Exploring Lomography Film with Sandy Phimester

Canada-born photographer Sandy Phimester recently experimented with a few different Lomography film stocks. Check out his gorgeous photos and more about his work here.

Sandy began photography over 10 years ago, but only started shooting film within the past few years:

"I'm from a small town in northern Alberta, Canada called Peace River. I now live in Edmonton. I was a musician before I was a photographer, and back in the mid-2000s our band was going on a cross Canada tour. My dad had asked me if I had a camera, and of course I did not even consider it (which now seems crazy), he said that was pretty silly, and bought me a small digital point and shoot. Quickly on that trip I realized I loved capturing moments and looking back on all the things we had done. It wasn't until many years later that I decided to put all my energy into photography. In around 2008 or 2009 is when I started taking photography more seriously and felt like portraits was what interested me the most. A few years later I became bored with what I was doing and was looking for something to change how I was shooting, film seemed like something my parents would have used — but I figured it was worth a shot. Even since then it's all I've really worked with, and I'm glad that I found something that I loved so much." — Sandy Phimester

Sandy's work functions as an extension of himself and his emotions:

"A lot of what I shoot is just a reflection of myself or perhaps just a way to explore the stupid things that go on in my head. I'm not very good at getting my words across, but I often feel like when I'm making photographs that it's natural for me to think and feel this way, I can get my feelings out there in a way that makes sense to me. These photos are just an extension of that. Making things doesn't always need a higher purpose, sometimes it's nice to make things for the sake of making them. I enjoy that process just as make as if I have deeper intentions behind it. I'd like to think this is just a good way for me to say things that I otherwise would have trouble with." — Sandy Phimester

More on how these works were created:

"For these photos, I used my favorite medium format camera, the Pentax 67 with either the 105mm f/2.4 lens or the 75mm f/2.8 lens. I primarily use natural light, so for me, the considerations are always time of day and what way the location is facing when I'm shooting. I meter carefully with a handheld incident meter. It's really the most basic way to shoot, but I love it." — Sandy Phimester

Sandy on why shooting film is so special to him:

"Photography is special to me in so many ways, film just happens to fit into that mold so much better than anything else. The cameras and lenses, the variety of looks you can get, the different feel of each camera, different formats - it's all so interesting to me. Beyond that though, I enjoy the process of working this way more than anything. I love developing my own film, I love scanning and looking at the negatives. There's always an element of surprise, good or bad, and it's extremely attractive to me in that sense. I really just love the look of film, and dislike editing and try to stay away from that, so it's perfect for me to shoot different films for different looks and expose the films in different ways to get even more out of them. Personally I find a lot of digital shooting too clinical or perfect looking, I have zero problem or criticism of digital or anyone who uses it, I find that discussion tired and boring, but for me, on a very personal level, I know film is what's right for me!" — Sandy Phimester

Check out more of Sandy's work on his website and Instagram.

written by sragomo on 2019-04-20 #gear #culture #people #canada #lomography-cn-400 #lomochrome-purple