lomography is a con - discuss

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erikg

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Con? No, I don't think so, but it is great marketing. Creating desire for what could be considered sub-standard products, making a virtue of faults, and getting top dollar for what is thought by CW to be a dead end technology, brilliant. It does rather suck that people are equating film with low-fi and crappy, but it does get people buying film so that is more of a plus. A smart consumer doesn't need it, though, you can do just as well with any number of vintage and/or plastic cameras out there, and then just pretend you are member of the club. It did hurt to read where someone describes an XA as a "poor man's Lomo", man...
 

markbarendt

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The whole lomo thing just seems too expensive for me. The idea of wasting an entire roll, hoping to get one decent shot at random seems crazy. Most tlrs (yashica, rolleicord, rolleiflex t etc) are way cheaper than the lubitel on the lomography site. My leica was cheaper than the regular lc-a+ they sell, never mind the gold plated one. 35mm SLRs are by far the best option for shooting film on a low budget. There is the trendy thing, but I'm a nerdy scientist, so that's never going to happen.

One of the things that I've found with my Holga is that it creates whole rolls of great snaps with the right subjects.

The use that I've found where it really shines is turning mundane, bop-around, traveling on vacation, or hanging with your buds shots, into fun snaps with character.

"Snaps" and "Fun" are the key words here.
 
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I quite like shooting the Holga my girlfriend bought me for Christmas, especially since I'm not the one that paid for the glorified piece of plastic :D . It does do a good job for what it is, though I do wish the 35mm version was cheaper than the 120 version. I'd prefer 36 snapshots just so I dont have to change film as often. Maybe a 220 Holga should be released... (or is there already a 220 holga? I really dont keep up with the whole Holga/Lomo thing)
 

vdonovan

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I would break the question down as follows:

1. Can cheap plastic cameras create beautiful images? IMHO yes. I saw stunningly imaginative and highly crafted pictures at a recent gallery show devoted to plastic cameras. Art comes from the artist, not the tool. Ever seen what Leonardo could do with a scrap of charcoal?

2. Is $50 too much to pay for a cheaply made plastic camera? Probably. I also think $7,000 is too much to pay for the Leica M9. No one is forcing anyone to buy any camera, so who cares? I think $800 is too much to pay for shoes or a handbag, but people do it all the time. It's their business what they do with their money, not mine.

3. Is Lomography good or bad for Photography? IMHO it is unquestionably good. Young people are using film and having fun with it. The next generation of film shooters has to come from somewhere, and high schools, junior colleges and even art schools are getting rid of their film photography programs. Out of a thousand people who buy a tiger-striped Holga just to go with their outfit, a few will be stimulated creatively and want to explore film further. We film photographers need those people. Badly.

4. Is Florian Kaps the marketing genius of all time? YES. I'm a little jealous of how he was able to create a hip and fun business and make a ton of money at it. Now he's about to do it all over again with instant photography.
 

apconan

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3. Is Lomography good or bad for Photography? IMHO it is unquestionably good. Young people are using film and having fun with it. The next generation of film shooters has to come from somewhere, and high schools, junior colleges and even art schools are getting rid of their film photography programs. Out of a thousand people who buy a tiger-striped Holga just to go with their outfit, a few will be stimulated creatively and want to explore film further. We film photographers need those people. Badly.

"Young people are using film and having fun with it" does not mean lomo is 'unquestionably good" for photography. I could also say that "pedophiles are using children and having fun with it" but that doesn't mean that pedophilia is good for humankind.
 

vdonovan

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"Young people are using film and having fun with it" does not mean lomo is 'unquestionably good" for photography. I could also say that "pedophiles are using children and having fun with it" but that doesn't mean that pedophilia is good for humankind.

That's not an apt analogy, but you're right, I'm making the assumption that it would be good for film photography if more people got interested in it. That seems obvious to me, but maybe it is not to others.
 

perkeleellinen

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The parts we judge as being 'bad' (price, crappy quality) are subjective. But the parts judged as good (increased film sales, interest in film cameras) are objective. I see 'lomography' as a good thing at best, benign at worst, because people are using film. Issues of 'quality' are entirely subjective and as for price, no one's forcing us to buy these cameras.
 

Q.G.

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The good thing is (or rather, was) not necessarily to be looked for in the result. We have to look beyond the photograph, framed or stuck in an album.
The good thing was in the approach to the, a, medium. The idea that you do not have to be formal about it, that you do not have to be a slave to the medium, but can make the medium a slave to you.

That all went horribly awry when Lomography started putting demands on us again. Now, we apparently have to buy that way too expensive camera again.

If only people understood that the cameras like the Lomo et al. were used, not because they were a Lomo, Lubitel, Holga or Diana, but because these things were cheap, so you had no reason to worry about the camera. That they were crap too was a coincidental (though not entirely unexpected) 'side effect'. But who was bothered by that?

Now they want to make us believe that we have to buy those crappy cameras, because they are crap, for amounts of money that at best are laughable.

The end result is that people having any dealings with Lomography, by virtue of that alone, are doing anything but Lomography. They quite obviously do not understand the entire thing.

Worrying about the result, demanding, or even judging, that it either be good, or bad, or anything in between, again is making the photographer the hostage of rules and regulations.
Again very much not (!) Lomography.


As far as the industry is concerned: it is definitely not good that cameras like the Lubitel (i remember those from when they could be bought from the few shops that imported goods from behind the iron curtain, for what they were really worth: next to nothing) are being traded for too much money. Money that could have been spend supporting the parts of the industry that really do deserve our support instead.

As far as film is concerned, we mustn't fool ourselves (again). The present day Lomography thing is small (the original one was too), Too small to have any effect, except on the purse of the shop that has assumed the Lomography identity to part suckers from their money.
 
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markbarendt

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"Young people are using film and having fun with it" does not mean lomo is 'unquestionably good" for photography.

I'm with vdonovan, in that I don't think your analogy fits.

Considering the availability of, for example, the Pentax K1000's with two lenses I bought for $4.50 US at my local thrift store last week, and cell phones, as competitors for LOMO style cameras.

Now let's get specific, what are the possible downsides?
 

frontdrive34

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I recently taught an 18yo how to develop B&W film as he had bought himself a Holga. He has since gone out and started using a Yashica Mat 124G. I see that as a Holga doing good.

I love my Holga and see it for what it is, cheap and nasty, with a rough edge to the image quality. Not everyone wants crisp!
 

thegman

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I think film cameras being popular, fashionable and "hipster" can only be a good thing. I guess there is a possible downside that these guys will shoot Lomo and think that film is really poor quality, but I'd credit most with the sense to check out Flickr and see that medium format especially is a different class to what they are achieving with their plastic cameras.
 

McFortner

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Lomo is just an expensive way to say "to heck with the rules" when taking pictures. It could be done with any inexpensive camera, but they successfully have linked it with their products. Unfortunately, most of humanity are the type to follow the herd and not think for themselves so Lomo makes money. Fortunately, some of us go our own way and find less expensive alternatives to do the same thing.

At least they are getting people to buy film. That should keep it alive for a little bit longer....

Michael
 

5stringdeath

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LOMO is a generational thing you grandpas don't get, so why try? You might as well discuss LV bags and DG sunglasses which you probably think are cons too. Why do you guys care so much how OTHER people spend their money?

Regards, Art.

I'm 42, have no kids, thus, not a grandpa :D

Um, Louis Vuitton bags isn't even a fair comparison. LV bags can be compared to Leicas :D There is quality, perceived quality, and hipster madness. And I don't care how people spend their money really. I am just amused by this thread ...
 

Q.G.

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LOMO is a generational thing you grandpas don't get, so why try? You might as well discuss LV bags and DG sunglasses which you probably think are cons too. Why do you guys care so much how OTHER people spend their money?

No, no, no.
Lomography was something we grandpas did get when it was fresh, new, and genuine.
The young ones today don't get that what they are sold is nothing like what they claim it is.

It's just like punk. The silly young buggers today who think it's a lifestyle you can buy in fashionable stores... pathetic! :wink:
 

apconan

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LOMO is a generational thing you grandpas don't get, so why try? You might as well discuss LV bags and DG sunglasses which you probably think are cons too. Why do you guys care so much how OTHER people spend their money?

Regards, Art.

Don't think you intended it, but this post is dripping with irony.
Good job.
 
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The basic lomo idea is cool.
Cheap camera, guaranteed soft lens, likely lens flare, possible light leaks.
Just take the picture. Ignore the sharpness police. You can't take a technically superior photo with a Holga. That is liberating and encourages everyone to try. It's a punk idea, that.

Is anybody going to sniff at your toy camera pictures and say "That tessar design lens isn't quite as sharp as the later, 17 element version.", or "I see a bit of vignetting in the corners.", or "You should have used a tripod. Handheld is always a compromise."
 
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You can't take a technically superior photo with a Holga. That is liberating and encourages everyone to try.

I think that's part of the charm of the whole Lomo thing. I like the idea of "screw technicalities, just take some pictures." Although, I think $30 or more for a plastic camera is rediculous. I think you're better off going to a thrift store or Ebay and finding a cheap point and shoot or TLR or something and still go along with the whole "to hell with the technical crap" idea.

If the lomo thing is making people buy film, I see no reason to complain.

Hopefully there wont be any digital lomo cameras. Digital stuff is expensive enough as it is :D
 

Focus No. 9

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This is a fun thread. And now i know how to unload the breeding mass of plastic in the spare room. I'll market them as having a Lomographic Informal Quality about them.
U-tube commericial moment:
title: The IQ line by LIQIT
set: street, daylight-sitting on bench looking bored.
costume: baggy jeans, a shirt, short sleeve shirt, boxer shorts, skull cap
cast: young man, longish hair, average looking; girl/gurl short skirt, knee highs, midriff blouse...oops wrong scence wrong movie, my bad. Okay any emo thing will work here.
Action!
voice over : "Hey Slick, you wanna be cool?" "Wanna be hip" "Then LIQIT, LiQIT GOOD"
cut to emo girl/gurl (like who knows) handing Slick the LIQIT IQ
background music: Huh Huh That's the way Huh Huh I~Q IT Huh Huh, That's the way huh huh I shoot it Huh Huh Huh
fade out: Slick rides off on his skateboard taking self pics as emo girl/gurl pouts pulling out another IQ , smiles and takes self pics too.
Legal super fast voice over: Brought to you by LIQIT a division of Lo-Mo Blos IT. Any patent or trademark infringement is purely coincidental and will be defended in a small claims court of law.
Final Pitch voice over: GET YOUR LIQIT TODAY... as several IQs of different colors pop onto the screen. Sign onto our website:http\\...and get a coupon for $1 off your first roll of film!.

~~~~~ nah, maybe I should donate to rainphot's cause.

p.s. Nice shots Andy K.
pps. Can't get that song out of your head now huh?
ppps. shhh! I have a virgin TC. It's pretty.
 
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2F/2F

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Having just seen this

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I am amazed. These prices are just bonkers. does anybody actually buy this stuff? Marketing hype gone mad or what?

Stuff costs a certain amount of money. People who believe it is worth the expense buy it. Those who do not do not.

I do not buy anything from this shop. There are cheaper ways of making crummy pix. Like giving any camera to me and telling me to take pix! :D
 

removed account4

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No, no, no.
Lomography was something we grandpas did get when it was fresh, new, and genuine.
The young ones today don't get that what they are sold is nothing like what they claim it is.

It's just like punk. The silly young buggers today who think it's a lifestyle you can buy in fashionable stores... pathetic! :wink:

i agree 100% ... posers !

i don't think the people buying these cameras
will ever use them, they will just be a " conversation piece "

i knew someone years ago who used to carry around books he never read
as a fashion accessory ... same thing ...
 

2F/2F

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I was once accused of carrying around a "fashion accessory" by one of my journalism instructors when she spied my Leica IIIc.
 
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