Community Amigo Becka O on Shooting with Instant Film

In this series, we talk to film fanatics from all around the UK about their passion for film photography. Today we meet Becka O who likes to experiment with Instant film.

Please introduce yourself to the Lomography Community.

I’m currently studying French literature at university in England; the little spare time I get is taken up by photography and filmmaking and occasionally sleeping. I’d love to work on films or TV shows in the future, ideally as a cinematographer or camera operator. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, but I’m learning to be more relaxed and experimental with my photography because experimentation is where the magic happens.

Where did your love for film and instant photography start?

I’ve always been interested in images and visuals, and used to take disposable or digital cameras with me everywhere when I was a kid. We had a darkroom in my secondary school, and I fell in love with it. I took my first real analog steps with DIY pinhole cameras and 35mm black and white film. I loved the magic of darkroom chemicals and the control that developing your own photos gives you, especially the ability to experiment. I’d read a lot about the experimental capacity of instant photography, so I lusted after instant cameras for a while until I found an old Polaroid 600 in my grandparents’ house. I was smitten- especially once I discovered Polaroid emulsion lifts. Then I came across the Diana F+; at the time I mostly wanted it for the instant back accessory, but I actually became very taken in by 120 film. That’s where my Lomography journey began!

What are you favorite cameras and why?

The Diana F+ is beautiful inside and out, and its square format shots are full of gorgeous color and light. But I especially love the instant gratification of instant photography and the tangibility of the images, so a Polaroid or Instax is always good. I’d probably choose a Polaroid over an Instax camera in terms of visuals, but I recently got a Fuji Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic and it has great experimental potential. I haven’t started properly using it yet, but the few experiments I’ve tried so far are making me excited about where I can take things next…

Tell us a bit about these photos you chose.

I’ve selected some of my favorite Polaroids and a couple of Instax photos that appeal to me visually even if they’re not particularly innovative, like the two large images of the side-by-side trams and the Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest, and the Polaroids of London or Oxford. However, I’ve also included some photos which exhibit the more experimental techniques I’ve been trying recently, like double exposure with blank Instax frames, water marbling, and shooting through a glass prism. I’m very partial to double exposures and I love how striking these can be visually, especially when the two subjects differ greatly in focus or distance from the lens, so I’ve chosen a couple of these. One of my favorite pieces is the collection of Polaroid emulsion lifts of street scenes which I joined together to create a kind of narrative. I’m definitely planning on working with this method more in the future.

If you were to invent a new film camera, what would it do?

I’d love to see a new Instax camera that made square format wide prints- combining the format and beauty of Polaroid and Diana images with the flexibility and experimental potential of Fujifilm and Lomo’Instant cameras.

Visit becka9’s lomohome to see more photos.

2015-10-20 #people #amigo #community #london #uk #lomoamigo #lomo-instant #lomoinstant