A movement that has developed into a global community whose strong passion is creative and experimental analogue film photography
The ways of the photography world are strange and sometimes, cyclical. After the era of analogue (film) photography was thought condemned and buried in the face of the digital onslaught, a global movement that traces its roots to 1980’s Russia is bringing back the pleasure of film to a new generation. Its secret weapon: The internet.
Sometime in 1991, a bunch of Viennese students discovered LOMO LC-A — a small, simple fixed-lens 35mm compact camera that had been in production in Russia since 1984. The quirky images, complete with bright colours and shadowy vignettes, shot from unusual angles and at unusual places were in stark contrast with the more rigid norms of established photography (see ‘the ten golden rules of lomography’).
The other attraction: affordability, especially compared to the wallet-denting prices of digital cameras.
| THE TEN GOLDEN RULES |
| Rule 1: Take your camera everywhere you go |
| Rule 2: Use it any time – day or night |
| Rule 3: Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it |
| Rule 4: Try the shot from the hip |
| Rule 5: Approach the objects of your Lomographic desire as close as possible |
| Rule 6: Don’t think |
| Rule 7: Be fast |
| Rule 8: You don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film |
| Rule 9: Afterwards either |
| Rule 10: Don’t worry about any rule |
From those early days of the LOMO’s discovery, Lomography today has developed into what it calls a “global community whose strong passion is creative and experimental analogue film photography”.
| EVOLUTION OF LOMOGRAPHY |
| 1982 In Russia’s St Petersburg, the LOMO Russian Arms and Optical factory decides to create an improved version of the Cosina CX-1, a little Japanese compact camera. |
| 1984 The LOMO LC-A begins mass production with 1100 units per month, becoming popular in Communist nations like Poland and Cuba |
| 1991 A group of Viennese students discover the LOMO LC-A in Prague. The strange, beautiful photographs it produces have many interested in this quirky Russian product |
| 1992 The Lomographic Society International (LSI) is established and housed in Vienna; the ‘10 Golden Rules of Lomography’ are written and published; and the LSI hosts the first Lomography exhibition |
| 1996 The St Petersburg factory mulls stopping production, but LSI convinces the brass there and the city’s mayor (Vladimir Putin) to continue rolling out the LOMO LC-A |
| 1997 lomo.com becomes lomography.com, a new website with a product shop, community interaction, special projects and a massive archive |
| 2000 After a series of new camera launches, the world’s first Lomography shop opens in Vienna |
| 2004 The Lomography World Congress arrives in China, with the biggest ever LomoWall – a collection of colourful analogue snapshots |
| 2006 Lomography introduces the LC-A+, a faithful reproduction of its Russian precursor. But the new camera is manufactured in China. |
| 2007 The'60s medium-format classic Diana camera is reproduced by LSI; Lomography stores open in Hong Kong, Paris, and Seoul |
| 2012 After more cameras, more stores, revamped website and even its own film (not movie!) over the years, Lomography warns there are more analogue surprises in the offing |
“What got me into Lomography was ironically digital lomo ‘effects’ that were all the rage about two years ago,” says Reihem Roy, a Chennai-based professional who likes to describe himself as a “cautious Lomography experimenter”.
Those effects are the sort of stuff that has made Instagram, which Facebook acquired recently for $1 billion, incredibly popular. The digital filters that Instagram applies are also what drive Lomography, except that the latter is all analogue.
The other, simpler truth is that these filters make even ordinary photographs look extraordinary.
| THE BASIC KIT |
| Diana F+ This classic 1960’s reproduction will set you back by a mere $ 51.25. But a Diana 35mm Back+, for about $ 56.40, is also highly recommended, so that you can shoot essentially all 35mm film, with four different image formats |
| LOMO LC-A+ The original, now made in China, costs about $ 280.72 and comes with the legendary Minitar 1 lens. The pack includes the camera, a book, two 35mm film rolls, batteries and a big wooden box |
| A word of caution: Stick to the 35mm equipment as the film is easier to develop and procure in India, compared with the other 120mm film (All prices from http://asia.shop.lomography.com/ , with free worldwide delivery for orders of $200 or more) |
But, as Roy delved deeper, he discovered that Lomography wasn’t just about effects. “Further investigation revealed an active film/analogue sub culture. The equipment itself was cheap and accessible — everything from reasonably sharp Russian TLRs (medium format twin-lens reflex cameras) to the Holgas and Dianas that were making the rounds in the hipster community,” he says.
The price was a definite draw. A basic, starter kit can be under Rs 10,000 (see the basic kit) and it’s easy to add on new equipment for trying new things. A digital photography starter kit, on the other hand, is at least thrice that amount. Although Lomography has smattering of shops the world over, there are none in India. Some equipment is available in Mumbai (Attic in Santa Cruz and Colaba, and Sanctum in Khar – West), but the whole range can be brought in India through its online store http://asia.shop.lomography.com/
Price, though, has rarely been a constraint for the real photography enthusiast. Instead, what has also helped Lomography become $40 million dollar entity in 20 years, according to a recent Financial Times report, is also the sense of community it has been able to create. For that, it has crossed over the digital divide and brought in the Internet.
Lomography’s website — http://www.lomography.com/ —is a place to meet, share, debate and shop. In fact, the online shop even has a sale going on currently. The Lomography India Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/lomographyindia — is also picking up momentum, with Delhi and Mumbai having hosted an event each in the past few months.
No doubt these are early days for Lomography in India but in a country as colourful as this, these cheap and small cameras are bound to deliver peculiar and fascinating photographs.
For those like Roy, it’s also about taking a break from digital photography.“It brought back an element of romance — no automated exposure compensation, no autofocus. It was about being patient and making the photography process ‘deliberate’,” he says, “I liked the fact that I could take complete ownership of the result.”
The flipside: He still needs to scan the developed prints and put them on Facebook. Ah, the joys of analogue.
