Marianne Chua: From Malaysia to Singapore with the Lomo LC-A Minitar-1 Art Lens

Marianne Chua, also known as Marianne the Photographer is based in London and specialises in weddings and events. She asked us to test out the Minitar-1 lens which she took on a recent trip to Malaysia and Singapore.

Hello, tell us about yourself?

Hi, I'm Marianne Chua a professional event photographer based in London, mostly specializing in weddings, theater and corporate parties! I also teaching skills and business elements of wedding photography to other wedding photographers.

What made you want to shoot with the Lomo LC-A Minitar-1 Art Lens ?

I actually started my foray into photography over a decade ago and one of my earliest cameras was a Diana Mini. I then progressed quickly onto an LC-A and fell in love with it straight away. After I went from hobbyist to professional, I found it hard to make the time to shoot film, so I was SO excited when you released an LC-A Minitar lens for digital cameras! It felt like the perfect way to integrate a light, fun lens into my travel and personal photography! I also find when you're shooting regularly for others, it's extra important to take the time to shoot for your own creativity. The point and shoot nature of the Minitar lens is really freeing because I can concentrate on what's in front of me rather than faffing with camera settings.

How did you get on shooting with the Lomo LC-A Minitar-1 Art Lens ?

The Minitar was great fun although I think the vignette effect would have been stronger on a full-frame body that the lens was designed for, I shoot Fujifilm mirrorless crop sensors so you lose the edge of the lens' full potential! I put it on f/22 as advised by the Carnaby Street store guy who said that's the best way to see the vignette effect and clicked away. You've got to remember to get an adaptor to use the Minitar lens with Fujifilm! I would love it if the focal length was a bit wider, or there was a version suitable for crop cameras as on a Fujifilm camera the focal length appears a little bit longer.

What did you take pictures of?

I took it to Malaysia and Singapore and shot a mini-series of architecture along two beautifully colorful streets in each country! I had to jump in and out of a car along a dusty track road so not having to change settings worked really well for moving and shooting quickly and discreetly!

What's coming up in 2018?

I'm hoping to shoot more street photography with the lens, as the style of it is perfect for it. Usually, with street photography you'd set the camera to a small aperture anyway to ensure the fastest hit rate with the most layers in focus. In my work life, I'm shooting for lots of wonderful clients and speaking at the X-Weddings conference in the Summer!

Find out more about Marianne's work via her website www.mariannechua.com

2018-06-11 #people #malaysia #singapore #lomo #uk #minitar-1-lens #marianne-chua #apac