I feel that if photography looked into a mirror, that it would see a Lomography image staring back. Truthful, unique, imperfect.
There are so many reasons why I love Lomography. I always smile when I think back to my resistance to the thought of a plastic camera (the Holga) in an advance photography course that I paid a lot of money for. A leaky light box with no controls made me lose my control with a lot of film. It was a semester of angst and challenges.
A long story short is that it changed my creative life. I adapted and I continued to grow from that class. There is an implication of unattainable perfection in almost all of the creative arts and photography is no exception. This once was my path.
Nikons are my tools of choice, and they are heavy (if you own a Nikon F you know what I mean). I love the fact that plastic weighs nothing and that it is also a great escort; people will see the bright pink or sunny yellow camera and dismiss it. Access granted.
I develop my own film, and that is another reason I love Lomography. Anticipation, expectation, and success or failure, in that moment, are literally at your fingertips. How often can we say that? Working in complete darkness, focused only on your film with heighten senses of touch, and hearing takes the Lomo experience to another level of _cool_ , or panic.
Do you recognize the names of Parks, Salgado, Evans, or Newton? If so, then you know the impact that these photographers had on the craft. These are traditional photographers who owned their individual style. One of the best parts about Lomography (I think) is that it is never the _same_, no two images look alike.
I have a collection of plastic and Lomography cameras and I love to combine them with specialty films such as Revolog and the Lomography line. My collection is large, so in addition to my staples of the Diana F+ and the Holga, I like to add an Action Sampler or the Sprocket Rocket to the mix. I recently bought the Lomography LC-a+ which I took to the state fair with me, and I am immediately impressed by it.
Here are my fair images, _so long summer_; they could not be more different. I love that. One day, one location, one photographer with completely unique images. Lomography reveals individuality and as a traditional photographer I champion that.
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