Lomography Newcomers: @fotosdepe’s Analogue Postcards of Spain in 35 mm and 110 film

According to Lomography Newcomer @fotosdepe, “creativity is omnipresent” when one lives in a “big, thriving city with lots of history.” Pablo (@fotosdepe), a freelance language translator based in Madrid, has also incorporated another form of linguistics into his life — film photography. Best believing in this visual medium as the universal language that can transcend time and space, he proves this point one photograph at a time, crafting images that ring true to the human experience (with a pinch of nostalgia and grain!) From his photographs taken while passing through familiar places, to the ups, downs, and risks that come with attempting the unconventional (i.e. using a 20-year-old expired film stock), Pablo is up for authentically documenting them all.

Growing up in the 80s meant that Pablo grew up with film all around him. Initially starting with the 110 film format and evolving into the 35 mm SLR camera and the eventual digital era, resulting in an analogue pause, it was only in 2023 that he seriously picked up the practice again.

Brimming with a newfound love and a renewed interest in the visual medium, Pablo runs us through his history with film photography: where he first started and where he’s currently at via a photo collection comprised of his 110 and 35 mm film photos taken in and around Madrid, Sevilla, and Alicante.

Music as the entry point

Music and other creative scenes have always been factors that compelled Pablo into the medium:

“Being a music fan, I was intrigued by the photographic work of artists like Bibio or Imaginary Softwoods, or Ian Pritchard, a guy who makes great shoegaze demos of guitar pedals, but also has an interesting work on film in the streets of New York City.”

Carrying this loaded curiosity and interest has much to do with his affinity for repurposing those that were once considered old but have been renewed, stating, “The thrill of experimenting with old tech in itself, the challenge of properly learning its use, and the personality it possibly imprints on photographs.”

Recognizing the kind of character these analogue tools bring to the table, Pablo sees experimenting and making “mistakes” along the journey as all part of the fun. His latest analogue-related activity was attempting to take photographs on a no aperture pinhole lens camera. The result did not exactly turn out as he had hoped but he admits that this trial only leaves more room for him to adjust and try again, now with a shorter exposure time.

Into the analogue form

Like many others, Pablo’s journey back to film all started with a point-and-shoot camera. Feeling his way with the dated but never faded camera, the analogue journey led him to collect a few of his own Lomography film cameras starting with the Diana Mini 35 mm and Diana Baby 110. Later on, he continued expanding his camera collection and secured himself a Nikon F55 SLR and Beier Beirette Electronic.

The usual film stocks Pablo turns to mainly belong to the Lomography C-41 film stock line such as the Lomography Color Negative 100, LomoChrome Color ’92 35 mm ISO 400, and 2021 LomoChrome Purple 110 ISO 100–400 — relating the latter film stock to be the ideal choice for when you want your images to mimic aged postcards. Whereas the Lomography Color Negative 100 is an all-around “great stock to shoot”, making it easy to get your picture-perfect photographs without having to manipulate the colors in post. However, for Pablo, it was the 2023 release of the LomoChrome Color ’92 35 mm ISO 400 film stock that was a standout, explaining:

“It's really an awesome film! For my first two 35 mm rolls I bet on good light and the results were great. I especially love the color and the tone.”

Experimental at heart

Trusting in his abilities while embodying the experimental approach early on in his film photography journey, Pablo has learned not to take himself too seriously and makes room for play. Similar to the Lomography ethos, he’s all for going beyond one’s comfort zone when it comes to learning new skills. He compares one’s film photography journey to a pseudo hero’s journey, choosing your own timelines and more:

“The beautiful thing here is like in those “Choose your own adventure” books. You choose how far you get with things, and in which way you enjoy more film photography. Just shoot and send it to the lab? Great! Maybe learning some more techniques? Also great!”

There is one particular album with a surprising turn of events that exists in Pablo’s LomoHome. The “Destroyed roll of film from Lisbon” is a photo album that’s reflective of his holiday trip to the “City of Seven Hills” as captured on a 20-year expired film roll that was subjected to various airport X-ray scanners, and that has been mixed with exhausted developing chemicals in the developing process.

“Funny thing is many people liked the Lisbon roll because it’s definitely something different. It shows that taking risks sometimes pays, or at least it’s fun and not very expensive if you embrace mistakes as part of the process.”

18 years after first learning about the Lomography brand and movement through its experimental line of cameras, Pablo avidly shares his film photographs over at his LomoHome and documents his creative journey along the way. Hailing the online community as “the place to be (film photography-wise).”

A therapeutic practice

Although it has only been around a year of Pablo consistently shooting on film, it seems that he’s in it for the long haul. Explaining how the analogue practice takes on a deeper meaning in his life — the values, habits, discipline, and world-expanding perspectives it brings to his everyday is incomparable to anything else:

“Film photography is like therapy for me. After spending hours in front of the computer, taking walks is much needed. And taking photographs during them adds a new value to it. It’s also about coming together with your own daily environment and finding the beauty (or the interesting) in it. I could do the same with just my cellphone, but film photography has those elements of patience, technique, and unpredictability. And it’s a way of making things differently. And that matters to me.”

Pablo’s final film-related word of advice? Try self-developing and scanning your films!

“I guess if you start shooting lots of film, it’s only natural to at least try to develop one roll. If you invest just a fraction of your time in studying and planning, you’ll be surprised how easy everything is. I recommend starting on B/W with Caffenol because the investment is ridiculously low (just the fixer and a tank) and the chances to make it right are super high. Then you’ll probably want to move on to C-41 which couldn’t be easier and funnier, etc. As for scanning, I simply wasn’t very happy with the results of the lab so I invested in my own solution which is a really old 35mm scanner.”

Thank you to @fotosdepe for speaking with us and sharing his early experiences with film photography! See more of Pablo's photos over at his LomoHome.

Looking to join a global community of creatives and artists who all share a love for film? Join Lomography and create your own LomoHome here and head on over to our LomoSchool to learn more about the 110 film format.

written by macasaett on 2024-08-30 #gear #people #places #120 #spain #110 #postcard #35-mm #lomography-newcomers