Lomography: An English Paper.

For my most recent English class I had to write an informative paper. I typically struggled on a topic for papers but I thought of the perfect thing to write about for a chance. I wanted to share the information about Lomography. I love taking photos but Lomography is a really fun way of making a simple snap shoot something super special.

Here’s my paper clack full of Lomo information:

Happy little accidents and double exposures are two of the key components to Lomography. Unlike typical art photography the more blurred and overexposed an image is the more powerful image could be. Every hipster in your neighborhood probably knows exactly what Lomography is. They probably walk around everywhere with their junky looking plastic camera around their neck taking photos of the most random things. A lot of people probably don’t “get it” but a lot of people didn’t understand a lot of art until long after the movement was already over. To understand Lomography you have to understand where it came from and its basic rules.

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In 1982 the Russian Government got its hands on a small plastic camera from Japan. Realizing what they had they started mass production of the “toy” camera. By 1982 the camera was spreading across Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Cuba. This was an important move for the future. In 1991 Lomography got its true start when two students in Vienna, Austria came across one of the cameras. They took up randomly snapping images without even looking through the viewfinder. When they brought the camera home everyone they knew wanted one of their own little toy cameras. The two founders of the style started heading into Russia to collect the cameras and bring them back to the growing number of requests for them. In 1994 they decided to start the Lomographic Society International. They were granted space in Vienna and sold over 700 cameras. Unfortunately in 1996 Russia decided to stop manufacturing the camera somehow the Society was able to convince the owner for the factory to continue to manufacture the cameras. Lomography overcame many different obstacles and low times in its past. With the rise of the internet Lomography.com gained international recognition. In 2002 the Lomography World Congress took place and the society was able to display work all over the world to grow Lomography awareness. Continuing popularity of the art allows the Lomographic Society to introduce new and exciting cameras and options for their customers.

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When the Lomographic Society International was created the founders also set up the 10 Golden Rules of Lomographic Photography. These 10 rules state what the photographic style is all about as well as how to do it. Rule number one is “Take your camera everywhere you go.” Lomography is all about documenting your life as you live it so you need your camera with you to capture important and interesting moments. Rule number two is “Use it anytime – day and night.” Different lighting will give interesting effects on Lomographic film so it’s always good to experiment with time of day images. Rule number three states “Lomography is not an influence in your life, but a part of it.” Like rule number one state’s Lomography becomes a part of your daily life. Rule number four is “shot from the hip.” Get down and dirty with your photography and get angles that you wouldn’t expect from you camera. Rule number five is “Approach the objects of you Lomographic desire as close as possible.” With Lomography you are almost investigating your life and the world around you so you really need to get personal with the photos you take. Rule number six is “Don’t Think.” This rule is all about letting go of your one sided mind and just having fun with your photography. Sometimes it important to through everything out the window and let the wind carry it. Rule number seven is “Be fast.” Capturing movement is a great in interesting part of Lomography. You can tell a story in one image of a truck racing by or athlete in motion. Rule number eight is “You don’t have to know beforehand what you capture on film.” Lomography should just be an unconscious act, you shouldn’t have to think about what you are capturing, you just capture. Rule number nine is “Afterwards either.” This rule means that you don’t even have to know who or what you see in the pictures you took after your develop them, they can be powerful anyways. Last, but not least, rule number ten “Don’t Worry about Any Rules.” This might be the most important rule of all. Rule number ten is all about staying true to you as a photographer. In Lomography it’s important to forget everything you’ve ever learned and enjoy taking the pictures you take and just believe in yourself and the photos you are taking.

Lomography is a personal statement that the photographer takes into his own hands. It’s about shooting from the hip, literally, and not thinking just clicking. The more abstract the photo is the better. Sometimes it’s the rare forms of art that no one really understands that bring a whole new wave of creative people into existence. With Lomography anyone can be a great photography and really enjoy what they are doing.

For more information and examples check out the website: Lomography.com