LomoGuru of the Week: Vicuna

43

Even if you are new in the Community, you sure have heard of this week’s Lomography Guru who have been true to analogue for more than a decade!

Meet Stephane, or more popularly known as vicuna in the Community, as he shares to us his joyful experiences in the world of analogue and further on, in the world of the Lomography Community!

Read on as he gives us tips and as we feature his lovely Lomographic gallery! Enjoy!

Credits: vicuna

Name: Stéphane Heinz
Lomography username: vicuna
Location: Raiatea, French Polynesia
Number of years as a Lomographer: 8 years
Number of years in the Community: 6 years

Share to us your most memorable experience in the Lomographic Community.

Well, there are a lot of memorable experiences… But the one which I remember the most is my first big competition win. It was back in 2007, I was in the Community for less than a year and was one of the winners of the big Lomography Absolut Competition. I was so surprised and honored to be chosen as a winner - that was a fantastic feeling. And even today, everytime I get the chance to win a Lomography competition, it’s a fantastic feeling, I never get used to it! :)

Have you actually met people in the Community that you now consider as close friends?

I had the chance to meet some Lomo-friends for real and it was everytime a great moment. I remember my meeting with lomodirk in Nürnberg. He showed me his city and we had a great day together. And we had the chance to process our films together at the end of the day: it was my very first home-processed film! Thanks for that Dirk!

I also met grenoouille and her daughter marguegue when they went to visit us on the Cote d’Azur (when I was living in Nice) and we all spent some great days together.

And I can’t forget Christmas 2011: katoun & I went to Los Angeles for a week and we had the chance to meet satomi (a Lomo-legend!) and blueskyandhardrock We were invited to Satomi’s home to celebrate Christmas and it was a true moment of happiness. The next days, satomi and blueskyandhardrock brought us to different places in LA and we had such a good time together!

And in a few weeks, we’ll have the visit of one great Lomographers and Lomo-friend who is coming to see us in French Polynesia… We’re so happy to meet him! But I’ll tell you later who he is, he he :))

And there are so many other Lomo-friends I’d like to meet for real… But for every travel I make, I know that there are always some new Lomo-friends to meet all over the world!

Credits: vicuna

Do you think you’ll still be taking lomographs in the next 5 years? Why?

Yes, of course! I don’t see any reason why I’ll stop taking Lomographs for the simple reason that I can’t imagine living without it! These Lomographic cameras really changed my life and the way I look at things. It’s part of my life now, not an interference that could stop one day.

What is your favorite Lomographic camera and why? Do you have any memorable experiences while using this camera?

That’s a difficult question… I have so many Lomographic and other analog cameras that the choice for one isn’t easy. If I had one to choose, it would be the iconic LC-A+ as this camera always comes with me, especially when I’m travelling abroad. So I can say that all the memorable travel experiences I had were documented by my LC-A+. It’s the very best travel camera ever, so small, so reliable and lightweight that you can really bring it everywhere! But besides the LC-A+, I must say that the Lubitel+ and Horizon Kompakt are also my favorites. This trio, LC-A, Lubitel and Horizon is the very best travel combo to document everything in different film formats and picture sizes.

Is there any advice you can give to new analogue shooters?

Analogue needs patience and passion. So if you start analogue, you need to be patient as you won’t get immediate results the way you want them. And be patient while shooting because the best occasion for a shoot doesn’t come directly to you, you need to wait and observe to catch the perfect moment on film. And about passion, yes, it’s an essential ingredient. You can’t just shoot Lomography if you don’t deeply involve yourself in what you’re shooting. A great picture is the one made with passion, joy, emotion, sadness, or anything else, but it’s coming from your heart, from your feelings and not from your brain. Because analogue is not about technique, rules, calculations and control of what you do, it’s exactly the opposite.

So take your camera, free your mind, let it go and just shoot. You’ll see afterwards which emotions you captured on film… And then, shoot again and again and again!

Credits: vicuna

written by mayeemayee on 2012-03-04 #lifestyle #interview #community #q-a #lomoguru

43 Comments

  1. grazie
    grazie ·

    great one @vicuna !

  2. shoujoai
    shoujoai ·

    yeah, a real Lomo-Guru! :D

  3. paper_doll
    paper_doll ·

    a true lomo-legend, no doubt!

  4. disdis
    disdis ·

    guru? I would say legend

  5. mikahsupageek
    mikahsupageek ·

    Legend indeed !!!

  6. lereile
    lereile ·

    short interview for a superb lomographer!

  7. lamp
    lamp ·

    Lovely interview @vicuna

  8. herbert-4
    herbert-4 ·

    Excellent!! @vicuna

  9. wil6ka
    wil6ka ·

    true awesomeness!

  10. icuresick
    icuresick ·

    A legend!

  11. vicuna
    vicuna ·

    thanks so much everyone for these nice words!! :)))

  12. gheinz
    gheinz ·

    A legend ! It's my brother !!! And I'm so proud about him !!!

  13. dudizm
    dudizm ·

    Yeahhhhhhhhhhh! You kick Ass Steph!

  14. superlighter
    superlighter ·

    Go @vicuna go! I love his travel reportage!

  15. adi_totp
    adi_totp ·

    my lomoguru since 2007! :D

  16. ripsta
    ripsta ·

    my idol!

  17. emperornorton
    emperornorton ·

    Congratulations @vicuna!

  18. coca
    coca ·

    "So take your camera, free your mind, let it go and just shoot. You’ll see afterwards which emotions you captured on film… And then, shoot again and again and again!"... great advice @vicuna :)

  19. cc-in-paris
    cc-in-paris ·

    @vicuna, truly a guru and a great source of inspiration!! love your work!!

    ps: I bet it's stouf! :P

  20. jeabzz
    jeabzz ·

    excellent stephan !! :D A great lomoguru :D

  21. vicuna
    vicuna ·

    thanks again everyone for the kind words, really much appreciated! :))
    @cc-in-paris: would have been very cool if stouf was coming, but it's not him... ;)

  22. johann_affendy
    johann_affendy ·

    well deserved!

  23. radiactive
    radiactive ·

    Totaly agree with @coca !

  24. guanatos
    guanatos ·

    this is my fav quote: "You can’t just shoot Lomography if you don’t deeply involve yourself in what you’re shooting." at the end that's the way we have to face day to day with our camera at hand...

  25. lomodesbro
    lomodesbro ·

    a sensitive soul with his uniquecolour sense and vibe

  26. 134340
    134340 ·

    impressed and inspired ! : )

  27. peropero
    peropero ·

    oh no! you went to easter island but didnt come to santiago? :(
    sad!

  28. dreadlockboy
    dreadlockboy ·

    congrats @vicuna :D

  29. superkulisap
    superkulisap ·

    Try Southeast Asia next time you plan your itinerary!

  30. vicuna
    vicuna ·

    @peropero: was a short trip to easter island, but we'd really like to come to chile next time! :)
    @superkulisap: true, never went to south east asia, that's another big travel project for the future!

  31. vicuna
  32. moodification
    moodification ·

    Great article! Well done, @vicuna! Grüße aus Deutschland ... :-))

  33. volker-jp
    volker-jp ·

    legend and inspiration! congratulations, Sir! :))

  34. vicuna
    vicuna ·

    Vielen Dank @moodification und @volker-jp! :))

  35. lighthouseblues
    lighthouseblues ·

    Congratulations @vicuna! Well deserved!! :-))

  36. adam_g2000
    adam_g2000 ·

    @vicuna Ah, There you are! Nice one my friend!

  37. vicuna
    vicuna ·

    thanks @adam_g2000 and @lighthouseblues! :)

  38. sirio174
    sirio174 ·

    great album, great lomographer!

  39. stouf
    stouf ·

    @vicuna You are a giant my friend !

  40. -a-l-b-e-r-t-o-
    -a-l-b-e-r-t-o- ·

    obey to vicuna

  41. vicuna
    vicuna ·

    Thanks @sirio174 @stouf and @a-l-b-e-r-t-o ! :))

  42. japsix
    japsix ·

    yeahh!! my lomo-guru since long long time ago!!!! great article!

  43. satomi
    satomi ·

    ♥ Miss you two so much!

More Interesting Articles