From A To Berlin Kino: Black and White Photos with the LC-A+ by Garry Jones

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Meet Garry Jones, a UK-based photographer who shared his experiences shooting with the LC-A+ and some Berlin Kino B&W Film.

Hey Garry, tell us a bit about yourself?

Most of my time these days is spent photographing things I am most passionate about, live music and skateboarding. In my ten years working as a photographer from my late teens, I’ve always tried to stick true to who I am in the belief that you produce better photos if you are completely and wholeheartedly enthusiastic about your subject matter. I’m lucky enough to be involved in some amazing projects and work alongside some fantastic companies that help me push my photography all the time into new directions, from the biggest and most crazy festivals, to record labels that give me the opportunity to produce album covers. Currently, I’m also studying for my Masters in Visual Communications at Birmingham City University where once again I’ve got access to a darkroom which has reignited my love of film photography. I never realised when graduating from my Bachelor of Arts Degree how much I would miss having the facilities to develop and print film.

How did you get on shooting with the LC-A+

The LC-A+ was so great to have in my back pocket when going about my daily business, from walking to and from university to heading down to a rave or festival, this little compact 35mm camera gave me the opportunity to have some freedom and shoot photos which were not for a client. The sense of open-mindedness it gave had been lost to me for a little while probably just due to the fact I get so tangled up in a client’s brief. During my times spent in Canada or around Europe I always love to shoot black and white street photography with a wide angle lens and am very much inspired by one of my favourite photographers Ed Templeton. The LC-A+ has an amazing wide lens which means you can pretty much shoot from the hip and still get great results. I found myself being able to draw it from my pocket really quickly and capture whatever interesting event I saw unraveling in front of me. I must admit that when at first I got the camera I had my heart set on creating a big series of images of gig photography but it just slowly became more of my everyday camera I’d take with me to places so I could just pull it out and snap away for my own personal love of creating great imagery. I ended up taking it to a one-day rock festival, a rave in London, to gigs, and just generally around the streets moving from job to job. It became more of a visual diary of my everyday comings and goings for a couple of weeks.

Photos: Garry Jones

How does shooting with film differ to digital, what makes you want to try it out in your work?

I think every photographer talks of the slower more enjoyable process that film brings, but I’m really used to shooting 6x6 medium format or even large format at times. So having a roll of 36 shots I even became a bit trigger happy with my film shooting.

Photos: Garry Jones

How did you get on with the Berlin Kino B&W Film?

The new Berlin Kino B&W film was a real joy to use and develop myself giving a beautiful grain and a certain 1940s/50s movie quality to the look of the shots even when pushed to 1600. My work has mainly been digital over the years apart from my passion projects where I’ve always tried to keep my love of the medium alive, although recently I have begun to weave my film photography into my professional practice. There’s still always going to be a feel and a look to film whether it be in the skin tones of a portrait or the colours in a landscape that no lightroom filter can match and its for that reason why I’ve always got a shelf in my fridge loaded with film ready for the next project.

Any tips for other photographers wanting to shoot with film?

From an old 35mm point and shoot to a Medium format Hasselblad and everything in between you can capture something beautiful which maybe on digital you would ultimately just erase. Take the time to enjoy the lack of urgency you get with film, shoot things you hold dear and document the world around you. Just saver each frame as at the end of the day it will make you grow as a photographer.

Photos: Garry Jones

See more of Garry's work by visiting his website.

2019-06-26 #places #colour #b-w #lca

Mentioned Product

Lomo LC-A+

Lomo LC-A+

Be an analogue photography pro with the Lomo LC-A family. Get the signature ‘35mm Lomographic look’ with shadowy vignettes, eye-popping colors and saturation.The Lomo LC-A is the Russian classic with customizable aperture settings. The Lomo LC-A+ has awesome added tricks like multiple exposure capabilities, extended ISO range up to 1600 and a cable release thread!

2 Comments

  1. double_exposure
    double_exposure ·

    Great article! It's really awesome to hear stories from other creators.

  2. robertquietphotographer
    robertquietphotographer ·

    I like these photographs, the subjects and the tones are really good!
    Much impressed by the concert scenes, interesting results in difficult light!

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