Indonesian Film Photographer Randy Hits the Streets With the LomoApparat

Randy is an Indonesian photographer who works in the coffee industry, drinking coffee every day and giving him the energy to spend his weekends photographing around the city. He shoots on both film and digital and has lately been interested in taking portraits. Recently we send him our LomoApparat along with a couple of Lomography films. Take a look at his photos and read his interview with us!

Hi, Randy! It’s great to have you here at Lomography! Please tell us about yourself and what you do?

Hello! First of all, thank you for having me! I work 8 to 5 office hours in the coffee industry, which makes me brew and drink coffee on the week days! I do love to have some short-walk or stroll around with my camera after having a great breakfast at the street food stalls and ending up at the coffee shop after walking around.

How did you first become introduced to the world of Lomography?

Actually, I've been following Lomography for a while but my first experience with it was the Lomowalk with 110. It was a great experience also to get a hands on the Lomomatic 110 ! (Big thanks to @adi_totp for the chance and the very fun photo walk)

How do you describe your style of photography?

When I got my very first Ricoh GX-1 Rangefinder camera, I shot everything I saw when wandering around the street, mostly people walking or crossing, buildings, signage, still life objects and some street photography. Lately, I have been interested in portraits and some street snaps capturing people’s expressions. I always look for the people's activities and moments with some light and shadows for my photos. I also love the work of Platon, Pia Riverola, Taylor Pendleton, Craig Fleming. Their works are just amazing with their unique styles and approach to their photographs!

How do you typically spend your week?

I work with coffee machines, beans and do office work on weekdays. Then I spend my weekend reading books, going swimming, trying a new coffee shop, finding a good breakfast place or just visiting my friends in other neighbourhoods and street photo hunting. When I got my first camera, I took it everywhere, just to shoot anything randomly to practice my visuals and uploading photos on social media. Then I got my very first paid job with a film camera from social media, which quite made me nervous, happy and boosted my confidence at the same time that they trusted me.

What is it like to be a photographer in Bandung?

There’s so many great photographers in Bandung and communities that can always support you. They always do photo walks weekly, such as Rabu Motret, Analog Friendship, Story of The Street, PAF and others as well. The people are kind and fun! For me, I usually do photo walks with Analog Friendship since I can only do it on weekends. I had a trip with them to Borobudur for the Lantern Festival and it was a really great and magical experience with fellow photographers!

How did you like shooting with the LomoApparat ? What do you like most about the camera?

The camera itself is very compact yet light. Oh, also the color and design made many people I met on the street say it’s very unique!

But what I like the most is the 21mm lens since I love to shoot with a wide lens. And I'm very surprised with the flash – it is very powerful and helps me to shoot even in backlight situations.

Can you tell us about what you decided to shoot with the LomoApparat ? What do you think about the results?

Since it’s a point-and-shoot camera, I decided to shoot street portraits of my friend while strolling around to find a unique spot.

At first, I didn't have many expectations with the LomoApparat. I was just having fun with it, and playing around with the external lens attachment that’s included. But when the lab sent me an email with the photos it made me smile to see them. It impressed me!

Do you have a favorite photo taken with this camera?

I love this photo because the wide lens helped me to capture the whole scene with the clouds which gives me results like something from a movie.

I also love these black and white photos because of the tone and the grain from the Lady Grey film.

Lately, I love to shoot anything on black and white film and have been trying some other rolls. So yeah, why not give the Lady Grey a try?

What do you like most about the Lomography Lady Grey ISO 400 35 mm film ?

I did the developing process by myself in Dogdays Film Lab, a film lab run by a friend of mine (thanks Gio for always letting me use the darkroom.) When I saw the results what I loved the most from the Lady Grey is the grain which brings more texture and nostalgic feelings to the photos.

What do you think is the perfect situation for shooting with the LomoApparat?

From what I experienced after shooting four rolls with the LomoApparat, I suggest you shoot in daylight, especially during the golden hour. It will give you the results that you won't expect from the point-and-shoot camera! Oh and don’t forget to play with the lens attachment too for the quirky experimental results!

What is one thing you have been dying to explore further (anything from a place to a particular subject)? What is your dream project?

I want to have a chance to explore the world, and open up to many opportunities the world can give me. Also I want to have my own simple studio with a small coffee station in the corner, so I can make customers my coffee while they wait for the portrait or headshot with a film camera.

Do you have any exciting projects you're currently working on?

Currently, I'm working as one of the contributors for the Story of The Street zine Vol 5, which will come out really soon!

What’s in the works and what’s on your mind?

I want to explore and learn more about portraiture, either street portraits or even studio portraits with lighting. I want to capture them more, especially with film. I’m really open to anyone who wants to collaborate.

Any messages to other Lomographers out there?

Don’t be afraid to use the wide lens and flash! Try to get close to the subject rather than using a 50 mm lens while you are on the street. Take a chance, get closer, and shoot!

Thank you to Randy for sharing his amazing street portraits using the LomoApparat!

To see more of his work you can follow at his Instagram and don't forget to visit his LomoHome.

written by adi_totp on 2024-09-07 #gear #people #street #portrait #indonesia #lady-grey #lomoapparat