Lomography

Let us know a little bit more about who you are and what your present life is made of.

Let us know a little bit more about who you are and what your present life is made of.

Hi! Im Francis. I’m a lomo addict. Im an Advertising Creative from Lowe Manila and I follow the golden rule no. 10.

And how do you wish your future to look like? Will it be digital or analog?

I haven’t owned a digital camera my whole life and I don’t think I’ll ever want one.

When, how and why did you become a lomographer?

Around 5 years ago I saw the SuperSampler waving in the air as my officemate entered the room. I saved enough money to buy a digital camera then but when I saw this weird little 4-eyed plastic camera with a cord, it blew my mind. I got mighty curious and that wasn’t all, she also had this bulky looking black camera that shot square photos, I didn’t know that it was a Holga. And then I discovered another one of these lomographic camera’s – the queen Lomo, LC-A. I was sold and never looked back. The money for the digicam I save for immediately became my LC-A, Lenin (What??? You don’t name your cameras?)

Do you remember the day you took your first shot? How old were you? Which camera did you use? How did you feel?

My first shots were horrible, out of focused, blurred, obscure and I loved them all! There is an unmistakable beauty in the mundane it brings. The dark corners made by Lenin was love at first click. Soon I was devouring huge amounts of film to feed my addiction. Expired slides to 12-shot negs to medium-format goodies for my Holga, Olga (You should really name your lomos you know).

What is your favorite Lomo camera and why?

The LC-A. The moment you hold one you’ll know why. Heeh.

Have you ever been disappointed by a Lomo camera? Or did you ever experience a looooong “taming” period with one of the lomographic cameras until you finally got the result you were expecting? Which one was it? And where was the frustration coming from?

I think it’s around the time I was shooting with Olga. I used up dozens of rolls with my lenscap on! So rule one for first time Holga users, throw the lenscap! Medium format 120 film unquestionably rocks! It gives a different high. And don’t get me started with the sprockets…

What is your favourite lomo tip/trick or the technique you master the better? Show us an example!

Since I don’t own an LC-A + (yet), I love finishing a roll with Lenin and rewinding it and loading it up again. The results are amazing. There’s a twist in every shot you take and the photos tell it’s own story after.

Let us see your favorite shot and tell us more about it!

I love every shot I take on my rooftop. I get views of the sunrise and sunset. And at night when everything’s calm, you get to see a view of my Makati City with all the lights on. You are welcome to join and hang out sometime (Thursdays preferably) and well have cold beer, cigs, conversation and maybe I’ll tell you the other names of my other lomos.

Check out other photos by Francis here