Point and shoot is the basic premise behind the latest photography craze. ZOE CHRISTODOULIDES learns more about lomography
The very definition of cool can sometimes baffle us all. And more often than not, it’s usually the artiest types that start off trends that become a huge rage around the world. If you’ve happened to walk around the hip and trendiest areas of London’s East End in the past few years or perhaps been lucky enough to traipse around Manhattan’s Soho district, you’ll have no doubt spotted hoards of arty young things sporting what look like a big and bold chunky toy cameras. Having become the coolest accessory to be seen out and about with, trendsetters today will hardly leave home without them.
And while we’re always a little late to catch on to these fads here in Cyprus, a group of young artists are now intent on making the cameras a big deal on the island as they put up the first show dedicated to the art at the Skia Cultural Spot in old Nicosia.
Running through until the end of August, the exhibit involves five young local artists showing their works throughout alternating weeks. Having all taken up Lomography as a hobby, I’m greeted by three of the participants in the gallery space as they chat about what’s so special about their beloved so called Lomo cameras.
Here’s the thing about Lomos: they take pictures that pretty much baffle the senses in every respect. Diverting away from the idea that the subject matter is something that should be thought about before hand, the Lomography trend places an emphasis on freedom and diversion from the norm with creative and experimental analogue film photography. If rules were made to be broken, the Lomo camera should most definitely win star prize.
Nico seems intent on putting this point across. “In this modern world that we live in, failure seems to be a big thing that everyone is always trying to avoid. But with a Lomo camera you can fail as much as you want.” Lefki nods in agreement. “I love not knowing what you’re taking pictures of. You know the colours will be blurry, you know it won’t be perfect.”
Technically speaking, Lomography is born out of both low tech and high tech plastic camera apparatus of extremely high light sensitivity resulting in slightly blurred almost magical shots. With an emphasis on casual snapshot photography, the point is that of taking a camera just about everywhere and anywhere as Lomography becomes part of everyday fast paced life.
And although they have only become all the rage in the past few years on a highly commercial level – stacked up in a range of funky colours in retail outlets like Urban Outfitters – these gadgets have actually been on the market since the early 90s. It all started when a couple of Austrian students discovered a small enigmatic Russian camera – the Lomo Kompakt Automat – and created a new style of artistic experimental photography with their first unorthodox snapshot cavorting. What began from a Vienna underground movement then developed into an international youth culture movement supported by a whole range of funky cameras developed by the Lomographic Society.
But as Cyprus lags a little far behind, I wonder how this group of young talents got into Lomography in the first place? While Nico came across the trend in Berlin, Lefki was impressed with photographs that she came across in an underground magazine a few years ago. In fact, Lefki admits that she’s never even owned a digital camera, while Stephanie now uses her fisheye Lomo most of the time. Much lighter than they look, the whole ‘point and shoot’ idea is that a Lomo can become your best buddy as you hit the streets. And the young photographers point out that most people in Cyprus don’t have a clue what these things are.
“People come up and ask: what is that? Is it a camera? Does it work? What attracts people is the camera itself sometimes,” explains Stephanie. But the appeal of a Lomo goes way beyond external appearances. “You can do so many things like stick your film in the dishwasher for colour saturation. It’s so trippy.” While Stephanie is a big fan of double exposure with her fisheye, Lefki loves snapping away at urban landscapes, while Nico has been busy looking inwards at realities within his homeland.
But blurry artistic shots are not always what you want. “You have to remember that these pictures are about aesthetics, they’re not so handy when you want lots of clear pictures of events or people,” says Nico. And given that the film rolls need to be taken to a photo lab to be processed the good old-fashioned way, it’s not just a matter of uploading them all onto the computer as you would with a digital device.
Having become a subculture in its own right, the photographers want to set up a local group passionate about the art. “Were not trying to get the whole of Cyprus into Lomography,” admits Nico. “But there are certain people who would be attracted to it.” While we may not yet have a shop dedicated to selling Lomo cameras here on the island, the good news is that one will be opening up in Old Nicosia after the summer. Looks like happy snappers will soon be taking pictures with flying colours.
Lomography Month
With six local photographers exhibiting their unique work including Nico Stephou, Lefki Savvidou, Irini Stylianou, Constantinos Achilleos, Stephanie Hurr and Diyala Muir. Until August 2. Skia Cultural Spot, 44 Ipokratous St, Laiki Gitonia, Nicosia. Tel: 99-889714. People who would like to be part of a local Lomography group can contact [email protected]
