First Impressions of the Lomomatic 110 by Her Basuki Margono

​​Her Basuki Margono is no stranger to our community and has been featured several times in the Lomography Magazine. This time we sent him our Lomomatic 110 with a few rolls of our 110 film to try out! Read his first impressions and see all his cool 110 shots below!

Hello Uki and welcome back to Lomography's online magazine! Tell us about yourself. What do you do? What are some of your interests?

Hello, I’m Her Basuki Margono, a passionate Lomographer currently living in Cilacap, Central Java. I like hiking, traveling, reading books, watching movies, listening to music, and of course taking pictures.

We sent you the new Lomomatic 110 to try out. What were your first impressions and in what ways does using this camera differ from your usual photographic method?

It’s a chic camera and easy to use. The way we hold the camera is rather different than the other formats because of its relatively small size. You have to very still or hold firmly to prevent shakiness when shooting.

I think it’s a fun point-and-shoot camera but with creativity it can give you great and serious results. I’m not familiar with this format but because it has similar features with the Lomo LC-A+ (which I’ve already frequently used), it was relatively quick to adapt to and learn.

What is your favorite feature or characteristic of the Lomomatic 110?

The small size and pocketable design but still retaining ISO and zone focus settings!

Can you tell us about your past experience shooting with 110?

It was my first time shooting this format so when Lomography asked me to test it out I was excited yet nervous.

Do you have a favorite shot from those taken with the Lomomatic 110 ?

Yes, it’s the fire thrower in the night before Eid. I like it because the Lomomatic 110 met my expectation of motion blur. I had to snap the peak moment of the fire thrower when he blew the fire and it burst into flames. Thankfully, the Lomomatic 110 did a great job.

How did you like shooting with the Color Tiger 110 ISO 200 ?

What I like about this film is its natural color. All good!

What do you like most about the LomoChrome Purple 110 film ?

The ability to change green to purple gives you another vibe. Personally, most of the time, I think green is one of the hardest colors to make look photogenic or aesthetically pleasing. Dark green is great for black and white film.

We also sent you the B&W Orca 110 ISO 100. How was your experience shooting it?

Orca is a nice and soft film. I think it’s a middle or in between black & white film, not too bold or too contrasty, and neither too greyish. It can handle light and shadow properly, especially in dim low light.

Did you have any challenges while shooting with these particular film stocks?

Actually, I’m not very fond of color shift films. So when Lomography sent me four rolls (all films shot at 400 ISO) including the Purple and Turquoise, I knew it was going to be a challenge. Based on my experience using Holga & Lomo LC-A+ , and by reading some blogs and observing some results of those two films by other Lomographers, I believed that I had to shoot at golden hour, in glimmering light or broad light but not too harsh. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy during some shots, and as I expected, the colors did not pop out. Although it’s my first time shooting these two LomoChrome films, I think Turquoise is more forgiving than the Purple. I want to try them another time because I believe I did not do justice to those eccentric films.

Have you found that shooting with a 110 camera changed any of your photographic perspectives or habits?

Yes, I had to pay attention to the edge of the frame, if I wanted a neat composition. It’s the one most important things to exercise when using the Lomomatic 110.

You recently came back from Bengkulu. Did you take the Lomomatic 110 with you during your travels?

Yes, I took it. Bengkulu is one of the cities that we visited along the route of west coast of Sumatra. We (me, my wife & daughter) did a road trip for a week from Jakarta to Jambi and then stopped at Kerinci regency for two days, and one day each in Bengkulu city, Bintuhan and Bandar Lampung, before returned to Jakarta. We couldn’t explore much but it was a wonderful trip. We’ll do it again in the near future, but next time we want to travel further to visit West Sumatra, North Sumatra, and Aceh.

Any tips and tricks for shooting with the Lomomatic 110?

I think you have to compose carefully before shooting because of parralax errors and you need to repeat the open and close motion a couple of times until the next frame number is shown to prevent misaligned frames, blank photos, or unexpected double exposures. I believe that it’s similar to shooting with a Holga. Be thoughtful but also remember rule #10: Don’t worry about any rules!

Anything else you'd like to share?

I’d like to thank Lomography for trusting me and giving me a chance to test the Lomomatic 110. And not to forget all friends in the Lomography community for their likes, comments and support of my photos and journey in film photography. I’ve learnt from this community that taste (of photos to be liked or not) is a highly subjective and strange thing. That’s a very valuable lesson, especially if you’re looking for a niche.

Thank you to Uki for sharing his first impressions of the Lomomatic 110 !

You can check his daily activities on his Instagram and don't forget to visit his LomoHome.

written by adi_totp on 2024-09-21 #gear #people #places #indonesia #110 #110-format #lomoamigo #first-impressions #lomomatic-110