LomoChrome Purple Diptychs In the American Countryside by Megan Bishop

With the price of film today, picking up a half-frame camera is a popular choice for many. Doubling the amount of shots you can take, many just see half-frame cameras as just a budget-friendly way to shoot film, but it can also be a creative way to play with juxtapositions, similar scenes, or even points of view. Lomographer Megan Bishop (@apatico) has been shooting film since the 90s and recently shot a roll of LomoChrome Purple with the Canon Autoboy Tele 6. Today we take a further look at these photos and find out why she loves shooting diptychs.

Starting her film journey with an SLR, Megan eventually found Lomography and has many of our OG cameras such as the Holga, Colorsplash, Action Sampler, Super Sampler, and Frogeye. She found film photography again in 2023 after using digital for a long time. Megan's work on film revolves around colorful and dreamy studio shoots filled with fun and lively concepts, but this time we take a look at a very personal album where she takes a trip to Sequim, Washington, USA. She was there to visit family and plan a larger get together that would take place later in the month, driving out to Cascade National Park to spread her Grandfather’s ashes.

My Grandfather worked in forestry and was fairly instrumental in the creation of many national parks and the protection and classification of large areas of land as wilderness. I definitely attribute my respect and appreciation of nature to him. I take the ferry here regularly to visit my grandparents, mom, and sister (their caretakers), who live in Sequim, and the beauty of this area always takes my breath away. I wanted to document some of the quiet moments on the ferry, at my Grandma and Mom’s house, their garden, and surrounding areas. The other photos include a few of my favorite people, before and after the Sequim trip.

LomoChrome Purple has a range of 100-400 ISO so you can play around with the results of the film depending on your preferences as well as your camera. Megan's point-and-shoot camera defaults the non-DX coded film with an ISO of 100 which resulted in more pastels.

I love that this film produces such dreamy colors. As much as you can try to anticipate what the film will do, it’s always a delightful surprise when you get the results. I really liked the nostalgic, fairytale vibe it gave to all the images. It’s probably my favorite film. I really appreciate the film data sheets Lomography provides.

Whether it's the latest half-frame point-and-shoot, Lomography's half-frame offerings like the Lomo LC-Wide and Diana Mini, or vintage half-frame rangefinders, shooting these cameras is more than just an economical choice. It can really make you see things from a new perspective, especially when you treat every two photos as diptychs. Putting photos together and creating a new context adds a fresh element to your photography and can be something that shifts the way you see things, as you put together different subjects to make a grander story. For Megan, the reason she loves shooting in half-frame is really the storytelling aspect.

When I shoot half-frame, it’s always with diptychs in mind. Sometimes it’s simple, simply zooming in closer to get a detailed shot of some flowers. Other times might take a bit more planning, but it’s a great challenge and encourages me to think about photography in different ways. Kind of like curating on the fly. Because I’m normally a portrait photographer, I am comfortable with the vertical format. I feel like with half frame I can be less precious with my shots because you get 72+ per roll. I find myself taking a lot more photos with half-frame cameras because of this.

We thank Megan for her wonderful photos. Be sure to keep up with her on her LomoHome and Instagram

written by rocket_fries0036 on 2024-09-26 #gear #people #places #nature #flowers #countryside #usa #environment #half-frame #diptychs #lomochrome-purple #lc-wide-diana-mini