Éric Boily: Documenting Montreal on Lomography Film

Montreal’s streets come alive through the lens of Éric Boily, a passionate analogue street photographer capturing the uniqueness and beauty of everyday life. Éric finds a unique way of story telling, blending the nostalgia of film with the vibrant energy of the downtown Canadian urban landscape. His work asks us to slow down, focus in on the details, and connect with the world around us.

In this interview, Éric shares his journey, from picking up his first film camera to mastering the art of street photography in a city that he feels inspires him at every turn. Join us as we dive into his creative process, his love for Lomography film, and his tips for aspiring street photographers.

Hi Éric, welcome to Lomography Magazine! Can you start off by telling us a bit about yourself and your work?

My name is Éric Boily, I’m a 37 years old street photographer from Montreal. My work is mostly street photography, urban landscape, documenting the city and my life at the same time both in black-and-white and color film.

Can you share a bit about your journey with analogue photography?

My journey with analogue photography started about two years ago after moving to Montréal from the suburbs. I was fascinated that everyone in the city was so focused on their daily lives and not paying attention to what was happening around them. I felt like I was the only one seeing the beauty of the city and its people so I decided to look for a camera to capture what I found was beautiful. I’ve always been a fan of vintage things like vinyl records, video games, thrift shopping, etc… so it was an easy decision to go analogue and try to recreate the style and nostalgia from the photos of when I was a kid. I finally got a Canon AE-1 with a 50mm lens (I still use it to this day), a few rolls of film without any idea of what I was doing and that’s how it all began.

How did you get started shooting on the streets? What draws you to this subject matter?

The first time I went out shooting I did mostly Urban Landscapes around Montreal. When I look back it was the most “cliché” shots you can take in Montréal like a tourist would do.

I got my first scan and quickly realized something was missing. There was no meaning or storytelling to my photos and in the meantime I discovered the “Walkie talkie” Paulie B. YouTube channel and I was fascinated to see photographer get so close to people to capture little moments that have all their own story. The next time I went shooting I decided to give street photography a try. After probably an hour of walking the same busy intersection being too shy to even raise my camera I finally took my first street photo and I was immediately hooked by the adrenaline rush it gave me and never looked back from there.

What makes Montréal a unique place for street photography?

Montreal is to me one of the most underrated cities for street photography. It’s a very diverse city with a lot of different culture mixed together. Montreal has also got a very European vibe in its architecture which make excellent background for street photography. It’s also still affordable compared to other big cities so there’s a lot of artists and creative people dressed with style. The fact that we have very cold and snowy winters makes it also interesting to capture scenes and moments in all kind of conditions. It’s definitely a grind to be a street photographer in the Montreal winter but it makes you appreciate the nice weather even more when summer come back.

Was this your first time shooting with Lomography film? What were your first impressions of these stocks?

I did shoot a few rolls of Lomography Berlin Kino 400 in the past and liked the results. The Lomography Lady Grey 400 a great surprise. It has a very vintage look and produces very sharp images with fine grains and great tones of grey. I used kodak HC-110 developer with the recommended time and the results were very good. For the Lomography Earl Grey 100 film, I decided to push the film two stops to 400 ISO as there wasn’t a lot of light at the time I was shooting. The photos came out really good with deeper contrasts and shadows that gave a nice character to the images. However, I had never tried a Lomography color film and the Lomography Color Negative 800 is now one of my favorite color films! First, the 800 ISO speed makes it a perfect film for street photography in any conditions specially downtown where there’s a lot of change of lights because of the buildings. The colors came out awesome, great saturation, fine grains and lots of of sharpness.

What motivates you to shoot in either B&W or color, and do you have a general preference of either for street photography?

At the beginning of my journey, I was more attracted to color photography but I quickly realized it would be better to learn the basics of photography with black and white before going to color. I did a full year of shooting only black and white and at the moment I would say I’m 75% B&W and 25% color depending on the light, where I’m shooting, my budget and how I feel at the moment.

Do you have any tips or tricks for anyone who is interested in trying out street photography but might not know where to start?

The first tip I would tell someone that wants to try street photography is to go step-by-step. A good way to start is going to an event, parade or very touristy place where people are busy and expect to see photographer. Another very important thing is to act normal, look far ahead to see potential subjects and don’t make eye contact with people. If you get into a confrontation which is unfortunately a part of street photography, try to smile and say something nice like “nice shirt” to de-escalate the situation. Other than that I would suggest to use a high speed film (400 ISO and up), a 50 mm or 35 mm focal length lens (28 mm if you want to get really close from the subject) and learn/practice to “zone focus”. The last tip is obviously to have fun! Even if you come back without “bangers” at least you spent time outdoors doing some exercise instead of staying home.

Anything else you'd like to share?

I just want to say thanks to the Lomography team for reaching out to a smaller page like mine that doesn’t have a ton of followers. I really appreciated trying your different film stocks! Have fun and keep shooting!

Thanks Éric for talking with Lomography Magazine to share your experience with our film stocks on the streets of Montreal! Find more of Éric's work on Instagram !

written by alexa_alexiades on 2025-02-09 #gear #people #places #streetphotography #black-white #lomography-color-negative-800 #35mmfilm #lady-grey #earl-grey #filmphotography Share Article