Lomography - A Day in Brighton, Shooting from the Hip

At TMK we love beautiful photography and as you are probably aware, our fab blog is full of it – in fact we probably get just that little bit too excited about it. But we are also about doing something different. And that is why I want to write about Lomography.

Lomography? Now what on earth is THAT all about I hear you cry? Well, for the un-initiated it could be defined as ‘a community of photographers who advocate creative and experimental film photography using a particular type of analogue camera’ (definition courtesy of good old Wikipedia). It is essentially a photography movement that operates according to the Ten Golden Rules, as listed below:

Take your camera everywhere you go
Use it any time – day and night
Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it
Try the shot from the hip
Approach the objects of your Lomographic desire as close as possible
Don’t think (William Firebrace)
Be fast
You don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film
Afterwards either
Don’t worry about any rules

I had never heard of it until last year. I read a wedding blog post and the photographers mentioned that they shot film for some of the wedding using a couple of different Lomography cameras. I hopped on over to a photography group that I belonged to (and still do) and asked some questions. As soon as I got some answers, I was straight onto the Lomography trail.

As I started to research this new and exciting subject, I was captivated by the freedom it gives you as a photographer. Nothing is ever wrong; it’s just that some photographs are better than others. I then discovered Kevin Meredith, aka Lomo Kev; a brilliant Lomography guru based in Brighton. And as soon as I found out that he offered Lomography courses, I booked myself onto one.

The first day was all about the LC-A – the founding camera, if you will, of the Lomography movement and putting into practice the 10 Golden Rules. We were each given a camera, a list of words/subjects to shoot and two rolls of film. And then we went on walkabout with Lomo Kev leading the way. Whilst we were busy trying to shoot the words on our list in Lomo style, Kevin approached anyone, everyone and anything! He got up close and personal too. I learnt so much from him by just watching how he interacted with people, how he engaged with them and how he got them to do what he wanted. He was just brilliant.

Day two was all about choosing your subject, creating a theme to your work and reviewing the previous days images that had been processed over night. Each attendee went through their photographs, explaining their reasoning behind each shot and the rest of the group critiqued. And then that was that. A short and yet very sweet adventure into the world of Lomography.

If the truth be told, I haven’t actually managed to get back out there and have a go by myself, despite now owning several vintage cameras that could easily be used for Lomography, but it is definitely on my 2013 bucket list. In fact, we’re shooting what I would describe as a quirky wedding in July for a dear friend of mine, who is getting married at the wonderful De La Warr Pavillion in Bexhill. She and her hubby to be are far from conventional, so I think they just might be up for a bit Lomo love on their big day ….

Anyway, here are the photos I took and I am not embarrassed to say that I love them. They might be basic, but they are real, random and just a little bit grubby if you know what I mean! And they are also a fab reminder of a brilliant course.