Life Through a Camera Lens

One of the things I love about photography is the ability to capture a moment without taking the time to recreate it. Hold down the shutter and bam- it's saved forever. Well, it is however long you decide to keep the film or digital file alive. I'm not saying that just anyone can be a great photographer, there's obviously a lot of things that need to be learned. But it definitely grabs the subject a lot faster than a pencil can.

Taken by myloveletter with a LOMO LCA+ loaded with lomography 200 xpro film in St. Augustine, United States. 

My dad was a wedding photographer before he headed towards engineering, and his idea of a good photo is very technical. If there's one thing I've learned from being his daughter, it's that there are people who measure their work with numbers and megapixles, there are people who claim a photo is artistic from the emotion it captures, and then there are those who grab a little of both. Dad might raise an eyebrow at my blurry photo that I so proudly show him ("I swear I didn't mean to take a picture yet it's so full of excitement, isn't it?!"), but that's okay. The crazy-sharp quality of a sexy SLR is much appreciated, though I don't dismiss the idea of shooting with a leaky plastic camera for the sake of whoa! images.

A concept that is all about capturing this moment in time, this second, this very feeling right now, is that of a kind of underground society (I hate that label) called Lomography. The name is from an old plastic Russian camera called the Lomo LC-A, which full name's way too long and honestly, this keyboard doesn't have the right alphabet to type with. Anyway, people became fascinated with the flaws that the camera contributed to these contrasting, color exploding, awesome photos. It's a film camera and a little hassling for such a digitally acquainted age, but it's worth a look. No Photoshop business here, folks. Other plastic cameras such as the Diana F+ (my baby) produce similar photos.

Here are some examples from the website, where lots of people submit their work:

http://www.lomography.com/photos

These are some of my favorites.

Taken by herrspecht with a Diana+ loaded with Fuji Superia 400 film in New York City, United States.

 

      Taken by lavisionmd with a Lomo LC-A+  loaded with Kodak 400TX film in La Baule, France. 

Taken by jeabzz with a Diana F + loaded with Fuji sensia 200 expired film in Abondance, France.