Lomography what?

A lot of my posts (well just two really) talk about lomography/lomo and LomoManila without proper context on what lomography is. Well I guess a post about lomography is just timely as a few of my readers ask me what lomography is all about. I remember answering the similar question in meetups, parties and whenever I walk with my LCA or Holga in hand. Surprise, surprise the internet actually documented some of my answers.

I remembering answering one for a major broadsheet back at home and here are some snippets.

reposted from: http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2007/11/07/PIPE20071107107977.html

link doesn’t work anymore due to mb.com.ph ‘s restructuring. Luckily I saved it back then 😉

According to Eugene Fabian, a member of the four-year-old local lomography group in town: Lomomanila, “More than just a way of taking pictures, lomography… is how you look at the world in a different perspective. Seeing beauty in the most simple and mundane things.”

Lomographers usually shoot from the hip, and approach their subjects as close as possible. Fabian noted that shooting from the hip, naturally wouldn’t allow you to peep through your viewfinder. “Not thinking about what you took and being surprised at the results,” add to the excitement of the whole exercise. Fabian encouraged newbies to simply embrace the moment of every shot they take because an out-of-focus shots are part of the lomography experience. “Embracing quirks and imperfection is part of lomography,” he pressed.

“Lomography is like putting on rose-colored glasses and filtering the world, making it seem like a whole different place,” shared Fabian describing his experience with his hobby.

I never thought I was that poetic. 🙂 Anyways, those are just newspaper answers, for me lomography can be any of the following:

1. A great great marketing ploy by those two Austrian guys who rediscovered the LCA.
2. A strict usage of the cameras endorsed by LSI or lomography.com
3. A lifestyle than can easily get you engrossed in randomness and accepting imperfection.

I personally prefer #3 as it frees you from the bounds of LSI and just using their cameras (which I honestly think is stupid).

LomoManila on the other hand is a group of lomographers in the Philippines. That pretty much sums it all up. Just visit their forums at lomomanila.ph for more information. Tons of great pictures there.

At the end of the day, whatever your defnition of lomography is, just keep on shooting and keep on sharing those beautiful pictures.

All pictures by me. Pls don’t steal it 🙂