On the trail of Lomohunters

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The experimental quality in analogue photography is a welcome break from the sure thing in digital photography.

DISTORTION: A sample of the fish eye lens.

THE best thing about Lomography is that you never know what to expect, said Iswandi Saeit as he rooted around a giant bag with the letters LOMO printed on it

Iswandi — otherwise known as Wandy — is a Lomohunter. By day, he’s a nine-to-five government servant. After hours, the dashing 27-year-old is collecting vintage analogue cameras and taking pictures with a medium that many have forgotten — film.

While LOMO is a Russian company that manufactures medical equipment and built what was Russia’s first camera model in 1930, Lomography is the term for an experimental, artistic style of photography that throws all the rigid ‘rule-of-thirds’ rules out the window.

The analogue movement was started by a couple of Viennese students in the 1990s, and has now become a worldwide phenomenon that has seen resurgence in film photography under the Lomography brand.

“People will always stop and ask whether our ‘toy cameras’ are actually functional,” Wandy said with a smile, picking up a special Valentine’s Day edition of a Diana Mini camera with cartoon clouds painted on it.

“Every true fan of Lomography will have at least two analogue cameras.”

Wandy himself has 20 or so analogue cameras now, including the mother of Lomography cameras — the LOMO LC-A. His growing collection also includes a camera with panoramic view (the Sprocket Rocket), multi-lens cameras that capture motion, half-shutter cameras that merge two frames into one as well as a vintage box film camera, the Halina Prefect – all of which can still take perfectly imperfect pictures.

To him, as well as others in the Lomohunter photography club he founded in Kuching in 2008, the experimental quality in analogue photography is a welcome break from the sure thing you would otherwise get in digital photography.

“The very heart of Lomography is “Don’t think, Just shoot.” While we have to learn the basics of photography, like ISO, aperture and shutter speed as well as how the weather influences the lighting, the results are always surprising, spontaneous and whatever is developed is special because there is no editing.”

No entrance fee

The only thing planned in Lomography are the Lomohunter photo sessions which can see up to 30 to 40 of its members on any one photo outing.

Lomohunters are primarily made up of young adults and teenagers, and unlike most clubs, there is no entrance fee.

“We are a non-profit organisation. We come together as a community to share knowledge on handling cameras, developing the film and producing certain kinds of photos,” Wandy explained.

Although he said going analogue was an affordable investment for young adults, the hobby has cost him anything between RM50 to RM1500, depending on the type of camera alone.

“If you’re just starting out in Lomography, the type of camera you should buy depends on what kind of effect you want to bring out and your budget.”

The added advantage of Lomohunter is that members can pool their purchases and order them in one go online. Based on their Facebook site, there are already 200 Lomohunter members.

“You don’t have to have the Lomography camera brand but as long as it’s a camera that uses film, you can come with us on our lomo outing,” he added.

Before their outings, the Lomohunters will have a ‘teh-tarik’ session to help answer some members’ questions about photography. Other times, people will come to Wandy’s house to learn more and upload their photos to the computer with his digital photo scanner.

“We hope to have a dark room soon. With the digital age, of course the chemicals are somewhat harder to find and buy but we’re looking into experimenting with alternative chemicals,” he said.

Besides ‘shooting from the hip’, analogue photography allows for a lot of experimentation on its actual film rolls. Wandy cited examples of dipping his film rolls in bleach or the freezer to produce different results in colour saturation.

“There are also all kinds of special films like black and white films and 120 mm films. Besides the films sold at the shop, the difference is in the chemicals used to develop the photos,” he said, explaining that cross-processing film will bring out striking colour saturations.

“The C41 chemical used will bring out the ‘negatives’ on a film while the E6 will bring out ‘positive’ colours usually used for colour slides.”

Exhibitions

So far, the Lomohunter exhibitions have had a positive response in Sarawak.

“In 2010, the State Arts and Culture Department invited us to exhibit our works on every third Saturday of the month under their arts programme called Pusat Seni Setempat (PSS). We’ve also been invited to take part in several exhibitions in Miri and at other festivals such as the Pesta Kaul Mukah,” Wandy revealed.

A typical Lomohunter exhibition will include a lomowall, which is a mosaic of photographs, as well as the photo alongside the camera.

“Whenever we exhibit, we’re sure to get a reaction from the public — there are some people who just want to look at the cuteness of the cameras, and some people who love the appearances and the effects that we’ve produced,” he said.

Lomohunter is by no means an isolated club. Wandy is comforted by the fact that a lomographer from Kuching will be welcomed by another fellow lomographer in, say, Sibu.

“We have had a lot of pointers from our KL counterparts too. In Sarawak, there’s another group called Borneo Analogue Junkies, and in Brunei, there’s a group there too.”

So far they have been exhibiting their photographs at the Waterfront every month.

“Our exhibits are usually from 2pm to 11pm and there’s always a Lomohunter there to answer questions or queries,” he said.