Lomography Newcomers: @Clovecalls on Life in Calgary Photographed on 35 mm and 110 Film

Emma (@clovecalls), a senior at the University of Calgary majoring in communication and media studies, claims that despite living in Calgary all her life, there is always a new way to experience the city. That way is arguably through the lens and practice of film photography.

As our 12th Lomography Newcomer, Emma shares how her passion for creating and engaging in the visual arts has led her to hone in on valuing the art form and directing her efforts and energy into the discipline of image-making, “...so now, at 24, I’ve been shooting on film for six years…and hopefully for the rest of my life.”

With a growing library of film photos — all taken on both 35 mm and 110 film formats — she has a nostalgic view of the city she’s grown up in. Emma shares more about what that process has been like for her: tracing through her history with analogue film, Lomography, and where she’ll be taking her photography practice to next.

When trying to recall the exact moment she was initially introduced to film photography and reevaluating what it shifted in her visual practice, Emma shared that it was after watching Stranger Things and being inspired by the character of Jonathan Byers, a film photographer and photojournalist in the show.

Since that very moment, she got her hands on her first ever film camera, a “Nikon FG with a large macro lens similar to a Vivitar 70-210mm lens” that was given to her by her dad. Although she couldn't get it to work for a while, she’d hold it up and look at different things through the viewfinder and mimic the action of taking photographs. Generally using the camera unit as a form of practice on perspective and composition.

A year later, she got herself a Canon T50 and used it in her earlier stages of film photography.

It was through learning more about the two aforementioned film cameras that she stumbled upon the Lomography website. Relying on the “tagged” feature on the site, she used it as a reliable resource tool to browse through potential cameras to buy and such. Furthermore sharing that the overall online resource that is the Lomography website is extremely helpful in “demystifying film” and “making everyone feel seen and understood” especially when first learning about analogue photography.

With an existing film camera collection consisting of a PENTAX Zoom 60-X, PENTAX Espio 70S, Canon EOS Kiss III L, and a Pocket Fujica 250 (with the latter two being her absolute favorites to shoot on!), Emma expounds on how it was in her discovery of the 110 film format that added a refreshing mix to her routine:

“I came into the format blind. I was at a farmer’s market in my city (the Crossroads Farmers Market) browsing a vendor who only sells mainly film cameras. One of the two shop owners handed me the Pocket Fujica and I couldn’t get over how compact, small, and adorable it was. It literally fit into my pocket. I can have it in my smaller purse and not realize it’s there. Then I bought the 110 film for the camera from Lomography and have been in love with the film format since.”

From Emma’s time engaging on the Lomography Website and sharing photos to her LomoHome, she has described the online community to be one that’s innovative, approachable, and diverse. Further seeing in the value of the site with it welcoming in the practice of photography curation and self-expression that puts the work first and foremost, she explained:

“I’m very grateful that it [Lomography website] exists. It’s incredible how people gather on a website to engage in that feeling that I think only film and a few other things (like classic works of art or architecture) can produce.”

Beyond rotating among the usual colored film stocks such as the LomoChrome Color ‘92 Sun-kissed 35mm, the Color Tiger 110 ISO 200 (expired), LomoChrome Color ’92 110 ISO 400, and 2021 LomoChrome Purple 110 ISO 100–400, Emma shared that these select Lomography film stocks are those she enjoys pairing up with her trusty Pocket Fujica. And every once in a while, she mixes it up and uses an expired film stock to keep things new and fresh in her photography routine:

“I’m always up for an experiment. I enjoy purposefully involving uncontrolled variables in my photography to distort things a bit. I like the idea of having absolutely no idea how an image will turn out. The more an image looks like someone tore it up and threw it back together or that it looks as if it survived a trip through space and time, the better.”

The remainder of Emma’s year is looking to be a 110-film format filled one. Consistently engaging in the discipline of film photography has also led her to consider learning how to develop her film and go along the entire development process. With all this in mind, we asked Emma to define the role film plays in her life and how it’ll continue on living in her day-to-day:

“Film, again, has so much life in it. It can be a blurry whirlwind where you have to decipher the subject. It’s light streaks and colors you couldn’t conceptualize beforehand. My photographic style would be “on the go” or maybe “details,” just a collection of things that catch my eye.”

Again, we welcome Emma (@clovecalls) to the Lomography Community! We're excited to see all the ways in which she experiments and explores her analogue practice!

Thank you to @clovecalls for speaking with us and sharing her film journey with us! See more of Emma's photos over at her 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.

written by macasaett on 2024-11-10 #gear #people #canada #110 #35-mm #calgary #lomography-newcomer #lomochrome-92-sunkissed