Community Spotlight: Anna Ivahnenko (@nebulosity) and Patryk Klimkowicz (@moongrowl)

Being one of the largest analogue photography communities on the web, we are proud of the creativity and diversity of our members. For this month's Community Spotlight, we are pleased to introduce to you Lomographers Anna Ivahnenko and Patryk Klimkowicz and their unique way of seeing the world.

Credits: nebulosity & moongrowl

Anna Ivahnenko

LomoHome: @nebulosity
Location: Manchester, United Kingdom

Hi, Anna! What do you do and what got you started with photography?

I study physics at the University of Manchester and plan to work as a researcher in the future. I first started to explore photography around the age of 14, when my father bought a DSLR camera to take family pictures in our trips, and I got very interested in all the functions and shooting modes. In a couple of years after that, I started making portraits of my friends, and when I was in high school, got into a small model agency in my hometown as a photography intern. That was a great way to broaden my horizons and gain a lot of practice, but by the time of moving to the UK and starting uni I knew I wouldn’t have much time anymore. Now it’s more of just a good way for me to spend my free time and to capture some nice moments in the weekends or while traveling.

How did you discover Lomography and what made you join our analogue Community? Who are your favorite photographers here?

When I started discovering film photography and looking up a lot of information on the internet, I found some useful and interesting articles in here, as well as examples of shots made with certain films or cameras. When I started exploring the pages of different photographers in a search for inspiration, I thought it might be a good idea to upload mine and see what would my page look like and if it has any uniform style. Studying in a university with one of the biggest student unions in Europe, I also discovered that joining communities of people sharing your interest is a great way to find good friends.

I like the vibrant scenes shot by @squirrel_friend, the surreal landscapes by @hansu, and the happy moments that @henryohead captures.

Credits: nebulosity

What is your favorite subject to photograph? What do you usually look for in a scene before you hit the shutter?

For now, I’d say my favorite genre is street photography. I love shooting some characteristic details of the cities that I visit to capture my own view of them. When I look back at these photos after a while, they make me recall the very precise subjective impressions that I had. If I’m lucky enough to.

Even though I can sometimes get too excited about seeing something beautiful or interesting and just make a picture without thinking too much about it, with time spent using film I got more used to thinking what feeling does the scene have, what emotions would I associate it with when I look back at it. Or if it’s just a nice view, is it good enough for me to want it to have it on my wall, for example.

In this day and age, why choose with film?

I first decided to try film just to experiment and see what the process feels like. Since I’ve always been very keen on everything you can make yourself, I enjoyed the process of putting your hands to work and then seeing something beautiful to come out of it in the end. I guess, the amount of effort you put into making and developing film pictures forces you to be more careful with what you actually shoot. I like the way it makes me choose my shots as opposed to the endless amounts of digital pictures I used to make when I was just starting with photography.

One of the other best things about shooting film is that you can never know what the final result will look like. For example, some of my photos got their charm because of the scratches that we left on them when trying to process an old film, which was too tightly rolled up inside the cassette.

What does a perfect day look like for you?

A perfect day for me is both about its atmosphere and productivity. On that day, warm sunlight should come directly at me as I wake up, leaving some sharp shadows on the wall. I’d get up quite early, meditate a bit, read something, have a tea and then go to uni to grasp some more knowledge about life, the universe, and everything. I’d finish my homework successfully and hand it in just in time. Then, it would be nice to cook something like seafood pasta and have lunch with my closest friends before going for a walk. And finally, making some pictures and having fun together would be a great way to finish the day.

Credits: nebulosity

Patryk Klimkowicz

LomoHome: @moongrowl
Location: Poland

Hi, Patryk! What do you do and what got you started with photography?

Hi! I currently work in recruitment… boring. Apart from my day job which is nothing interesting to talk about, I am into skateboarding, don’t skate as often as I would like to, but doing my best. I also enjoy making music on analogue synthesizers, although I am a real beginner. Of course photography and analogue experiments. I also do some other boring stuff like playing Magic The Gathering Arena, watching anime and hoarding analogue cameras and films.

My journey with analogue photography started when I was showing photos taken with a GoPro-like digital camera during my trip to Catalonia to my friend (@mloscik). He told me I should buy an LC-A camera and start shooting analogue cause I will definitely like it. Well, he was right!

How did you discover Lomography and what made you join our analogue Community? Who are your favorite photographers here?

I first heard about Lomography from my friend Jakub (@mloscik) who has been into shooting analogue for some time and encouraged me to set up my own Lomohome (it didn’t take him long). One of my favorites is, of course, @mloscik as he taught me a lot about basics of analogue photography and supported me all along the way. I especially enjoy his recent attempts with large format photography on x-ray films, and of course, his shots from trips to the mountains. Another one would be @broom for his lo-fi style, film soup experiments, and skateboarding shots. I could not forget about @herecomesyourfun for his dark style and being king of lofi-ness. Of course, there are many more whose photos I really enjoy but it would be hard to mention all of them.

Credits: moongrowl

What makes you stay with film photography in this day and age? What's your favorite subject to shoot?

I keep shooting film because it gives an infinite number of ways to experiment. It gives way more flexibility than digital and most of the effects I love to experiment with would be impossible to create using digital media. Another reason would be grain, light leaks, film soups and all that stuff you can get only on film. I am also an analog camera and film hoarder by the way so… yeah. I really like shooting photos of architecture, especially everything from the Soviet era, huge concrete grey buildings and so on. I also shoot a lot of photos of churches and sculptures. And of course trees, but only during the winter when there are no leaves. Just everything without cars and people (here I make a little exception from time to time) around.

For you, what's the best part about being a Lomographer?

Experiments and shooting film that is so expired that most people would not even think about shooting on it. Especially Orwo and Svema films, they rule! I am not sure if what I do is still within the frames of Lomography though, well who cares, just shoot film and experiment!

What is your favorite Lomography camera and film and why?

That would definitely and undoubtedly be the plastic queen of widest angle and blurred corners, namely: LaSardina! When it’s about film I really enjoy the Lomography Redscale film. Also, 110’s which would be really hard to get otherwise. I recently also started to shoot quite a lot on Lomography Color 100 film, it works great with film soups and basically most other stuff too.

Credits: moongrowl

Stay tuned for our monthly Community Spotlight to discover the work of some of the most talented Lomographers!

written by cheeo on 2019-04-13 #people #moongrowl #community-spotlight #nebulosity

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