A Very Purple Photowalk with The Film Cypher Collective

Ohio-based film photography collective The Film Cypher has grown tremendously since we last spoke to them upon the fresh start of their initiative. In the past year, they've hosted a handful of photowalks and continued to build upon the analogue community they've created in the Columbus area.

This past October, The Film Cypher embarked on their first venture outside of Columbus to a small Ohio town called Yellow Springs. The group stopped by parks, book shops, record stores, cafés, and most vibrantly depicted, a sunflower field. Their choice of film, LomoChrome Purple, easily unleashed a new level of creativity for each photographer who participated.

Members of The Film Cypher community have joined us here to share their takeaways from this fun day!

“Purple is my favorite color, so LomoChrome Purple is an obvious favorite. I’ve used it in the past, and I can definitely see how the new Pétillant formula has improved the tones and clarity. This photoshoot was fun because it was in a different environment than past photowalks. I knew the sunflowers were going to look amazing with the color shifts from the film, and overall it would have an ethereal feel. I used my Pentax 67, and a 55mm lens. I wanted the shots to feel immersive by capturing the subject, and as much of the environment as I could. It was a simple goal, and I love the way these photos came out.”
- Jamie Ceasar

“My overall experience of the photowalk was a positive one! It was super refreshing to travel to a new town I had never been to to capture portraits of people in new locations and to capture the feeling of the town. I was excited to try out LomoChrome purple for the first time especially with the given location. I knew I would get some cool color shifts on the sunflowers and LomoChome Purple did not disappoint!"
- Dwight Pettigrew

“The LomoChrome Purple film offers a unique and creative twist to regular film. Its distinctive color shifts adds a dreamlike and surreal quality to images. The unexpected color variations inject a sense of unpredictability into each frame. To those that like embracing the experimental nature of film photography. It can be the excellent choice when seeking a more artistic and unconventional photographic experience. On the other hand it was a delight spending time with creatives with a shared passion for film photography.”
-Ezra Ngabo

“Exploring Lomo Purple with my Hasselblad H2 for the first time was a total blast! The results were mind-blowing, especially at 200 ASA – that’s the sweet spot, no doubt. Working with the models was a big help, and I can’t wait to give it another go!”
- Micah James

“I thought the day was well suited for shooting. Nicely overcast, not too sunny and a bit brisk. And a great group of people! I’ve been to Yellow Springs quite a few times and knew I would want to venture into the town and shoot a little bit of street photography. I brought along my Mamiya NC 1000s with a 50mm lens & Lomo Purple, as well as my Nikon EM with Lomo Berlin. I had not shot Lomo Purple before this meet up. I wasn’t sure how I’d like it. I will say I enjoyed the different tones and color adjustments it captured. I like the subtle pinks, greens and the dark contrast. I will probably shoot with it again.”
- Erin Kelsey

“I had never tried LomoChrome Purple before, so I didn't know quite what to expect. I decided to just shoot it like any other film and let it surprise me, and it certainly did. The way it turned the sunflowers pink while keeping the skin tones and neutral colors the same results in images that look like someone went wild with color sliders in editing software, but these are straight from the camera. It's such an otherworldly effect.”
- Andrew Huster

“Lomo Purple surprised me. This was my first time ever shooting the film. I’ve been a fan of Lomography’s other films for a while now, but for some reason I was always nervous about trying Purple. I finally pulled the trigger, and WOW! My mind was blown. The colors seem otherworldly, yet completely fitting at the same time. The versatility of the film is, in my opinion, on par with some of their better known stocks, like Lomo 800 (my personal favorite). I’d recommend Lomo Purple to any photographer looking to try something new, get out of a creative rut, or trying to find a film for a project that could use a little more of an out-of-left-field touch. Great job, Lomography. Keep it coming!”
- Steven Malone

“It was nice to get the opportunity to shoot with my Pentax 67 in a unique location with such wonderful models. I think the sunflower field was the perfect location to shoot a unique film like LomoChrome Purple, and I am extremely pleased with my results. For my shots, I focused on incorporating as much of the flowers as I could in order to get the lovely pops of magenta color that are unique to the film. This photo walk was a great opportunity to show off the creative potential of this film, and it left me feeling inspired to see what other ways I could utilize Lomo Purple in future shoots.”
- Jenna Friel

“I thought the new Lomo purple was a great choice for photographing a sunflower field. I primarily used Mamiya Super cameras and a Mamiya AF. I wanted to see the effect of color filters on the Lomo Purple, so I used a DIY orange filter. I don’t know if it made too much of a difference. The Overall images seemed to lean more towards pink, which I liked. I’m a fan of the Lomo Purple film. It’s a very flexible film that gives unique images. The only downsides of the film were the little black dots that appeared during scanning. A little post work solved that issue.”
- Taylor Cubbie

“My main purpose when doing photography is to share stories from my perspective, so I typically shoot a good balance of black & white films with a healthy amount of contrast or true to life color films that lean a bit towards the warm and vibrant side. For this reason, I was a bit apprehensive about stepping out of my comfort zone to try Lomo Purple, because I wasn't sure how it would fit my style. This being my first time using a film designed to register colors uniquely, I decided to pair it with an equally unique camera, my Hasselblad XPan II. My approach was to search for elements with a pronounced saturation of colors that would pop (even though I knew that they'd look different in the final images). I like what I ended up with, and would use it again when I'm in the mood for experimentation! Worst case scenario, I could convert all the images to black & white if I don't like the end results.”
- Allen Woods

“I was eager to try LomoChrome Purple in medium format after seeing the mesmerizing effects it has on photos. Using a Pentax 67II with its infamous 105mm lens, I sought to explore how I could use the film as a tool for creative expression in portrait photography.
I found that it had a transformative power, infusing an ethereal, dreamlike essence into everyday settings. A sunflower field became an otherworldly landscape of vibrant pinks and purples. Its remarkable capability to overhaul colors while preserving stunning contrasts in highlights and shadows left me thoroughly impressed.”
- Madison Price

The Film Cypher also would like to shout out their wonderful models, Tia Tonae, Nicole Stubb, Taylor Legall, Alexandra Augustine, Rikki Austin, and Rie Kaba.

Thanks to everyone at The Film Cypher who shared their photos and words with us! You can stay up to date with their latest updates on their Instagram and website

written by alexa_alexiades on 2023-12-06 #gear #places #ohio #lomowalk #community #photowalk #columbus #lomochrome-purple