Meet our LomoGuru: Célia B. (@umeshu)
6 18 Share TweetHer dedication to keeping the spirit of film photography alive goes beyond the virtual space. Lomographer Célia B. (@umeshu) makes sure to take her passion to the streets, organizing monthly analogue-only photo walks and meeting up with kindred souls. As we welcome her to the LomoGuru club, she looks back on her five-year journey in and out of the Lomography Community.
Name: Célia B.
LomoHome: @umeshu
Location: Frankfurt am Main
Number of years as a Lomographer: 5 years
Number of years in the Community: 5 years
Tell us about yourself and what you do.
Hi there! I am Célia, I am French and I work as a mechanical engineer. Most of my free time is dedicated to analogue photography: taking and looking at photos, hunting for films or cameras and try to find out what I like to shoot the most! I mainly practice street photography, and recently I published a book of landscape photographs, after my trip to Iceland in summer 2017.
Tell us something about your LomoHome’s name. Why did you decide to have that username? Or if that’s your actual name, what would be a different LomoHome name you’d like to have?
When I started my LomoHome, I didn’t have much thoughts about the username. I was living in Japan, and I really enjoyed drinking umeshu (plum wine). It somehow became my nickname around friends so I just used it for the LomoHome too.
Share with us your most memorable experience in the Lomographic Community.
I had a wonderful time at the first Lomography workshop that I attended. It was in 2015, for the celebration of the Film Photography Day, in Tokyo. We went to Ueno Park and Asakusa, used LC-A cameras, shot the cherry blossoms, made a Lomomatrix, and I met great people!
Have you actually met people in the Community that you now consider as close friends? If yes, name at least one of them.
Yes, I have!
First of all, I’d like to mention “AnalogYou”, who introduces me to the Lomography world, with a Diana F+. Her LomoHome is under another nickname, easy to find, because we sometimes swap films together.
I also organize monthly analogue photo walks in Frankfurt with @thesixtyeight. Finally, because of my connection in Japan and of course France, plus several workshops that I attended, I met a few other great Lomographers: @elvismartinezsmith, @choupilla, @daibokkuri, @toya1010, @ciscoswank, @choko3, to name a few.
Do you think you’ll still be taking Lomographs in the next five years? Why?
Sure! I still have so many things to try!
What is your favorite Lomography camera and why? Do you have any memorable experiences using this camera?
Interesting question. Few weeks ago, I probably would have said the Lomo LC-A+, because, yeah, it’s a great camera. But recently, I’ve been very impressed by the Lomo’Instant Square! It is a concentrate of Lomo experience and it’s an instant camera that shoots on square format which I love. On the top of that, the design and the shutter sound are very nice and it’s lot of fun to use with friends.
Please share with us your favorite Lomographic shot and explain why you love that particular image.
I would choose a street photo that I took in Paris, because I love this city, and I feel it really represents the “moment” that cameras capture.
Please share a Lomograph you wish you had taken and explain why.
I’d like to share a photos that really impressed me when I started research about infrared photography:
I think that this photo is wonderful because it gives me various mixed emotions. I don’t really know if I should be scared or be rapt with wonder by this dreamy, enigmatic place. Moreover, I wish I had the guts to do UrbEx photography, but I don’t feel comfortable to visit abandoned places.
What’s the best Lomographic or photography advice you think you have given?
To achieve great photos, just believe in yourself, not in the (expensive!) gear!
If there’s one song or movie that best describes your Lomo life, which one is it and why?
Hard to say. But I’ll tend to choose the song “Don’t worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerry, because for me, the most important thing in photography is to enjoy taking pictures, then the resulting photo will be good.
Is there any advice you can give to new analogue shooters?
I would give very basic advices for beginners, just by remembering silly mistakes that I’ve made myself. In the right order: Check the batteries of your cameras, if any they have any, make sure that the film is properly loaded, set the ISO, do not forget to advance the film right after your shot, unless for an intended multi exposure. These are very simple tricks, but I personally missed the chance of interesting shots just because I was too lazy to check my equipment!
2018-04-21 #lomohome #lomohomes #lomoguru #lomoguru-of-the-week #meet-our-lomoguru
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