Lomographer David Alexandre on His Love of the LomoApparat, Paris and Film Photography

We recently launched a new edition of the LomoApparat dedicated to the beautiful city of Paris. Lomographer David Alexandre is a born and bred Parisian who loves to keep his LomoApparat with him at all times as he commutes around the city and enjoys its many stunning and seemingly ageless sites. So we knew David would be the perfect person to talk to about the LomoApparat and the city of Paris are such a perfect match.

Beyond the LomoApparat David has also used many of our other cameras and has a fondness for the Lomo Lubitel 166+ and the LomoChrome Metropolis film stock. Today we talk to David about his experience growing up and living in Paris, his love for the LomoApparat, and some insights into how he captures this city in his own way.

Greetings David! Can you introduce yourself and tell us how you started film photography?

Greetings! I'm currently a CEO of a consulting company. I started again with photography as a hobby more or less during the pandemic because while I was living in Paris, my wife and children were moving back and forth between France and Ireland. I needed to find a purpose while I was walking around Paris. I needed something to focus on outside of my work and since I was walking around Paris a lot I started to get back into photography because the city is just really beautiful. When I was around 13-14 years old I already started photography through my dad as he was almost a professional photographer so I just had to find my groove again.

I tried to do digital but it wasn't for me so I'm stuck to analogue, which is crazy because it isn't the cheapest hobby right now. As I was getting more into it I discovered Lomography and started to put my pictures on the website bit by bit and then I got interested in the whole movement and the experimental side of photography thanks to the Lomography community. Currently, I have around 15 cameras like an old 6x6 TLR and all kinds, and among them some Lomo cameras like the Diana F+, Lomo LC-A+, and LomoApparat which I love very dearly. But I think the LomoApparat is really a great little invention. I also bought a Lomo Lubitel 166+ and got into it because despite it being all manual, you get to appreciate the essence of photography and really go back to the basics (lighting, focusing. …).

It's funny you mentioned you love your Lubitel because I was the one who featured that photo of yours for Synesthesia, the one of your Mom taken with the Lubitel!

Oh wow, that was unbelievable because it was such a coincidence. My mother lived in the south of France. She was 90 so I was spending a lot of time with her and she passed away last January. I took a lot of pictures of her, mostly with the Lubitel. She died in my arms and it was crazy that you picked this picture for Valentine's; the connection about love and even the music choices were spot on. It was like her sending me a message. It was fantastic. Actually what's funny is that I just had my first exhibit two days ago in Paris and my mother would've loved to see her engineer son doing something artsy.

How would you describe your style of photography?

It's quite broad! I like using black and white film, I like using color film. I like landscape and street photography. But I think I can narrow it down to quiet pictures in street environments with singular subjects. I didn't notice it at first but people have been telling me that there is a feeling of melancholy in my pictures. I try to take pictures that somehow tell a simple story. What I capture doesn't have to be a big story but hopefully, it says something beyond the picture.

A lot of your photos are taken in Paris. Did you grow up in Paris or did you eventually move to the city?

Yeah, I grew up in Paris. I spent some time in other countries like Germany, the USA, and the Netherlands. For around 15 years I traveled and moved around. Currently, I'm back in Paris and I live in the 16th arrondissement which is one of the fancy and rich parts of Paris, but I'm in the lively part of this district not the super quiet part. I work in the center in Châtelet–Les Halles so there are a lot of opportunities to take pictures.

Living in Paris for most of your life, are there any treasured places you like going to?

I love walking along La Seine. It's become much greater now as before when there were highways along the river but now you can walk at a comfortable and relaxing pace. I love the center, the Latin Quarter, Le Marais. I don't think I have a favorite cafe but I like to take mint tea and Morrocon Pastries at the Paris Mosque cafe which is a very Mediterranean cafe. It's a nice place and a lot of students go there as it is near the Latin Quarter.

I love the parks and green spaces like Jardin Des Plantes which is a botanical park in the center of Paris and Jardin des Serres d’Auteuil which is another botanical park in the 16th district which is near where I live. I took quite a few pictures there and there is such a really lovely 19th-century greenhouse. The best thing to do in Paris is to walk, especially at night with the light shining on everything. It is very lively as you can see everyone mingling in restaurants, cafes, and on the street.

There are many drawbacks to living in Paris. The rush hour at 6pm is the worst. Though at 55 years old I somehow am still in awe of the city. Through photography, I have the chance to look at Paris in a more focused way and discover the infinite riches of cities like in back streets, the faces of the eclectic people, the vast monuments, and the random encounters.

Are there any overrated places in Paris?

I would say Champs-Élysées for me because it is too touristy. During the 70s there were fewer tourists and it was just a stylish part of Paris' mix of modern galleries and historical things. But now it is a big shopping street with too many tourists and too many people who just go and shop. I don't like this area anymore. On the other hand, going on a boat in Paris on the Seine is underrated because many people think it is only for tourists. The first time I did it was with a friend from Nice and I really enjoyed it. You see many monuments from their best angle. Some things are very touristy but still good and fun. I love Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower which are the main tourist spots but they're still great. The Eiffel Tower at night when it starts to glisten with sparkles it's magical!

I like that even though you have lived there for so long you are still amazed and find beauty in the city and its charm!

Yeah it's a big city but the culture, charm, and diversity are what I love. Maybe in a village in the countryside I'd get bored. Strangely enough, that's a complex thing. I love nature and I love being outside the city but my wife is a city person and because of her work we always lived in big cities like Berlin, New York, etc. so I kind of became a city person, but I also love the nature. I think I am balanced.

Paris never changes, it stays the same. I lived 15 years abroad. Nine years in Germany, three years in the US and three years in the Netherlands but Paris doesn't change. It changes slightly for the better in terms of cleanliness and making use of spaces. I can see that they're taking care of older spaces from centuries ago which I appreciate. In the 60s and 70s, they embraced modernity and being automobile-focused but now they're trying to go back and embrace having a more walkable and peaceful city. So the city doesn't change in the center but walking around, using a bike or taking the metro I guess it becomes more liveable!

A lot of this is because of the policies of the mayor, which is often criticized by some people. She wants to reduce cars and make it more people-focused! It's less noisy and less polluted. When I was younger it felt much more polluted, especially with all the cars and that has really improved and it is something positive which makes me feel like I can still live here in the coming years.

In your own words, how would you describe the charm of Paris?

When I was living in the States it was very exciting but there was something off and I realized I feel better in an older city because it connects me to my past. In the States, I felt like we were on a moon base, just being built and only for a limited time. I'm exaggerating but I think you know what I mean. Paris reminds us of all the layers of generations of humans who have done things – good things, bad things, but in the end that's what makes us civilized and see the possibilities of our future. I think there is a human connection, and sense of meaning that you are reminded of in Paris. The charm of Paris is looking at places where you can imagine what it was before and because when I take my pictures especially in black and white and with medium format you can feel as if the picture was taken years ago. Paris is inter-temporal.

Paris is currently hosting the Olympics, which saw a lot of renovations happening over the past few years. How do you view this experience and are you excited?

Like every Parisian, a mix of excitement and fear. First, I think it's great that it's here and the way they use the city to display the Olympics is like an advertisement for the city. Parisians know that it will be chaotic. You know, the French are quite negative, they think about what will go wrong. But inside me, I think it will work well. I think it will be incredible and it will be an unbelievable showcase for Paris. They'll be using the Seine River for some of the swimming events, with Notre Dame at the back, it will look incredible. With everything happening in the world we should just try to enjoy things like this.

A lot of your photos are taken with the LomoApparat. Can you tell us why you like this camera?

I love this camera, Lomography did such a great job. I remember when it came out I thought it was a bit gimmicky or maybe I didn't see the appeal but then I went on a LomoWalk and someone had the new LomoApparat so I tried it and when I got the results back I was so impressed so I bought one. It's a kind of a super LC-A, or an LC-A on steroids. It's more basic but it has the spirit! It's super simple yet of a fairly good quality. I love the design it has its quirks but it is well done. The photos are astonishingly precise in the center, but it can get a bit dreamy on the sides of the photos. This haziness of the border is very interesting. The colors are interesting and you get a circular halo when against direct light but somehow it adds to the beauty, and you can play around and use it as a creative tool.

The camera is super light. I love wide angles so you can have dramatic photos. I went on a long weekend vacation in Normandy and I only took that, where I shot pictures of the sea using LomoChrome Turquoise. I think in the end you can have really crazy and creative photos but also sharp photos so it is cool. Among my 15 cameras, it is one of my favorites right now.

From all your photos using the LomoApparat in Paris is there one that really stands out?

There are several ones around the Seine River where I cross and there's this specific one with the halo which was strangely enough taken using LomoChrome Metropolis but you would think it was LomoChrome Purple. It's a bit funky, 70s, and too colorful to be true.

How is the LomoApparat suited to moving around a bustling city like Paris?

It's light and compact so it's always in my working bag along with the LC-A. This is really my everyday camera, more of slice-of-life scenes if I just see something happening. What's nice is the wide angle and flash so it's perfect for a night out and partying. Though the latter is not my thing – I don't party as much anymore, it is the perfect camera for that and I do it in my own way! I like taking pictures when I go out for a drink, when I dine out, and even for more family and intimate gatherings.

What's so fun about shooting around Paris?

I think the same as New York, it's such a vibrant city, something is going on all the time. You see people on the terraces, lovers fighting and being stressed on the streets, all kinds of situations and characters, so it is interesting and with a mix of old buildings and streets. The only thing that bothered me was the cars. It always felt out of place in my pictures, except for old classic cars. In a nutshell, what makes it fun is that Paris is lost in time. When I take a picture I want it as if you don't know if it was taken yesterday or during the 60s.

Also the experience! It's not about the result but a way to enjoy walking in Paris having an old classic camera or a fun experimental Lomography camera and looking at things through these lenses and seeing them differently. It makes me more open to the poetic side of the city. You can encounter all these strange, funny, and random moments when so many people live in these cities. Because you want to take interesting photos, you try to look at these moments and capture them, and somehow it is poetic. It adds character to the city.

So it is really about experiencing and capturing the whole city?

Yeah and going back to analogue photography, these cameras won't distract you. You can't see the result right away. You try to take the picture, you hope for the best and move on. Also what I find interesting is how people react to your cameras, whether it's my classic old-school camera or one of the more interesting-looking Lomography cameras. They also get interested and you can engage with them and even get a photo out of it. It's a nice way to make friends and meet people to just walk around with cameras.

What's your favorite film to put in the LomoApparat?

It's funny because I have used it with many films and even tried using redscale film because I found it interesting. I saw an article on how to redscale LomoChrome Metropolis and I almost jammed my Apparat. I manually rescaled Metropolis and one of the pictures I took of a greenhouse turned out nice.

I like using black and white film because it's very dramatic, but I think the LomoChrome line is the perfect pairing. It's more for those who want creative and crazier pictures.

We are actually celebrating five years of LomoChrome Metropolis. What do you like about this film?

I love it because it's almost an in-between of black and white and color film. Minimalist color and you get feelings of melancholy in each picture. I like the blue in the film, both the sea and the sky become dramatic. It was made for street photography but I also like it in nature I find the sky beautiful. It's very grainy which works depending on the subject so it can add a dramatic effect. After black and white, I choose this.

When you do film photography you don't want to reproduce reality. If you want to do that you can just use your phone or digital photography. If you do analogue photography it's because you want to interpret reality, and from that perspective, it's very clever and great from Lomography to invent these different films. It's part of the experience. Sometimes the Turquoise can be too much. LomoChrome Metropolis I never get tired of it!

Is there anything you want to say to the rest of the Lomography Community?

I think the whole movement of Lomography is like the surrealism movement at the start of the 20th century. My grandfather was part of it as a writer, not well known, but he was part of the movement. Lomography without knowing it did to photography what the surrealists did to literature and painting. They liberated it! Film photography became too rigid and somehow you guys liberated us from the constraints.

We thank David Alexandre for his wonderful photos! Be sure to follow him on his LomoHome and Instagram.

written by rocket_fries0036 on 2024-07-26 #gear #culture #people #places #street #lubitel #paris #france #lomochrome-metropolis #lomoapparat #paris-edition Share Article