LomoAmigo Moe Mustafa: A Lover of Art, Cinema, and the Lubitel 166+

Meet Moe Mustafa, our exceptionally creative Finnish Lomo Amigo who dabbles in art, photography, and film making.

Name: Mohammed Mustafa
Age: 27
Profession: Graphic Designer
Country: Finland
Lomohome: moemustafa

How long have you been a Lomographer? Or are you new to the world of Lomography?

I’ve been a Lomographer for 3 years now, I remember that once I settled down in Finland the first thing I did was to purchase a Diana Mini.

What’s the most unforgettable experience you’ve had in analogue photography?

The most unforgettable experience shooting medium film 120 for a first time using a Diana multi Pinhole, I was completely freaked out, I did not know how to load the film at first then I did not know that I have to wind the film for a loooooong time till frame 1 appears on the red square on the back door of the camera, and when I thought it won’t get any worse while I’m winding the film cut off, so it was terrible experience, however, I managed to damage the first film roll just trying to figure out my way around it, and I’m not so sure if I’ll be using medium format anymore.

What's your favorite analogue camera? Why?

Lomo Lubitel 166+. I tried it once at my school, and I fell in love with the high resolution that Lubitel can offer, even in night photography with a long exposure it gives magnificent results, I can’t wait to get one for myself.

You say that you follow the Surrealism and take inspiration from Dada and Abstract Movements. Can you speak about your poetic, your manifest, the thought that is at the base of your works?

The base of my work especially in photography is something has to do with illusion, dream, inner voices, I always want to reflect what people feel or carry inside of them and this is not an easy subject at all.

In my designs, I like to combine objects and create something really complex or I go with real simplicity.

How do you link surrealism and activism in your works?

Well for me Surrealism is a state of mind “you know”, I’ve been always interested in dream worlds, nostalgia, and psychoanalysis, way before I became a photographer or an artist. Thus I intend to always find a way to mix my art with these elements. in fact I began my photography journey photographing clouds I was and still obsessed by it, clouds give courage, freedom, and space, it breaks all my boundaries and I feel connected to another world, a world where nothing you could suspect, a world where you can’t set or stand but floating, jumping from cloud to cloud, gate to gate from dream to another.

Please choose and share 2 to 3 analogue photos to post with this article and tell us why you chose them. Is there a story linked to them that you want to tell us?

I chose these photos because they are all related to street photography. Moreover, I found that they represent the way of life and the landscape in a unique way. You can really see and feel the dramatic and vintage atmosphere in these photos.

If your photos shown here had a soundtrack, what song would be playing?

I would choose “Spring Hall Convert” by Deerhunter.

Why did you feel the need to experience cinema?

It’s good to have knowledge in many kinds of art, but also you should know what’s your major and what’s your minor. You don’t need to be perfect in all art mediums, but you should specialize at least in one or two art forms because that will increase your opportunity in working life and your experience as an artist.

I fell in love with cinema and film the same exact time I fell in love with photography, but during that time it was difficult for me to experience shooting videos or cinematography, so I decided to strengthen myself in photography first and later when I got the chance I would experience cinema and film, and I did! I made my first short film in 2010, of course, I had difficulties like audio recording, editing, but what I care about the most is that I took a step into cinema and that was awesome.

Did you try the Lomokino?

Not yet but I’m willing to do that soon, as I’m thinking to purchase one next month, I really can’t wait to experience filming with it.

If you could be anywhere in the world with your camera right now, where would that be and why?

Oh absolutely Paris, no doubt! In despite of the fact that I have never gotten the chance to visit but you have no idea how this city or France generally speaks to me; I mean when I just see movies that had been filmed in France or even random photos of Paris on the internet I just feel like I found my missing piece, there’s a saying which I can’t recall but it means that everyone’s heart belongs to a country, or there’s a matching country for each one of us where one lives happily forever and content, and I guess Paris is where my heart belongs.

Any advice for young artists out there?

All I can say is that practice makes perfect, and I keep reminding myself that as well. Never lose your confidence and trust in your photography, know exactly where you stand in photography and work it out from there, create your own style and rhythm and not only in photography but also in all kinds of art, and be active just go outside and photograph anything and everything seriously everything. In the beginning of my photography journey if I did not feel like going out I stayed home and photographed my shoes! Weird, right? And one day after college day in Jordan, I went out with a friend of mine. His name is Ali AlMasri, he’s a successful typographer/designer by the way, and we spend hours just photographing tree textures which we used later on in our Industrial Design class, so yeah be active, make yourself busy in photography because this is how you’re going to train your eyes to observe the objects, and how to deal with different kind of lights.

written by jillytanrad on 2013-09-25 #people #lomo-amigo #lubitel-166 #lomoamigo #moe-mustafa