Photographer Paul Cox's First Experience with Lomography Film

Paul Cox is a photographer originally from Zimbabwe and now based in Taiwan. He has travelled extensively over the years and has published a photography book about Mongolia, capturing unique images of borderlands and nomadic tribes. Recently, he took Lomography Color Negative 35 mm ISO 100 , Lomography Redscale XR ISO 50-200 , and Earl Grey B&W 35 mm ISO 100 on a trip to Nepal and shared the photos from his journey and his thoughts with us.

Hello Paul, it's great to have you here on Lomography's online magazine. Can you introduce yourself to us?

On my Instagram, I describe myself as an African living in Asia. I grew up in Zimbabwe but have been fortunate to live all over, including the UK, Spain, Hong Kong, and, of course, now in my favorite place, Taiwan.

Can you talk about your years of experience in photography and how you came to Taiwan?

My dad had a large collection of his photos, all stored in lovely albums. I would study them intently; the old black and white printed photos still feel magical to this day. My dad bought me my first Konica film camera when I was perhaps only 14 years old.

My growing passion for photography took a back seat as I went through soldier training, university, and other careers. It wasn’t until I got my first camera from a large Christmas bonus during my plumbing days that I became obsessed. I now had what I thought was a fancy camera—a Canon 350D. I spent all my money subscribing to every photo magazine available to me and devoured everything about photography. I was already starting to get paid for some of my work, but it wasn’t until my move to Asia that I could pursue photography full-time. That was 12 years ago.

This time, you used a few different Lomography film stocks. How did you feel about them?

I didn’t realize that Lomo had been around for so long, which is wonderful for the film community. I’ve always been interested in their often quirky experimental film over the years. I was kindly sponsored and given an eclectic mix of films from Lomo Taiwan—Xie Xie! I was excited to try something new, so they included rolls of Lomography Color Negative 100, Lomography Redscale 50-200, and the monochrome Earl Grey B&W ISO 100.

The Lomo 100 has an old-style feel that I quite like, with high contrasts and vibrant colors. I like Portra, but it's way too expensive, so Lomo 100 is a nice alternative. The Redscale, as I mentioned beforehand, is effectively loaded back to front, or simply flipped within the canister, so the light has a harder job passing through the negative. As a consequence, it’s necessary to develop a stop faster. I was very pleased with the results and can see it suiting urban landscapes. The Earl Grey is less contrasty than my favorite cinematic Kodak XX, but this may suit many who want a look somewhere between Ilford and Tri-X. Once again, Lomo is competitive on price.

Can you share your experience of shooting in Nepal, as well as the process of shooting in Taiwan?

In September 2024, my trip to Nepal presented its own unique challenges. Since I carried all my equipment myself, I opted for the Minolta CLE as a substitute for my favorite but heavy Leicaflex SL2. The Minolta CLE is much smaller and lighter, yet it can still use my beautiful Leica M lenses. It was essential for the camera to be quickly accessible as well.

Regarding my experiences of shooting in Taiwan, I somehow managed to enter the country during the peak of the COVID pandemic, when all travel had come to a halt. Consequently, I became drawn to more creative portraiture, heavily inspired by the Japanese avant-garde movement of the 1960s, particularly the works of Shuji Terayama and the much-underappreciated Tomatsu Yato.

It would be wonderful to see photography reach a wider audience here in Taiwan. Aside from the amazing 1839 Gallery in Taipei, there are relatively few outlets for artist exposure. The trend to film with younger creatives will change this I believe, if Japan’s scene is anything to go by.

In the past, you’ve consistently traveled to Mongolia for photography and even published a photo book. Where does your passion for photographing nomadic tribes come from?

I have been there 14 times, and I believe these tours have defined my work and style. I’ve held a dozen or so exhibitions, some solo, which were primarily photo sales and auctions to raise funds for the children’s charity I supported in Ulaanbaatar. With significant connections in Hong Kong, my photos over the years have generated a not too shabby amount of money—though, unfortunately, not for me.

Mongolia holds a special place in my heart. I love that it’s not an easy place to photograph. Locals don’t want a camera pointed at them without permission. Yet, the pride and deep sense of cultural identity always draw me back. Although it’s becoming less so, Mongolia has always been a very original place to be. This made my Red Hero series quite unique, and in the photography world, originality is important. Red Hero, the name of the photo series, was published in 2019, and several of my works are kindly displayed in the Mongolian and Tibetan Museum right here in Taipei.

Could you share your thoughts on black and white versus color photography?

This is a great question, and for me, it partly relates to the film versus digital debate. I’m extremely fortunate to have an original Sebastião Salgado photograph on my wall—taken with Kodak Tri-X film in the ‘90s and printed in a darkroom. There’s nothing more beautiful than a black and white darkroom print, and this still holds true today. Lay a digital print next to it, and you’ll see the difference. It breaks my heart to see low-resolution film scans on Instagram, but unfortunately, there are few other options for sharing our work these days.

As for color photography, even my dear friend, who has worked in darkrooms for many years, will admit that digital color printing is on par. It’s certainly more practical and cost-effective. I love both formats, but I have a particular fondness for the uncertainty and artistry of black and white, especially for portraiture.

When it comes to photography, is there anything you are particularly passionate about or insist on?

“Insist” might be a strong word, but I do strive to be original. For example, I remember visiting the famous Pushkar Camel Fair in India. I hated being surrounded by countless other photographers all aiming for that typical “Nat Geo” shot. It was a huge turnoff for me, so I quickly retreated to work alone in the more interesting surrounding ancient city. Of course, it’s wonderful to be inspired by others, but it’s important to make it your own.

Oh, I do have another “insist.” I dislike seeing my images cropped to fit certain formats, like those imposed by Instagram. The beautiful 35mm ratio of 3:2 is there for a reason.

Finally, is there anything else you'd like to say to the Lomography community?

Support Lomography and others in the film industry—let’s keep analogue photography alive and preserve the skills it requires to master.

Thank you to Paul for sharing his photos with us and for using Lomography film to take his photographic vision to even more distant places. To see more of his work visit his Instagram.

written by truelin on 2025-02-15 #gear #people #places #taiwan #nepal #lomography-redscale #lomography-color-negative-100 #lomography-earl-grey-100 Share Article