Introducing @melkitoldi — Lomography's Honorary LomoHome of July 2025

The search for honorary LomoHomes continues! We're digging deeper into the Lomography mines and recognizing Community members from all over the world.

For July, we're letting our featured Community member Melchior (@melkitoldi) take center stage as he walks us through his growing passion for the slow process of film.

Analogue photography had to come knocking twice before finally finding a place in Melchior’s life. His initial connection with the medium quickly faded after his first camera broke just a few rolls in — he kept photography quietly shelved since then. It came tugging at his heart once more and the next thing he knew, he was biking through the rain to pick up a second camera.

The following words are written by @melkitoldi:

Lomographic Beginnings

Hi, I’m Melchior de Toldi, a 31-year-old tech enthusiast from Paris with a passion for the outdoors. My journey into film photography began a little over two years ago when I bought an old Canon 35 on eBay. After shooting a few rolls, the camera broke, and I put the hobby aside for a while.

Everything changed one Sunday evening when I stumbled upon a blog post about the vintage Konica 35. My curiosity was piqued, and by the next morning, I found myself biking 30 minutes through the rain to pick one up from a marketplace seller. That moment reignited my passion, and since then, film photography has become an increasingly important part of my life — though my wife might say it’s mostly taken over our shelves (I’m also starting to develop this well-known GAS)!

Living an Analogue Lifestyle

I love hunting for old gear at auctions and have gradually taken more control over the entire process. As film and development costs rose, I started scanning my own negatives, and since 2025, I’ve even begun developing B&W film myself. There’s something deeply satisfying about being hands-on from start to finish. It reminds me of another of my passions: sourdough bread making. In both, I find joy in the blend of technical skill and manual craft.

I first discovered Lomography while searching for film names on Google — it quickly became my go-to tool for previewing what the film stocks I’d bought might look like. After a few months, I realized I needed to stop Instagram-spamming my friends and family every time I finished scanning a roll. That’s when I started looking for a place to share and store my photography, and I found out just how awesome the Lomography platform is. The community here is incredibly welcoming and inspiring. I can’t describe how happy I was when one of my images was picked as Image of the Month! As for products, I recently picked up a roll of LomoChrome Purple. I’m still waiting for the perfect moment to shoot it, but I’ve been loving the photos I’ve seen from others on the platform lately.

For me, shooting on film is a refreshing return to chemistry and mechanics—a welcome contrast to my day job in AI, where everything is digital and virtual. There’s something deeply satisfying about engaging with the tangible, analog side of photography.

Photography plays a huge role in my life; I try to always have a camera with me, and even when I don’t, my smartphone is never far away. But film photography, in particular, is about so much more than just the final image. It’s about the entire process: from hunting for cameras and film, to the act of shooting, to developing and scanning, and finally sharing the results — often on Lomography! I genuinely enjoy every step. Each roll of film is a surprise. Often, it’s the photos I’d completely forgotten about that turn out the best, while the shots I was most excited for sometimes end up disappointing!

One of the photos I took I like is this one with my wife walking in front of me in England. It was my first time shooting with a very high ISO film, and I thought the foggy atmosphere would be the perfect setting to experiment with it. This shot is especially meaningful to me because it was also one of the first roles I developed myself, making the whole experience even more memorable.

The Lomography Golden Rule that resonates with me most is: “Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it.” That perfectly sums up my approach to photography. I don’t go out of my way to stage or plan elaborate shoots—instead, I simply capture whoever is with me and whatever is happening around me. That’s probably why about half of my photos are of my wife, my sisters, or my dog! For me, photography is woven into my everyday life, making even ordinary moments feel special.

Looking to the Future

I plan to continue learning and having fun with analog photography. I’m working on setting up a proper portfolio website to showcase my best shots, and I’ve recently started learning the cyanotype technique while improving my negative printing skills. My personal goal—though it feels more like a dream at this point—is to one day print enough good photos to fill an entire room, so I can invite friends and strangers to come see them. That would be absolutely amazing.

I'm really glad to see the growing interest in analogue photography—though maybe it's just because I'm diving deeper into it myself! I'm excited at the idea of brands developing new cameras and film stocks. Above all, I hope analogue photography becomes increasingly accessible to everyone.

Follow Melchior's LomoHome to find more of his work and catch up on our previous honorary LomoHome here!

written by francinegaebriele on 2025-07-05 #paris #lomohome-of-the-month Share Article