Thank you Lomography and Diana F+…
There was a time when I wasn’t taking a lot of photos.
I was in a creative holding pattern.
I was expressing myself in other ways but not really fully engaged. I see that now. What did it take to get me to where I am today, to this blog, to my new relationship with photography? A toy camera. No bells and whistles just a simple analogue tool to remind me of why I fell in love with the photography in the first place. My first toy camera was a fisheye, which eventually lead me to the Diana F+ camera. Playing with the Diana F+ was like seeing a long lost friend- it just clicked (sorry for the pun). It also introduced me to Lomography and celebrating analogue. Lomography is “a global community whose strong passion is creative and experimental analogue film photography”. Lomography is about being in the moment, trusting the process and allowing (and celebrating) unexpected outcomes. I learned Lomography’s 10 Golden rules and was excited to find a photography community that believed in the process as much as the product.
Lomography’s 10 Golden Rules are as follows:
1. Take your camera everywhere you go.
2. Use it any time – day and night.
3. It is not an interference in your life, but part of it.
4. Try the shot from the hip.
5. Approach the objects of you desire as close as possible.
6. Don’t think. (William Firebrace)
7. Be fast
8. You don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film.
9. Afterwards either.
10. Don’t worry about any rules.
And so it began, my new journey with photography. I shot only with my Diana F+ for a couple years before I got back into the digital world, which I am still learning to balance with my love for analog. I can say with confidence that it was Lomography and my Diana F+ camera that reconnected me not only to my love of photography but to a part of myself I almost let sit on a shelf.
Despite my love for analog, I never got around to doing any lomo. Pretty interested after reading this.
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Go for it- you won’t regret it!
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Photography started for me at an early age, but I don’t have any of the prints now to know if I actually managed to capture anything worthwhile or not. I’m sure to me at the time it was all worthwhile. Either way, much later I found myself relocated to the East Coast away from family and friends I had known for most of my life and wanting some way to share the experiences and places I visited with people back West. I remember looking through old shoe boxes filled with photos and portraits of family growing up and the way that each photo seemed to embody something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Being an introvert, sotrytelling just wasn’t my thing. When I was a teenager I was very much into artistic expression and learned about things like lines, form, balance, etc. I was fortunate to have had great teachers and mentors during that time. So, armed with my camera I set out to capture the things I saw with a goal of capturing them the way that I saw them. This was often ill-fated, but skill takes time and patience to develop. I’m still not “there” artistically, at least by my own standards, but I like some of what I see now after the shutter clicks. I’ve often thought about getting a minimalist setup for doing lomography at home. There’s something I certainly miss about prying open a roll of film, the changing bag and the smell of developer. Looking through your selection here inspires me to get off my arse and long to shoot. Thank you for sharing and giving me a much-needed boot to the backside. 🙂
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Cliff! Ya know, I think Lomography is just want you need. It really gives you permission to let go of rules and boundaries and to celebrate the reason you were drawn to it in the first place- for a voice! You are so freaking talented but sometimes the critic gets in the way, it does to all of us. Lomography throws the critic out the window. Check out the Lomo website a little more. I think you will like what you see. Trust your eye, trust what you want to click at- that is you and authentic. Please let this ripple for you. I know if it is at all similar to my process it will be beyond inspiring!!! Buy a toy camera and get back to basics. P.S. I LONG for the smell of developer- what is in that stuff! ha ha
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Wonderful piece! Wonderful photos!! And I love the 10 golden rules. Thanks for sharing and I’m glad you reconnected with photography not only for the benefits it brings you but for the beauty I get to enjoy from it as well. 🙂
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you have inspired me to post my photos on a blog.
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Wow- what an honor! Please do and let me know when you are up and running!
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