LomoGuru of the Week: Adam_g2000

Life is a one hell of a massive experiment, and to dip one’s toe into the unknown is what you need to get things started. But before you embark on something adventurous, it’s essential to know all the basics first, as insisted by Adam, our LomoGuru for this week!

Full Name: Adam Griffiths
LomoHome: http://www.lomography.com/homes/adam_g2000
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Number of years as a Lomographer: 15
Number of years in the Community: 1

Technically I’ve only been a Lomographer for a year now, though if you take into account my first camera, it was a hand me down cheap Kodak Instamatic that shot 110, my earliest photos were of school trips. Whilst others were shooting with Canon EOS and newer Nikon cameras, my best buddy remained my Grandfather’s old 60s/70s East German Praktica LTL so the spirit was always there.

I went digital over the 00’s, but the sight of a Diana F+ in a museum gift shop changed all that last October.

Share to us your most memorable experience in the Lomographic Community.

I would have to say it was being approached by the very charming, friendly @pussylove to do a filmswap. I’d been skeptical about this and when the results came back I was totally blown away by how two completely separate places and moments in time could be frozen and overlaid to become wonderful, beautiful art.

Every film swap since has been a special moment with an amazing individuality. It’s an incomparable experience.

Have you actually met people in the Community that you now consider as close friends? If yes, name at least one of them.

I most certainly have. We don’t have a Lomography Store in Auckland or New Zealand, and any related events are very few and far between. So I took it upon myself to organize something. I contacted all the Auckland based Lomographers (at the time) via their homes and asked if they’d like to go lomowalking. We now meet every month to shoot pictures and discuss all thing lomo and lo-fi photography. The group is small but growing, regular members and friends now include the talented, @amytam, @antheaw, @ting_jez, @linnykins, @bunit and more.

This month we’re excited to be joined by @kiwikoh, a visitor from overseas!

Do you think you’ll still be taking Lomographs in the next 5 years? Why?

I truly hope so, each month we seem to hear both bad news about shooting film, and good news that more people are doing it. Here in Auckland though more and more labs are closing and it is harder and harder to actually get film developed. You can’t buy C41 chemicals so I rely on the labs. This would be the one thing that could stop me.

I love shooting film, digital feels so insipid in comparison, the wonder of film is the choice and variables (Which camera? Which film? Cross Process? Redscale?) that make it so exciting.

What is your favorite Lomo camera and why? Do you have any memorable experiences while using this camera?

That’s unfair, that is like asking which is your favorite Son (I have two)? Each one has its own personality and the results are completely different. This is what I love about Lomography, I have many, many cameras and all of them combined cost less than a good wide angle lens and a digital SLR, but I have so much more choice for the results I want to achieve, but I digress…

Ok, my favorite is the Lubitel 166+. Being fast is fun but taking a deep breath and relaxing to compose a big, crisp, square image is better. The wonderful detail and texture it takes is amazing. Getting 120 film back from the lab or hanging up my self developed 120 black and white to dry is a treat from this camera.

I also love its viewfinder, in comparison to my Lubitel 2 it’s like looking at a glorious cinema screen, it enhances the process of composing a shot and makes it even more exciting.

Memorable experiences? Put your hands up if you’ve done this too! Being so absorbed in what I was doing, stepping backwards to compose a shot I fell backwards over my kids scooter. They, and pretty much everyone in the park, thought it was hilarious.

Is there any advice you can give to new analogue shooters?

Plenty, check out my Back to Basics monthly series and get reading!

In all seriousness I am often surprised by new shooters fear of cross processing or swapping or other more advanced techniques. Like life, these are a big experiment and you’ll only loose a few bucks if it all goes wrong but even if it does (and occasionally it will) the results can be pleasing in a totally different way to what you expected. There are no mistakes.

They are the ones whose passion transcends not only by what they do and say, but also with what they see and capture with their film cameras. And with such attributes aforementioned, they are what we call LomoGurus! Every week, we get to ask questions and reveal some insights with the most talented and productive of all Lomographers from the Community!

written by fookshit on 2012-11-18 #lifestyle #interview #community #feature #q-a #lomoguru