Shooting National Parks on LomoChrome Purple with Katie Small

Longtime Lomographer Katie Small, who we've previously featured for her film soup as well as her participation in LomoWalk Metropolis Portland, took a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks last year with the plan to take lots of photos. Katie knew she didn't want boring photos that were indistinguishable from every other photo taken at the parks, so she decided to shoot the immense landscapes on LomoChrome Purple.

Let's take a look at the results from her trip!

Hi Katie, welcome back to Lomography magazine! What have you been up to since your last feature?

I moved to Portland, Oregon, where I've been taking photos, doing a lot of writing, and exploring filmmaking.

Can you tell us a bit about your recent trip?

In the summer of 2021 I went on a camping trip through Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National Parks with a friend. I limited myself to shooting a single roll of LomoChrome while I was there; I was curious to see how these iconic landscapes would look on purple film, and I knew I'd be bored with the photos unless I tried something I hadn't seen before.

Do you have a favorite photo from the trip? Is there a story behind it?

My favorite would have to be the accidental double exposure of the Teton mountain range. I first saw the Tetons when I was 11, on a family roadtrip from rural Nebraska, where we lived, driving to Southern California, where I was born. I had a disposable camera on that trip, and a photo I took of the Tetons is the first photo I remember taking where I felt inspired. My love for photography was born in that moment. So returning nearly 20 years later and taking a very different photo of the same view was a sweet sort of nostalgia.

Another favorite is the shot of the wildfire. I pulled over to the side of the road to capture that one. I like the ambiguity of the apocalyptic smoke storm and cotton candy colors.

Although you knowingly planned to shoot LomoChrome Purple to get surreal results of well-known landscapes, did you get any unexpected results?

I was surprised by the way LomoChrome changed the color of water, because in nearly every shot it's a different color. Maybe it has something to do with the depth, temperature or the mineral levels of the water. Lake water turned out either blue or purple, but Yellowstone's boiling geothermal spring water turned an intense shade of pink. A few of the shots of the geothermal springs remind me of blood – like the earth is a cracked scab, oozing and bleeding.

Is your approach to shooting LomoChrome Purple any different than your approach using regular color negative film?

When I'm shooting color film, color and lighting are driving forces in what I decide to shoot, but with LomoChrome the colors are unpredictable, so I tried to focus more on form and texture, negative space and contrast.

Do you have any tips or tricks for shooting with LomoChrome Purple?

I'd recommend trying it in a lot of different situations to figure out what you like. To get the most out of the vivid color variation, I would err on the side of overexposure, or just make sure your subject is well-lit.

Do you have any upcoming projects that you can tell us about?

I've been experimenting with double exposure lately and am trying my hand at screenwriting!

If you're interested in seeing more of Katie's work make sure to check out her Instagram and website!

written by eloffreno on 2022-11-03 #gear #places #travel #summer #trip #landscape-photography #national-parks