Captivating Portraits on Lomography Redscale Film by Verena Frye

Verena Frye is a portrait and fashion photographer who splits her time between Berlin and São Paulo. She has previously created a striking set of portraits using our LomoChrome Metropolis film, so of course we were excited to see what she would do with Lomography Redscale XR 35 mm ISO 50–200.

Hi Verena, welcome to Lomography magazine. What’s new with you since we last spoke?

Thank you for having me again! Things have definitely been more busy since the restrictions of the pandemic have been lifted. I took some beautiful pictures during my stay in Brazil and also contributed photographs to a group exhibition in São Paulo. I am actually back here again since yesterday. In addition to my work as a photographer I am now also working as a producer for a Brazilian production company. I am still living between Berlin and São Paulo.

Can you tell us a bit about the idea and set up for this shoot?

With this photo shoot I’ve gone back to my early days in photography. I photographed a series when I was still in university, for which I took portraits of several pairs of sisters and one of them took place in this same location in Berlin. My style and skills have of course evolved since then and I am really happy with how the pictures turned out this time around.

Which camera and lens were used to take the pictures?

They were taken with a Pentax Spotmatic F and a Takumar 55 mm F1.8 lens.

Was this your first time using Lomography Redscale XR film? How was the experience?

Yes, it was the first time. I was really curious how the pictures would turn out.The location where I took the pictures is a very popular shooting location in Berlin and I’ve taken photos there a couple of times before but the Redscale film gave the setting a completely different look. I think the colors and the contrast transformed it into something very different and less common. I find the combination of the red color of the film and the greens of the plants particularly beautiful.

Would you change anything if you were using this film again?

I think I was really on the edge regarding the amount of light I had available. It was a bit too dark for the use of this film, I think, even though the film was pushed during development in the lab. Regardless it also gave the pictures an even more special look in the end. One just should have this in mind while using the film, depending on which look they’d like to achieve. I would always recommend to scan and develop the film by yourself to have the best results.

What's your favorite photo from the shoot?

My favorite might be the close portrait with the flower in front of Melissa’s eye. I think it transmits a beautiful connection between the two sisters and also an intensity transmitted to the viewer.

Do you have any exciting projects coming up you can tell us about?

Most of them are still top secret but I would love for you to take a look at my new Dogs On Film 2023 calendar that I have launched recently. Inspired by the kitchy dog calendars you can get everywhere, every year I wanted to make my own version of it. As a dog lover I take candid pictures of them, often silly ones, all year around, all over the world and I love seeing them together when I assemble the calendar for the following year. People have been loving them so far which makes me happy even though cat people haven’t been as supportive. 10% of the proceeds are going to be donated to a dog shelter in Brazil. It is available over my web shop.

Thank you to Verena for sharing her work with us! To see more of her photography follow her on Instagram and her website.

Models: Sulay de la Rosa & Melissa Zerhau.

written by alexgray on 2022-12-12 #gear #people #fashion #portrait #35-mm #lomography-redscale-xr #verena-frye