In this article, I’m going to talk about some of my impressions from Lomography 800 (35mm). I’m currently on a quest for color negative films I haven’t used yet. Having stuck to Kodak Portra almost exclusively for years, I now want to broaden my horizon. In contrast to my last post, which dealt with Fuji Superia 400, I shot more than one roll of the Lomo. This time I ran a total of three rolls through my Leicaflex.
Where I live, Townsville Australia, we are fortunate to have the ocean and the Great Barrier Reef to our east, and at the same time we are flanked by dirt and mountain ranges to our west. It is truly the best of both worlds here.
There is a certain photogenic mountain peak that sits on private property, making it quite difficult to access without approval. I have made many photographs of the peaks from a distance but I’ve not been able to get close enough to be satisfied with them. My friend and I had been searching for a way to get closer on Google Earth, and found one. A dirt back road that appeared to stop right at the foot of the mountain. Just what we were looking for!
I’m a big fan of challenges when it comes to photography. I like imposing limitations on myself to see what I can create under the circumstances. In 2018 I decided to only photograph and share black and white film photographs. In 2019 I carried on with that theme but I introduced a new limitation by only photographing in portrait orientation. In 2020, I decided that I would introduce both digital photography and colour back into my workflow, but I decided to only photograph in landscape orientation for the whole year.
A lot of photographers can relate to the dilemma that arises on what gear to bring when you start planning your trip. For me going to Colombia the issue of safety happened to be a factor on deciding what camera to bring. It was around that time I had recently acquired a Leica M6 which as streetphotographer suited me perfectly and obviously was going to be a candidate.
