the lomography thread

[minxus]

just wondering if anybody here uses Lomo cameras?

for those who don't know what lomography is check out www.lomography.com

they're essentially basic toy cameras, but you can produce some really beautiful shots with them.

i own an L-CA and a Colorsplash.

[Mickstah]

I've always been interested in playing with one, but they're so fricken over-priced for what essentially is a faulty camera that just happens to take nice random shots.

[ghettro]

I like the cameras but the overt marketing is really offputting. Still though, I do have a few junkyard toy cameras which are more or less the same thing

[The Brain]

I have the colourflash Holga

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/72/162093115_fd724dce08.jpg

I also got the fisheye lens attachment. It takes some pretty cool photos.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/63/199603811_1fbd86e29d.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/77/199603506_532240bfc9.jpg


But I find the fisheye lens doesn't work well with the flash. Mainly because the lens gets in the way and casts a great big shadow in the middle of your photo.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/63/199603715_52a98d63b1.jpg

Also, it seems to shoot high, so I have to remember to point it a little lower, if I want to centre the picture properly.

[sway]

i want a holga super bad. a friend of mine just got the plastic fantastic collection from the lomo store and has been playing around with them all..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/londonla/sets/72157594481662618/

[phunkdust]

Man, fuck lomo

All it is, is some crazy-ass marketing selling shitty chinese cameras for ten or twenty times their actual price.

If you want a toy camera there are plenty of other options out there that wont cost you a small fortune.

[nettsu]

sway -> http://search.ebay.com.au/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com.au%2Fw s%2F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=lomo&category0=

i never thought i'd say ebay to the rescue
but there ya go...

[Scootie]

hehe. they're not shitty chinese cameras, they're shitty russian cameras :)

i'm kind of keen on an LC-A just because it's 35mm and auto shutter speed based on a cool concept, but I have a Diana that I almost never use, so you know, not much point getting another camera :)

an amusing thing i've seen is the hack to put a holga lens onto an SLR, holga effects, instalnt digital SLR goodness ;)

[phunkdust]

the LC-A is the only russian one. the holga and seagull stuff are chinese - and not technically lomos at all but still sold under the lomo name at grossly inflated prices.

scootie i'd look at a canonet QL17 or one of the smaller minolta himatics, they're nice compact rangefinders and you get auto shutter. plus they wont break in a hurry like the LC-A

yashica electro is another fine choice but can be pricey and not as compact. beautiful lens though.

[sway]

so i got a holga and a whole swag of accessories for my birthday :)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/140/371782758_cdd3dc3023.jpg



for everyone in this thread who is all whingewhingewhinge - stop taking yourself, and photography, so seriously! if you can't see the fun in playing with new toys and making pretty pictures, you need need to re-assess why you're getting behind the camera at all!

getting my first 2 rolls developed this afternoon. i was completely smashed when i took them (ha! birthday!) and i'm pretty sure the back of the holga fell off at one point, but cest la vie! i'm still excited :p

[musology]

i bought the coloursplash but i find it pretty average, difficult to take really nice shots (the book makes it look all so easy!) and my friend who has a holga complains of problems with that too (although, i know thats all part of the fun).
I contemplated getting a fisheye but ended up getting a fisheye attachment for my dslr instead (way, way better).

[ghettro]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/156/425070307_1e529c75cd.jpg
this was shot on an agfa click. Plastic fantastic

[angelbel]

for everyone in this thread who is all whingewhingewhinge - stop taking yourself, and photography, so seriously! if you can't see the fun in playing with new toys and making pretty pictures, you need need to re-assess why you're getting behind the camera at all!

I'm with you.
I know that they're not anywhere near being technically brilliant as far as cameras go. But I've always like the 'fun' aspect that seems to go along with these.
Problem is I'm so confused by the different cameras/lenses/packages that I just don't know where to start. Which is why I've never bought one.
But I'd like to... can anyone give me any ideas/recommendations?

[phunkdust]

for everyone in this thread who is all whingewhingewhinge - stop taking yourself, and photography, so seriously! if you can't see the fun in playing with new toys and making pretty pictures, you need need to re-assess why you're getting behind the camera at all!

well the problem i have with the lomographic society franchise is they've taken a shitty plastic chinese camera (the holga) and given it cult status. they also sell it for 20 times what it's worth.

there are HUNDREDS of plastic and toy cameras out there that'll get you the same sort of results but only cost you a dollar or two on eBay.

I don't have a problem with lofi photography - I have a problem with the lomographic society making out like the Holga is the only camera that does this, and that it's somehow magical or special, and fleecing customers for the priviledge.

I don't think using a Holga is very experimental at all. I think the true way to be experimental is to be looking around in op shops and on eBay and in your parents or grandparents or whoever's cupboards for random cameras you have no idea about... trying these random cameras out and seeing what they can do.

The Holga is marketed as the ultimate individual's creative tool. Since Holgas are all made exactly the same I don't think that provides much individuality. I don't think someone should have to part with $110 just to produce the same stuff everyone else does.

This isn't just present in the lofi scene, it's also present across the board.

In short - thanks to the internet people can do a bunch of research from the comfort of their own home and ask people all over the world questions. The fundamentals of experimentation have been thrown out because of all these people looking for "the right answer" as in the "right" camera to get.

The best thing anyone can learn in photography is that there are no right answers. Try everything you can get your hands on and make up your own mind

:)

[Amytron]

I just got a Holga with the glass lens, the filter set and the 135 film adapter for about $70 from ebay...

I was gonna go to the lomo store, but its such a rip off!

I'm really excited to get snapping!!

[salv]

Hi all!

I just finished my first roll of 120 film (neg) and i'm keen to get it processed! Can anyone suggest a lab in sydney? I've already called vision graphics and they want $24 to process and give me 6x6 prints. Is this cheap?

[phunkdust]

Sounds about right.

Shooting medium format is not a cheap pasttime at all :lol:

[salv]

yeah I though this was about right but I've been told vision aint that cheap.

[phunkdust]

I'd say it's good for 6" proofs.

[ghettro]

well the problem i have with the lomographic society franchise is they've taken a shitty plastic chinese camera (the holga) and given it cult status. they also sell it for 20 times what it's worth.

there are HUNDREDS of plastic and toy cameras out there that'll get you the same sort of results but only cost you a dollar or two on eBay.

I don't have a problem with lofi photography - I have a problem with the lomographic society making out like the Holga is the only camera that does this, and that it's somehow magical or special, and fleecing customers for the priviledge.

I don't think using a Holga is very experimental at all. I think the true way to be experimental is to be looking around in op shops and on eBay and in your parents or grandparents or whoever's cupboards for random cameras you have no idea about... trying these random cameras out and seeing what they can do.

The Holga is marketed as the ultimate individual's creative tool. Since Holgas are all made exactly the same I don't think that provides much individuality. I don't think someone should have to part with $110 just to produce the same stuff everyone else does.

This isn't just present in the lofi scene, it's also present across the board.

In short - thanks to the internet people can do a bunch of research from the comfort of their own home and ask people all over the world questions. The fundamentals of experimentation have been thrown out because of all these people looking for "the right answer" as in the "right" camera to get.

The best thing anyone can learn in photography is that there are no right answers. Try everything you can get your hands on and make up your own mind

:)
x2 :)

Hi all!

I just finished my first roll of 120 film (neg) and i'm keen to get it processed! Can anyone suggest a lab in sydney? I've already called vision graphics and they want $24 to process and give me 6x6 prints. Is this cheap?

I use thelab in Danks St Waterloo, I'm assuming you are in Sydney? It is an 1 1/2 hour service. Used them a lot of times and have been happy. I wouldnt bother getting them printed analogue. Either get them scanned, or scan them yourself and then print them at your local digital photolab.

http://www.thelabsydney.com/

about $8 for process only for 120 film, C-41 or E6 - if it's B+W just do it yourself, its often expensive because it is laborious, also it's difficult to get the results you want with B+W unless you do it yourself.

[salv]

hey thanks for the info! i'll check them out :)

[The Brain]

I was watching an episode of SCRUBS last night (The one where Brendan Fraser dies)
The character has this thing where he carries around a camera and takes random pics of people.

Anyhow, he looked to have a Holga with a sort of polaroid back on it.

It was pretty interesting.

I'd take screen shots, but I don't know how.

[Amytron]

twas a holgaroid!
http://squarefrog.co.uk/holga/index.php?id=holgaroid

you can mod one yourself or buy the back..... sweet!

[The Duke]

Here's a screenshot

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/3051/img1776xz5.jpg

I don't think using a Holga is very experimental at all. I think the true way to be experimental is to be looking around in op shops and on eBay and in your parents or grandparents or whoever's cupboards for random cameras you have no idea about... trying these random cameras out and seeing what they can do. . .

. . .Try everything you can get your hands on and make up your own mind



That reminds me of the camera my brother-in-law has. It looks a lot like the Holga but it was some $50 plastic camera he bought overseas and it's now held together by a lot of sticky tape. I asked him why on earth would he still use it and he said that it doesn't work very well, and most photos have colour leakage through it, but once in a while that all makes for an interesting photo. I thought that was pretty interesting.

Today my parents found this in the garage
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6150/img1775ki3.jpg

it's a 35 yrs old Yashica. I've got no idea if it still works but I'm gonna give it a try. It also had one of those external metal flashes that look like satellite dish, but my parents threw it out years ago because it was broken.

[phunkdust]

^^^ nice find

I'll give you $10 for it ;)