Lomographers Throughout the Years: Satomi

To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we are honoring 25 of the most iconic Lomographers in the community. We did some catching up with Satomi Sugiyama, also known as Satomi, who is celebrating her 10th year in Lomography!

Name: Satomi Sugiyama
Username: @satomi
Year when you joined Lomography: 2007

Let's do a backtrack: How did you discover Lomography?

I think I vaguely learned about Lomography when I was in college through a friend of mine, and I even got Holga in the last semester of school, but I stopped taking photos right after because I didn't have access to the darkroom anymore. Then a few years later, I suddenly remembered about it when I was going on a camping trip and I was completely hooked after that. I still didn't know much about Lomography at the time, but one day I started looking around online and I learned more about Lomography after I discovered Fisheye camera, though it still took me another year before I finally joined the community!

What was your first Lomography camera?

My very first Lomography camera was an ActionSampler. I bought after seeing it in a fashion magazine in around 1999, but that was way before I knew anything about photography or Lomography and I couldn't even figure out how to load the film and it just stayed in my closet ... so I'd rather say my first Lomography camera was Holga I bought when I was in college as I mentioned earlier back in 2003.

What's your fondest Lomography moment?

That's easily my Euro trip in 2012! I had already made so many great friends through Lomography by then and I finally had a dream-come-true trip to Europe and met up with my Lomography friends such as warning in Spain, @mikahsupageek, and @adbigmilk in France, @mephisto19, @anarchy, @takitani, @graefin and @wil6ka in Germany, and also went on a short trip to Austria with @wil6ka and met up with @recurving and many other awesome friends from the Lomography HQ!

What does Lomography mean to you?

Lomography is my life!

Could you share some of your earliest Lomography shots?

What keeps you busy now?

I'm in between different chapters in my life right now, so I'm kind of trying to figure things out. I'm not shooting much temporarily, but I'm hoping I'll be getting back into working on my photo projects and printing in the darkroom soon.

Who were your Lomography friends back then?

I think my very first Lomography friends were mephisto19, @takezzo and @strangelilgirl. Then @vicuna, @anarchy, @jeabzz, @disdis, @renaishashin... the list goes on too long after this!

What advice would you give new Lomographers?

To get better, you have to shoot. And most importantly, every time you shoot, you have to learn from it. You need to pay attention to the details and understand why your photos came out good or bad. Be happy with your results, but always remember you can do better. There's always room for improvement.

Some of our favorite shots by Satomi

Visit her LomoHome to see more.

As we celebrate 25 years of Lomography, we want you to be part of the unstoppable revolution. We’ve got heaps of exciting giveaways, parties, exhibitions and surprises, so don’t forget to stay updated on the official 25 Years of Lomography site and follow us on social media! Stay tuned for the latest updates on the most exciting must-have Lomo accessories!

2017-09-23 #people #25thanniversary #25yearsoflomography #lomographersthroughouttheyears