We Stumbled on this music video shot by Joel Byron entirely on Kodak Tri-x using a Canon 1014XL.
The beauty isn’t just that’s it’s on super 8 but the fact that it was shot all on one real with no editing!
This is for straight8 which “invites anyone anywhere to make a short film on one cartridge of super 8 — without editing. The first time filmmakers see their film is at its premiere at a cinema!”
The band are clearly insane but in a good way. A very good way!
Back when we launched in 2009 Federico Ferrari was the first analogue photographer we showcased. Check out the old post here.
We went to see what he was up to and stumbled across a great series of Cecilia shot both in Madrid and Udine.
The square shots are with his trusted Hasselblad 501cm and the one rectangular was taken with his Contax T2.
When a great photographer finds a muse, then the results are bound to look stunning!
Analogue is old… well actually it’s not old as it’s still around.
Analogue is old and new!
A great thing about shooting on film is to get that “old look” but then you stumble on a pick that really is old and the tones are nothing like modern day films.
Liana Joyce, also know as Golfpunkgirl is so Analogue that anything digital quite literally makes her vomit!
For Analogue Masters she explains what Polagrams are all about and how much fun a person can have locked in a dark room with some props, a couple of torches and a pack of Instant film!
Liana – A true Analogue Mistress
In her words:
I first came across the art of Polagrams via a Flickr contact (Zeus_one) and was instantly intrigued by the technique. A quick look through the images on the Polagram Flickr group was all it took to get me inspired to try some out for myself.
Basically, if you understand how instant film works and develops, the rest is all pretty simple. Experimenting with different light sources and different films (Polaroid vs. Fuji) can give varied results so test some out and see which works best for you.
All you need are the following to get started:
Any type of instant film already inside the camera with protective sheet ejected (preferably slow speed film)
A small LED light, (a lighter can work well too) or a flash with a diffuser
Small objects such as flower petals, buttons, coins, keys etc. (get creative!)
Here is a step by step guide on how to achieve Polagram photos:
1. Make sure you’re in complete darkness – VERY IMPORTANT as instant film is ultra sensitive.
2. Remove the whole cartridge of film from the camera.
3. Arrange the objects directly on the surface of the instant film (no need to remove the shot from the cartridge).
4. Quickly flash the film with light.
5. Insert the cartridge back into the camera and let the rollers do their thing.
6. VIOLA! Polagram goodness.
My first go was a disaster of course. I used Polaroid 600 film and a Lomo Coloursplash flash and completely overexposed the photo – it came out completely blank. My second attempt was much better. I used Fuji FP100-C peel apart film, put a homemade diffuser over the flash bulb and allowed the light to bounce off the wall instead of straight on top of the photo. Much better results (golfpunkgirl necklace & golf tees photos + bens film canister) although still over-exposed (black background). My next attempts were much, much better. Ditching the flash, I opted to go for a small LED torch. It was just the right amount of light so as not to overexpose and I got that lovely stoned washed/peach coloured background (pretzels and leaves photos).
What ever you decide to use, always remember that you need to take into account the speed of the film and the amount of light you use to flash the objects… the rest is down to chance. Experiment!
Just when you thought all ideas relating to analogue photography were over, Lomography do it again with the release of the Spinner 360!
It couldn’t be more simple; load the Spinner 360 with a roll of 35mm (ISO 400 is best), pull the cord to charge the spin and then let go!
You’ll get around 8 shots on one roll and with the release of the Digitaliza you can scan those bad-boy negatives on any flatbed neg scanner. This is perfect as the Spinner 360 shoots over the sprokets and the Digitaliza lets you scan the sprokets as well!
What’s more is you can manually turn the camera for long night-time exposures or pull the cord less if you want less of a turn. Maybe 180 instead of 360?
Kevin Meredith AKA lomokev is not only a pretty interesting character in real life (millions of people only know him through flickr where he is an A-List celebrity) but he is also the best person on the planet to review the Lomo LCA for us.
If you don’t know about the world’s best compact 35mm camera then you have a lot to discover!
In his words:
Photography has always been a big part of my life but for the last few years it has become more of a profession than a hobby but that does not mean less fun!
In October 2008 my first photography book Hot Shots was released, it’s a pratical guide to photography for people who don’t want to be bogged down with technical jargon and just want to have fun creatively.
The Review
I have been asked to review the Lomo LCA / LCA+ I don’t know whether I can do this beautiful weapon of mass creation made from glass, metal, plastic and a little bit of magic justice with words, so you might be better off taking these words with a pinch of salt and looking at the pictures I have taken with my LCA.
It’s quite an odd review for me to write as I usually write reviews for some of the latest digital cameras for Digital SLR User magazine, I get sent a camera, which usually arrives late, and I get about two days to get to know a device which has more features than amazon has books. In contrast I have had a Lomo LCA for twelve years and shot hundreds of films to get to know this little beast, so rest assured everything I write here is written from a position of authority!
I have always carried a lomo LCA on me at all times for at least the last 10 years and currently always have a Lomo LCA+ and LCA on the go, one loaded with Agfa Precisa 100 and the other with Kodak Portra 400 or if its summer Kodak Ektar 100.
Before I talk about the technical aspects of this camera you must know something of the social activity’s that surround the LCA. I have met many great people because of this little piece of Russia.
In 2000 I took part in the Lomo Olympics where I came second in the London heats. I was then sent to Japan to represent my country in the world finals where I came silver. After Japan I went to Vienna for the Lomographic World Congress, I then took photos at the Commonwealth games using the LCA to shoot for a book, judged a photographic competition for flickr.com in New York and so the list goes on. I have been to places and seen things that I would never have done if I had not picked up this camera.
When I first met the Lomo LCA
If you’re good at math you would have worked out that I got my first LCA in 1998, internet shopping was not a big thing back then so if you wanted an LCA you had to visit your local Lomo embassy to see your Lomo ambassador. I went to London with cash in hand, upon arrival at 26 Roseberry Avenue EC1 I rang the bell and was invited up to a studio that was a bizarre mix of camera repair shop, design studio and junk shop. I was issued with my brand new LCA by Fabian Monheim the then Lomo ambassador of London, he gave me a quick lesson on how to use my new toy and I was away. Back then getting a Lomo was more like joining a cult than just purchasing a camera, Lomography is so big now its more like a religion. After developing my first film I was hooked, weeks later I went to New York which was the reason for getting the camera in the first place. I did not want to lug my SLR around with all the time and especially at night, back in 98 there was no such thing as a compact digital camera, not one that a student could afford.
Reasons to love this little camera
There are so many reasons to love this camera it’s hard to list them all. Simplicity has got to be high on the list, once you have loaded your film all you have to do is estimate the distance to your subject, set the focus to either 0.8m, 1.5m, 3m or infinity and shoot, it’s that simple! The older LCA has an aperture control but I have never touched this and I don’t think many users did because when the revamped LCA+ came out the aperture dial was removed all together simplifying the camera even more.
The LCA’s greatest technical assets are the way it decides on exposure. Normally when you take a shot the camera will decide what aperture and shutter speed to use, once the shutter button is pressed this is set in stone. The LCA on the other hand will open the shutter and will only close it when it has had enough light. This means that if you are taking a shot in dark conditions and something happens to brighten up the scene it will close the shutter early so the shot is not over exposed. This makes the Lomo a great companion for night shooting. Another super strength of the lomo LCA is its Minitar lens which gives very moody vignetting (dark corners in the frame) which when combined with cross processing just goes crazy. The subtle appearance of the LCA is great for shooting people on the street, be it both strangers and friends, it is by no means as intimidating as rocking up with a huge DSLR and therefore allows you to take some great relaxed portraits.
My top Lomo LCA tips
Tip number one: Simply buy one, I promise you won’t regret it!
The rest of my tips are advising you how to avoid Lomo mishaps as it can be very disappointing for a beginner to get that first roll of film back only to find a 3rd of your pictures are under exposed!
My top tip for any newbie LCA user is that you’ve got to hold down the shutter button when you take a picture, don’t just press and release it because if your Lomo LCA needs to take an exposure that is longer that 60th of a second you might end it prematurely. One of the most common mistakes you see when people get their first roll back, is there are a lot of frames very under exposed or blank, this is because they did not hold the shutter button down for long enough.
The left hand light in the view finder is the battery level indicator, it lights up when shutter button is lightly pressed, if this is not a nice bright red or it fades after a few seconds then your batteries need replacing. If your batteries are low then this can cause the exposure to not be correct.
The right hand light in the view finder is the low light level indicator, if this comes on when you press the shutter button it means that the Lomo is going to take a long exposure. You will need to steady the camera on something, hold your breath or move about like a mad man to embrace the motion blur!
After you take a shot, when you are winding on, keep an eye on the film rewind handle. If this turns when you wind on the film this means your film is loaded correctly, sometimes it might not move for about 3 shots then and then it will spin round, this is fine. If it does not go round for 5 shots your film is not loaded properly or you might have ripped the sprocket holes in you film. Never force the winding mechanism because you can tear the film.
I could go on forever about my top tips so the only other one I will give take your camera everywhere you go (this does not go just for the LCA) how are you going to get a shot if you don’t have camera with you!
Analogue masters is a showcase corner on the web for all things analogue. Inspiration is from photography but we want to stretch the blog into the field of music and film-making while reviewing cameras, other analogue groups, photographic societies, shops, analogue thinkers and even camera repair people! We would love other people to contribute especially as we're based in London and don’t want the content to be too UK-driven. So if you have a shop, band, photographer or exhibition to showcase email us! All the best and we hope you enjoy!
