photos to be developed?
Sometimes we need to put a little bit of that old-fashioned joy back
into our lives.
Image © Lori Smith