Emotive Emulsions with Jake Witham and the LomoChrome 35 mm Films

UK-based photographer Jake Witham has been documenting his local parks and canals using LomoChrome Turquoise, LomoChrome Metropolis and LomoChrome Purple 35 mm film. What's striking about his experiments is the vast difference in mood and atmosphere between each photograph, highlighting the power that film can give to a final image. We talked to Jake about his work and his ongoing fascination with the LomoChrome films.

Hello Jake, please tell us a bit about yourself.

Hello! I'm Jake, a film photographer based in London/Essex, primarily shooting street and documentary. I first picked up a camera in 2012 and later graduated from uni in 2018 with a first class BA Hons Degree in photography. I have since worked as a film lab assistant.

What got you into shooting with film and what do you choose to shoot?

I first started shooting film in 2013 when my dad gave me his old camera, a Miranda MS1 Super 35 mm SLR. I had never shot film before that, so the whole process was very intriguing to me. I loved how it was all physical, from loading the film, to advancing the film and then having physical images at the end that you could hold up to the light and view.

Being physically connected to the images I was making made me appreciate photography in a way I had never experienced before, and as a result I've been shooting film ever since. Shooting street photography I of course like to take pictures of people. I love taking candid images that tell a story, fleeting moments that are unrepeatable. For documentary I prefer to document places or objects that at face value can seem mundane, but when studied further, can tell us stories about ourselves and who we are as a society.

Why did you decide to try the LomoChrome Purple and Turquoise films out? And how did you find the results?

I decided to try the LomoChrome Purple and Turquoise films as they were like nothing I had seen before. To be able to achieve such an otherworldly look and feel in-camera really excited me. I'm a big fan of experimental photography too, so these films seemed perfect for that. With the rolls I've shot so far, I've been really happy with the results. I've mainly shot landscapes and nature scenes, but after getting the images back and having spent time with the films, I can see that I've only scratched the surface with what they can do. I'm definitely excited to experiment more with them in the future!

I would also like to mention LomoChrome Metropolis too, probably my favorite out of the LomoChrome films. I can definitely see myself using it in my documentary work, as it lends itself very well to urban and city environments.

If you were to invent a new type of film what would it do?

That's a very good question and not something I've thought about before! I think if I was to invent a new film, it would be one that could record one of the other types of light on the electromagnetic spectrum that our eyes can't see, such as microwaves, radio waves or ultraviolet rays. We can get a glimpse into this hidden world when we shoot infrared film, but just imagine how different our world must look through the others.

To see more of Jake's photos visit his Instagram page.

2023-10-14 #culture #news #london #uk #lomochrome-purple #lomochrome-turquoise #lomochrome-metropolis