IT IS LOMO

Are you in the mood to ponder about the questions on why you are into analogue photography? Sean Miles Lotman, a writer and budding haiku poet, tackles these hot topics of discussion and elaborates on the intrinsic aura that lies in the analogue world.
There is a tendency among photographers to define themselves through their camera as much as by the photographic end result. Doing so they willfully reveal a philosophical approach to seeing the world with their chosen instrument.

With digitalization streamlining the photographic experience it seems no coincidence that Lomography should be in its ascendancy. In her classic text On Photography, Susan Sontag writes that faster, better technology will cause some individuals to want to produce photos with a special, handmade quality, “an aura,” so to speak. Writing about this subject in the late 1970s, it seems prescient today when you look at the democratization of photography we’ve witnessed in the last decade, particularly user-friendly digital SLRs saturating the image market. Nikon, and especially, Canon, have produced cameras so popular it feels like everything this past decade has been photographed to a condition of numbness. How can photographs of iconic images such as the Pyramids, Angkor Wat, or the Grand Canyon surprise us anymore? The Lomo and its tendency towards the serendipitous accident is the counterpoint to the digital argument of neatness, focus, and “the sure thing.”
the popularity of the iPhone application, Hipstamatic, which transforms boring camera phone images into something with an “analogue feel.” As the first syllable of its name suggests, this analogue shortcut is very trendy among a young, cool population surfeited with digital photography.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but there is also a risk of industrial and artistic plagiarism. Beyond these considerations, the Hipstamtaic completely misses the point. Shooting analogue is not just an aesthetic; it is just as much a philosophy and a method. Analogue is an awareness that we live in an unpredictable, uncontrollable, vibrant world rife with hidden beauties and eloquence in small, everyday objects. Shooting analogue requires the photographer to be more intuitive than his digital counterpart—to feel his environment better, because factoring in the costs of film, development, and prints, you do not have trigger-finger options.
But in its distortion of reality, the Lomo photograph is more akin to the paintings of Impressionists than the Surrealists, for it is not trying to subvert reality as much as build a daydream out of it. Impressionism and Lomography share a primacy of visual effects over detail and vividness over geometry.

Be a lomographer without lomo cameras 2

Yoko introduced some ideas about using other equipments to create lomography. In fact, to create pictures with lomo style does not fully rely on hardwares, using softwares could also achieve it. Nowadays, lomo fans are following one of the guide principles of lomography, they try different ways to make lomography as cheap as possible. Because the films become increasingly expensive, lomography is no longer cheap and affordable.
People start to find the way using digital techniques to transform Lomo, but digital cameras could never achieve the texture and accidental effects that film cameras will provide. However, the development of digital design softwares facilitates the transformation of lomo.

Toycamera Analog Colors is one of the most popular software that is used to adjust normal photographs to Lomo photographs. It follows different styles to adjust the colors and texture of images, users only need to click a single button to achieve a certain style.
Unfortunately I failed to download a proof edition of this software, but I found several sample images from it's official site.

Another interesting software is called Polaroid. As it's name refers to, this software is specialized at turning normal photos into Polaroid style photos. The colors of the photos changed to another style that gives people the feeling of old pictures. What funny is, when processing the photos, the software make users to shake the mouse just like people shaking the polaroid films.
Here are two samples of turning Lucy's photo into Polaroid style.


These transfered photos are less focused and clear than the original ones, but somehow brought the sense of dream and softness. Colors are adjusted and tends to have a main tone of pink purple. Compare to the digital photos, the feeling of lines and edges are more obvious, this creates a softer texture.
I would like to hear Lucy's own opinion of these changes as well, hope that she will like them.

Let’s traveling with Lomo camera (Bowonniwet Vihara Temple - Bangkok, Thailand)

Since last week I emailed Dalai Lama’s official website but nobody give me more details about Dalai Lama’s photography hobby, so I will keep researching about lomography and Buddhism.

As we all know, Even though nowadays Buddhism is quite popular in China, Thailand is its origin. Let’s traveling to Bowonniwet Vihara Temple, to experience the temple in Thailand, which is totally different from Chinese temple style.

Bowonniwet Vihara Temple is a first class Royal Buddhist monastery of the Dhammayut tradition, located on the northeast side of Bangkok's Ratanakosin island.The monastery’s name comes from the Pali language: Pavara+niwesa and translates as the Excellent Abode Monastery.There have been six abbots from the beginning to the present, three of whom have been Supreme Patriarchs.In the temple precincts, Buddhist monasteries are usually divided into two sections: Buddhavasa – buildings and structures devoted to the Buddha such as the Uposatha hall, the Cetiya or Stupa, etc., and Sanghavasa – or dwellings for monks (bhikkhus) and novices (samaneras).The chapel is the most important building in the temple, this is where ordinations and other official acts of the Order take place as well as a housing of one of Thailand’s most famous Buddha images – Pra Buddha Jinasiha – a Buddha image from the Sukhothai period.

Also to be found inside this hall are the distinctive and unique murals painted by well known Thai painter, In Kong, during King Mongkut’s time. Unfortunately, time and moisture have taken their toll and some of the murals have had to undergo a process which includes lifting off whole sections of painted plaster, affixing these to plastic plates and then reattaching them to their former positions

Photography, to open the channel of imagination

Chloe and I interviewed Dr. Lucille Clements today about her experience in photography.
Lucy is known by us as a tutor in communication department at Insearch, but her life is way richer than sitting in the classroom and lecture: she is also a musician who plays piano and keyboard in the very well known Australian Rock 'n Roll band "Rose Tatoo" , a photographer who used to have a personal exhibition and a film maker whose film got invited to screen at 2007 Melbourne international film festival.
For Lucy, photography and music are her ways of expression and the way that she keeps her imagination and creativity. She likes to play piano when she got spare time, this make she feel calm and think.
Different from her music style, she chose to capture tree barks as her favourite objects. The pictures are diverse, full of natural but unusual colours and through the lens, viewers could feel the natural calm and spirit that Lucy wants to introduce. She also named all of her photos, this make the images vivid and the stories behind it could be told and understand with only a few words.
Actually, the idea of taking photos of tree barks is not new to Lucy, she came up with this idea long time before and right after she finished producing a documentary about Rock 'n Roll music, she started the journey of exploring the beauty of Australian native nature and took trees as her models. These two topics formed a contract, but also created the possibility for Lucy to expand her creativity. In terms of combining her photography works and music, she tends to choose rather lighter and natural music style for her photography.

Mimi, a tree bark that is similar to the aboriginal art form that are about the spirit of Mimi.

Ned Kelly, a bark looks like somebody wearing a mask.

Thanks to Lucy's time and these wonderful pictures.

Lomography catch the moment that you forgot

Just like we mentioned again and again, the principle: do not think, just shooting is also the difference between photography and lomography. In terms of photography, the photographer would care about the light, the exposal, the ISO, the angle etc. As far as I am concern, photography is more like create your life, everything will be like what you expect it looks like. When people are shooting, the procedure are full filled with passion, imagination and creativity. The image will also turn out to be maintain a deep meaning, expressing your emotion when the shooting occur or when you saw the scene. Good photographer can bring the audience into the world of the photo, for example, when I saw the photos about the nature or landscape I feels free, or magical and sometimes shock by the power of the nature.

Some of the art photography are more deliberately, purely to express a sense of aesthetic from the photographer's point of view.

When Monica and I was interview Lucy, I still remember she says when she was taking the photo of the bark of the tree she always care about the structure, the exposal, the graphic. It means she is creating the art and the aesthetic that in her discovering.

On the contrary, Lomography is more tend to be snapshot, it happens in every moment, every corner. DO NOT THINK, JUST SHOOTING. With the spirit of lomography, the lomographers shift their thoughtfulness to the future but not the time when they were shooting. Since moment is the time that people most easy to forget, probably after few years when they review their lomograph, all of the emotion of that moment will be recalled, emerging in their mind.

Light-painting, paint the sky in the night

I was introduced Light-painting one or two years ago, when people massively start to upload interesting pictures of them writing in the air.

Gradually, I became curious of how these images are produced. They look strange but funny, especially people shoot objects with light effects: girls with wings, ginger men working through the zebra crossing etc.
Then, our tutor of COMM 116 Linda Hodson took us to an exhibition held in Custom House. I saw a video showing the process of light painting there.

The photographer wore black colour costumes with bulbs on it, then he jumped or swum, the camera captured all the light's movements, they are very catching and look mysterious. That was the first time when I know how people create these funny pictures and I think to take photo becomes an activity that many people could participate and enjoy. They idea of light-painting comes to me like the idea of painting the air and sky.

I remember that a photography teacher back in China told me that to take photos is to paint with the light and shadows. This idea is very similar to the idea of light-painting. But the difference is, light-painting is a creation, is to change the objective world without ruin it. So in my opinion, light-painting is more about to interact with the world, but not to actually change it.

I took these light-painting photos at my terrace in the night, in Wolli Creek. This is the first time that I try to do so. I used my Cannon 400D and set it up on a tripod. The exposure lasted 30 seconds and I used a torchlight to paint.


The pictures are soft and the brightness are actually unexpected. Next time I might adjust the duration of exposure and try to take the camera to a darker place.

For me, light-painting is a way of expression, I like those pictures that people write words with different colours of lights. I fund it similar to the art form of graffiti, but it is more harmless. Although it is deliberate, the spirit of light-painting is very similar to LOMO. I think to take LOMO pictures is to enrich the life with colours and little beautiful surprises, light-painting is a style that allow people to explore their joy of seeing the world on a different angle.

"photography is murder"-----Nobuyoshi Araki

Nobuyoshi Araki is a well-known and controversial photographer who takes a fundamental role in Japanese Art extent. Someone thinks he is just a freak and voyeurism because most of his photography subjects are focus on something taboo or conventionally forbidden like naked women, their vaginas and boobs with extreme close up shoot and even sometimes bound Japanese women wear traditional kimonos or completely naked. Araki said the reality always exposure after being naked. However, he also gets a massive number of loyal cross-cultural fans like a very famous one, Iceland singer, Bjork.

Except his symbolic subjects, naked women, Araki also likes to shoot reptiles, died fishes, his favorite cat, transformation of clouds, especially his hometown Tokyo. He claimed that in one of his interview in 2003, Tokyo city has somehow mysterious relation with sex, the dark side of Tokyo city is similar as intricate sex which is hided in the depth of Tokyo. Araki barely uses digital cameras for filming and addicted to lomography. He published particular two photograph albums that taken by lomo cameras. He likes both black-white and colored photos and he has very unique opinion about them. Araki said black-white represents death in his picture and colored ones express vitality.

This might be related to his personal experiences about death, her wife Yoko and his maiden work ‘sentimental journey’. This work records his honeymoon and also could be seen a documentary album of her wife’s death. 'sentimental journey' is my favorite one among his approximately 200 photography albums. It might be an important reason which helps me to understand a little bit about his works. I was definitely shocked and felt extremely uncomfortable when I was first encountered his symbolic pictures, I was thinking about how could he take these sorts of ridiculous photos? And then I began to wonder what kind of person could take these quirky things and what about his real life. It was unbelievable to find out he has a beloved wife and he directly documented her death with camera. Yoko was always his favorite model and the first person gave him evaluation about his works.

There are two specific photos of ‘sentimental journey’ that impressed me a lot. One is Yoko peacefully lied on a boat alone. She looks so relax but it somehow reminded me a sense of sadness. Especially I knew she already had cancer when Araki filmed. This is a kind of feeling about a husband watches beloved wife is dying but he has nothing to do but took the photo and it will remind himself everytime in the future. Espeically Araki used film camera to shoot this one which perfectly suited for the meaning of it, the best moment will never comeback again, you just could record it but can't change it.

The second one is very touching and I almost cried when I first saw it. This photo was also taken by Araki himself. Araki holds Yoko’s hand and she is already gone at that moment. This is the ending of Yoko's life, the ending of photographic conversation between Araki and Yoko, also the ending of 'sentimental journey'

"Maybe I only had a relationship with her as a photographer, not as a partner. If I hadn’t documented her death, both the description of my state of mind and my declaration of love would have been incomplete. I found consolation in unmasking lust and loss, by staging a bitter confrontation between symbols. After Yoko’s death, I didn’t want to photograph anything but life – honestly. Yet every time I pressed the button, I ended up close to death, because to photograph is to stop time. I want to tell you something, listen closely: photography is murder."

-------------------Araki

Sources:

http://www.lensculture.com/oborn.html

http://q.sohu.com/topic/2562075

http://www.showchina.net.cn/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=6286

Communities of lomography

Lomography is a new form of artistic, mixing vintage and analogue cameras to make snapshot. The film can enhance color of photo, photographer can also make special effect.
There are “10 Golden Rules” of lomography, nearly 1 million lomographers world wide. These rules are representing the spirit of lomography and the mindset of the creaters.
The “10 Golden Roles” can be seen from what YOKO already listed in the article “Be a lomographer without lomo cameras!”

The Lomography Website is an amazing community that I suggest everyone who crazy about Lomography must see. It offers some wonderful features, such as free membership. With membership you get unlimited photo storage to record your life, and profile page to share your work and are granted the ability to comment, review and write content.What is more, you can keep up to date with the new type of artistic, entertainment on a load of networking sites such as Twitter.

Personally, already add Lomography on my facebook, it provide with the latest event of lomography, people can join in as a community, and there are many people comment on the status, coming up with their questions about lomography equipments, skills, tracks etc. And there will be professional lomographer to update the status, noticing friends what is new in lomography and share happy experiences. The most important thing is that people can make more friends who have the same hobby, it indeed a good way to enhance intercommunicate extent.

Photography!?Lomography!? Just shoot it-Belinda Nolan

There are so many talented photographers out there is hard to discover them all. Thanks to Janice recommend us a lovely and talented photographer as our interviewee, Belinda Nolan, who shares her experiences and thoughts in photography and Lomography, as interviewed by Yan and Yoko. We hope you to enjoy and feel inspiring of this photographer interview.

As Belinda said “It’s been with me since I was a little girl”. She started to talk about her experience of photography.

Since Belinda was a child, she got given an old camera and for her 10^th birthday, she got given a codec camera. She told us that she took it around everywhere she went and documented from schools and holidays. She also remembers the excellent of going to the chemist and getting her photos developed. And then she went to study photography later on when she was in university and working in the darkroom and having that sense of image revealed before she was thrilling, so she then also explored into digital photography.

In more detail, Belinda thinks digital camera and film camera serve different purposes. She for many years had film cameras, since it was the only thing available. You can get remarkable atmospheric shots, with a sort of rigidness in the shots when it is punted. But there’s no escaping the power of digital cameras, when you take an image, you can see the image and if you don’t like it you can get rid of it, and then if you want to go home and print it and you can do it. So within moments, you have everything.

For the choice of black and white, there is not a lot of stimulus happening within the photograph, the soul of the photograph seems to come forward, you seem to enter into what the photo is about. But also the shades of black, white and grey, in terms of and mood creates something that is very appealing as well.

Belinda says her style of photography is not something that has been conscious. The most enjoyable time of her daily exercise is taking her dog for a walk with her camera. Because she usually goes to the places by the water and the park, it’s happened that invariably the photos she has been building up in the past few years is of nature photographs. During the interview, I found something interesting was that Belinda has mentioned she doesn’t feel comfortable about taking strangers’ photo. From her perspective, she thinks she’s reluctant to put a camera in somebody’s face, because privacy or something that she respects, so she’s more relaxed with nature photography.

In addition, Belinda explains that since digital camera has become popular as a trend and people have almost forgotten film and lomography. She thinks it gives people the opportunity to pick up film photography, but also be innovative with it, like the different lenses you can get with lomography and the different colors you can bring into it. So the outcome is between digital and film, that you can alter the image. Also some of those particular cameras are so tiny that you can put them in your pocket and have them wherever and create wonderful images. Moreover, Belinda also gives some examples of websites which upload great lomography images, so it has created a whole new force of expression.

At the end, Belinda suggests to new photographers that always take the camera with you and use it, let it be an extension of you. Don’t be too precious of your camera and make it like a journal as a visual diary. And then you find that the art follows, because you are so relaxed when you have got your camera. Just take it shoot it enjoy it.

Thanks again to Belinda!

Restyle Belinda's photographs with lomography effects and we also looking forward Belinda's comment to this.

Be a lomographer without lomo cameras!

Do you addict to lomography? Do you only have one or two lomo cameras? Are you bothered when taking your lomo camera with you everywhere? Do you still concern about your own lomography shooting skills? Or Do you have no lomo camera at all? So, what makes these things happen? Actually, the answer is diverse and common. These situations could happen to every normal lomography enthusiast. Sometimes, the reason just might be that you have no time to buy it or your current funds would not suffice at the moment for buying one more camera. But what can we do with these common problems? I mean, as a lomographer? Do you still remember the “full name” of Lomo, “let our lives be magic and open”. Lomographer certainly have flexible and creative solution to deal with them. Firstly, it is a time to review our 10 golden rules of lomography and we will see the key from it.

1. Take your Lomo with your everywhere you go.

2. Use it anytime, day and night.

3. Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it.

4. Try the shot from the hip.

5. Approach the objects of your lomographic desire as closely as possible.

6. Do not think.

7. Be quick.

8. you don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film.

9. Afterwards, either.

10. Don’t worry about any rules

(http://www.rachro.com/LomoRules.html)

The last sentence usually is the most important one and it absolutely works on our situation. Therefore, be an eligible lomographer, forget any rules and find your own creative way to solve your problem! Today’s ‘we luv lomo’ will give you some trendy solutions to help you finding the ways.

1. If you don’t have lomo camera or it inconveniently take it with you, then how about your mobile phone? It suppose to be with you anytime. So, today we got tiny lomo camera lens that could stick on your mobile phone and take pictures with lomo special effects. It only costs 2-3 dollars! （it also could be used on your digital camera) It definitely matches lomo's notion, just shoot anytime in anywhere.

As you choose different lens, they will have various lomo special effects like wide angle, stretch, spilt images, heat frame, filter, soft lens and classic vignette angle.

2. If you still don’t feel comfortable or convenient about put some lens on your mobile phone, there is another way you could go. Download a free lomography application in your mobile phone or software for your laptop.

(http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lomo-camera/id318345320?mt=8)

Is the second one making more sense to you as same as mine?

3. if you are unbelievably not interested in both two techniques upstairs…then, make yourself one with paper or even money. I am not kidding because someone made it successfully. There is an amazing tutorial video might help you with your future unique “lomo camera”.

I was very curious of all these ways to be a free lomographer and I got some personal experiences that could help you to choose. The first one, plastic lomo camera lens I bought a series of it and I took several pictures with them. Honestly, it somehow disappointed me even I didn’t expect a lot before I used. However, it did make a lot of fun on simple, boring mobile phone shooting and some of its effects even more interesting than lomo cameras like star/heart filter. It definitely matches lomo’s original notion, just shoot anytime in anywhere, and it worth its price.

The second recommendation, lomography application did better than the plastic lens and the lomo effects of this one are more closer to the photography which took by real lomo cameras. This lomo application does not only work in iphone but also has different editions for diverse mobile phones and all for free. It really save my time to do some photoshop procedure stuffs after I take photos with mobile phone and I could directly upload to my facebook or twitter for sharing.

I got no comment of the third one because I am always bad at hand-made stuff. However, I think it will be an amazing experience if you finally made it, so I strongly recommend this one and I might try it later, I almost see the most ugly hand-made lomo camera will be occured in the world!

The role of Lomography in fashion

I personally think photography is a way of expressing the moments experienced in our lives. Each individual has his or her vision or a sense of insight to view things. These illustrations we perceive through our eyes, and feel through our heart.

We may have different interest on what we like to shoot such as landscapes, people and food etc. Well today, I would like to say, Lomography has also become part of the style in the fashion industry. Photographers may achieve different effects using expensive photography equipment or by making many adjustments in Photoshop for fashion shooting. However, you’ve probably seen pictures with the dramatic colors and characteristic effects on Lomography.

Photography

Lomography

Can you believe these fashionable images are not from digital camera? Does it look artistic and retro-like?

I have chosen these four beautiful photos to share with bloggers which took from a freelance fashion stylist’s assistance Kit Lee, who is also a lomographer and photographer based in London.

I admire the way the model has been styled and I love the way Kit Lee has captured the shooting with her plastic camera. With her blog article “Lomography: Let’s Rock, Gem And Roll”, she has clearly presented her passion on Lomography which focuses on fashion.

Most of my friends know that I’m really interested in the fashion industry, but I didn’t know these professional fashion photos can be taken from a plastic camera and result with different awesome effects. From this perspective, models play a minor role when they compare with the effect of Lomography. As long as you take your lomo camera with you and shoot what you want, you can discover how stunning Lomography is. The reason why I got so interested in these fashion photos is because they’re black and white, and they seem like vintage. I can’t judge that digital cameras will never have this kind of quality of effects, but I’m sure lomography will become more and more popular and useful in the fashion industry.

Australian Local Feature lomographer----Lisa Marshall

Lisa Marshall is a local artist and lomographer. She won the photography prize a year ago for the Royal Easter Show with a lomography photograph. Her 14 years old daughter Ina also won prize of the children lomography competition. We could have chance to interview both of them because our classmate Michelle is a very close friend of Lisa and they share interests in lomography. Thank you Michelle again.

Lisa tells us that her background is printmaking and some kinds of art creativity stuff and being a photographer, especially lomographer is more recently thing. It starts from her third year of visual arts university degree and her subject is almost about her daughter Ina, her change from childhood to adolescence. Hence, her subjects of lomography become more diverse like specific shows, people performances, statues and especially animals. She says that she always try to do something a little bit quirky and different with lomo camera. She loves accidental and surprise things. Lisa makes an example of her favourite lomo photograph to explain that. It is a black and white photograph with shadowy vignette corners and the subject is only a brush turkey stands at the center of fisheye circle. Lisa says she is very surprised by this brush turkey suddenly come to her backyard and then she decides to keep this fabulous accident in her lomo camera. This might be related to her own perspective about the difference between lomography and common digital ones.

Lisa apparently prefers film camera, especially lomo camera rather than digital ones. She explains that digital cameras are more usually for documenting or convenient purpose and they are also undoubtedly important to photographers. However, the film cameras are good at shooting landscape, background stuff and you will surprised what you will get when you get film back, it is unexpectable. Besides, Lomo cameras are more focus on composition or the moment, you are not trying to document something, maybe you just get down the floor and try to get funny angles.

Actually Lisa introduces many her works about her daughter Ina during our interview and every time Lisa is smiling and looking at Ina, Ina always get blush and lower her head. This emotional expression of Lisa and Ina very impresses us a lot, and it also help to prove my opinion of photography is that we could certainly feel the emotion and relationship between the “subject people” and photographer from looking at a specific photograph. There is one of Ina’s photos I really love is that she wears red skirt and imperial crown like a little princess, and sits by the mirror, the camera captures both sides of her. All colors in this photo are extreme rich and Ina is not strictly in focus which looks a little bit fuzzy. Lisa says this photo is not planned and this kind of fuzzy, accidental stuff works very well in lomography style.

Lisa admits that lomography somehow shapes her life like makes her daily live become more interesting and lets her has great timing, more passionate on travelling. She says she like taking time on one certain thing, even sometimes the result goes bad but the good one always worth taking risk.