Stella Gelardi Malfilatre: Appreciating Physical Prints with the Lomo'Instant Wide

Danish photographer Stella Gelardi Malfilatre recently moved to London and tested out the Lomo'Instant Wide. She experimented with a "chemical bleed" effect by pulling off the white frames from her prints to add another dimension to her photos.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into photography?

I am a Danish 33-year-old living in London for about 4 years now. I initially moved from Copenhagen because I felt a little trapped and bored. I just needed to go somewhere where I didn't know every corner of the city and everyone who lives in it. London happened a bit by accident, as I was here with my friend to visit her brother. I just decided to move here for 6 months to try something different, but then I applied for an MA at the Royal College of Art (a bit of a long shot as I didn't have a BA) and managed to get it. It was there, through working closely with my personal tutor Joe, that I really felt like this hobby of mine could become a bit more of a practice. I realized I had actually documented in photographs since I was about 12 years old, but kept it quite secret until 5-6 years ago. I probably didn't believe that this passion of mine could become something I work with. Now it is my main tool in how I not only record my own life but also the most important thing in my storytelling work.

How was it shooting with the Lomo’Instant Wide?

I am obsessed with tactility in day to day life. Not in a materialistic kind of way, but everything from a used candy wrapper on the street to a really great cheap noodle spice bag (you know the 3 for £1 ones) can inspire me in terms of color combinations etc. I have always loved shooting on film, because of all the things I can't control (that is also a terrifying bit), when it comes to grain, light leaks, dust and unnatural colors. I love shooting with the Lomo'Instant Wide because it is quite chunky and has a good weight to it. I have used it in a studio setting and out.

What did you choose to shoot?

I have shot everything from musicians, my sister, models and inspirational things I came across out and about.

What do you love about instant photography?

I have always been a big scrapbook kind of girl (I save literally everything), so I love that I get a physical print to keep straight away. My favorite thing is to take the white frame off to reveal the chemical bleed, it gets me every time I just LOVE it so so so much. It is never the same due to the image captured, and once I have scraped off all of the glue the colors, bleeds, and texture in the hidden chemical frame is to me the most beautiful thing.

What’s coming up in the next 12 months?

I have just taken on a studio space in Print Village in Peckham, which I am going to share with a few different artists. There is a really amazing group of people in this building, so I am really excited. I am hoping to do more documentary series around the world, which I am currently researching for funding for. Other than that I just hope to continue down the path I am heading where I meet more and more interesting people to document - I just want to tell stories forever and ever to be honest.

To see more of Stella's work visit www.stellamalfilatre.com

2017-10-12 #people #soho #instant #instant-photography #london #uk #lomo-instant-wide #stella-gelardi-malfilatre #chemical-bleed