BBC News about Lomo

[IGMeanwell]

I don't mind the craze ... in fact I think there is some endearing qualities to lomography and its cousins

but price shouldn't be one of them at least not to join in

Heck I got my Holga for 15 USD

and my Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim for 9 USD

I don't mind spending money for good equipment, but I do mind spending more money than I need to for niche equipment

 

[shadowfox]

Here's food for thought,

How is "me-too-ism" that fuels the Lomo "society" (and a very successful marketing campaign) different than GAS?

 

[landsknechte]

They're now selling the 1991 vintage LC-A for $350. I bought my Leica IIIc along with an Elmar 50/3.5 for less than that earlier this year.

I love toy cameras, but I'm a firm adherent to the notion that they should have toy camera price tags.




Weren't the founders of the Lomographic Society marketing students??

 

[Morca007]

I abhor the marketing cult they created around it, but I enjoy my $12 Holga occasionally.

 

[350D_user]

They're now selling the 1991 vintage LC-A for $350.

I bet they don't come in cheap plastic containers (with transparent fronts) anymore either.

I bought my Leica IIIc along with an Elmar 50/3.5 for less than that earlier this year.

Likewise with my Standard and prewar 3.5cm Elmar setup.

Weren't the founders of the Lomographic Society marketing students??

If they weren't, they bluddy should've been!

 

[Olsen]

This is a rather interesting thread. I couldn't care less what kind of camera one uses as long as the images are good. Someone has obviously found a way to capitalize on this phenomenon, or perhaps create a phenomenon that they can capitalize on. $350 for a crappy camera that probably could have been had for $20 a few years ago? Sign me up as a dealer for that one if there ever is another craze like it. At least with the Holga people are not getting fleeced.

Patrick

With no insight into 'western world materialism craze', what I have heard is that the oligarchs were slow to capitalize on the the LOMO craze. They were preocupied selling advanced night sights to Saddam Hussein of Iraq - he was always a good weapons customer, China, Iran, North Corea etc. - A trade in the billion dollar category. At one point the famous LOMO camera production were shut down and the craze was fed on huge stocks of cameras. It was small potatose compared to the international weapons market.

I think that was when the craze was picking up, but just after the Rouble crashed in the automn of 1998. The Ru 's value fell almost 40%. Which triggered busloads of collectors to search up the russian market the winter of 1998/99. But the crash was also the end to much of the Sovjet Era production, - the part of it that hadn't grinded to a stop already. Thousands of russians were laid off within the industry, universities and public cultural activities, even the military, - they weren't payed properly. Whole university faculties emigrated to the US (Stupidly, the EU countries had no 'Green Card' system that could pick up many of these talented and well educated russians), - whole symphonical orchestras, ballet troups, engineers and military experts flew across the Atlantic to seek a better future in the US. Many had lost all their savings in the crash. It is very little likely that the production of this 'stupid little camera' continued under these circumstances.

 

[350D_user]

$350 for a crappy camera that probably could have been had for $20 a few years ago?

There's no "probably" about it. In the '80's, I remember stocking two of these things, and nobody wanted these cheap Russian cameras... not even for £20.

Cult of lomo? Cult of marketing, more like.

Aunty Beeb could also do with pointing readers to http://cameras.alfredklomp.com/lomography/... let people decide for themselves.

Btw, thanks for this thread... I've just bought a Holga 120N on Ebay, for £20 🙂.

 

[Olsen]

Cult of lomo? Cult of marketing, more like.
.

Initially, no. It has become now, but noone could forsee this or seriously believe that this plasticy camera would be a 'cult item'. It must have take years of persvasion to convince the oligarchs that this was a business to persue. They were all deep in the weapons industry.

 

[principe azul]

Hi Dave, the Photographers Gallery on Great Newport Street near Leicester Square was selling the good old 120N for £18.99, amazingly. Like you, I paid about £20 incl. shipping from Hong Kong. I'd never seen any shop sell a Holga before without the stupid packaging and gimmickry that bump it up to £50 ($100 for our American friends).

The Horizon Kompakt was going for £189 and the Horizon Perfekt for £399, twice as much as ebay. Ouch! I've been looking for a pano but have opted for gutting a Nimslo, which just leaves me with finding a wideangle medium format lens (and shutter) for cheap, or going with the pinhole option.

I think a Horizon would be a cool toy. But not at these prices.

Still, quite a few people with them yesterday, and Holgas and action samplers. Probably more of each than there were the LCA Lomos.

Ian

 

[EcoLeica]

Personally I love the movement just because of how many people are starting to get into film photography. I also love that fact that they have started to reissue diana cameras which happen to be a fav of mine.

My main beef is that they seem to foster this idea of 'dont think shoot' without any emphasis on camera control etc. Shooting like that ends up being a exercise in statistics. You have a good chance at least 1 in 100 photos will be a good one. This is something that initially turned me away from digital. All i can say is that it must be bloody expensive to be a lomographer

 

[Jocko]

Sorry, but I don't think that this story is true. .

I'm afraid it is, within limits. A few years ago the BBC ran a wildly uncritical documentary about lomographics. The latter had actually filmed their interview with Putin and it was shown in part.

From what I recall (I was busy pointing at the screen and ranting for much of the programme) , the Lomographics founders depicted themselves as just a freewheelin' band o' karefree krazy kids from a Scooby Doo cartoon. Putin appeared to know nothing whatsoever about the camera and to care even less, but jerked into the brief enthusiasm that gets visitors out of a politician's office. I believe they got some sort of discount on export taxes, or something similar.

I too remember when the Lomo was £20.00 new (I seem to recall that they were £19.70 from good old Global Cameras of Harrow, "specialists in Soviet equipment since 1961") . In 86-87 Amateur Photographer were inexplicably keen on them. I borrowed a Lomo on the strength of such an article and was deeply unimpressed. The subsequent hype has only made things worse 🙂

For my money, the real unsung gem amongst Soviet compacts is the FED 50!

Cheers, Ian

 

[varjag]

Back in 1995 he was busy getting rid of the corrupt, but popular governor Chobchak. - Who fled to France and died mysteriously shortly thereafter. Strange, he?

Totally OT, but Putin was one of Sobchack's henchmen. They became close friends in early 80s; in early 90s he worked in mayor's office, controlling utilization of metals. He remained very fond of Sobchack even after his exile by Yeltsin circle, and did not shy to express his sentiments publicly. Once Putin became PM, he forced prosecution to drop charges against his friend.

 

[alternatve]

Sorry to all lomographers, but I don't get how shooting with a toy camera is in any way fulfilling. I like to take photographs instead of compare equipment myself, but I use a Bessa R2a for that. Incidently, I bought it for around US$400, slightly more for a Holga?

Samuel

 

[cmedin]

Personally I love the movement just because of how many people are starting to get into film photography. I also love that fact that they have started to reissue diana cameras which happen to be a fav of mine.

My main beef is that they seem to foster this idea of 'dont think shoot' without any emphasis on camera control etc. Shooting like that ends up being a exercise in statistics. You have a good chance at least 1 in 100 photos will be a good one. This is something that initially turned me away from digital. All i can say is that it must be bloody expensive to be a lomographer

That's exactly the attitude I have problems with (not yours, that of the 'lomographer'): from the Lomo users I've talked to I get the "lol just point it around and shoot wildly" vibe, where things like exposure, focus, composition etc go out the door. I don't know about you, but I don't want my camera to surprise me; I want to tell it what I want.

 

[Finder]

It seems the folks who don't like the Lomography scene just want Lomographers to do photography their way.

I find this comment interesting:

I get the "lol just point it around and shoot wildly" vibe, where things like exposure, focus, composition etc go out the door.

There seems to be a lot of non-Lomographer posts about how to save bad focus and exposure on the net as well as fixing composition by cropping.

I think if you enjoy photography, we are already brothers or sisters. And if they all did it the way I do, photography would be dull.

 

[Simon Larbalestier]

this is one of the best threads on RFF in the last month!

@varjag: "Just confirms that Putin is a bad guy" .. I love it!

@Finder (the genius) : "Certainly folks buying plastic cameras and having fun should not be part of photography." .. one of the most radical thoughts on RFF in a long time. I agree. Stomp on that one right now!

Who sez RFF is boring, this is great. I'm so pumped I'm going to succumb to marketing hype and buy a Lomo and put the shots up on RFF!

Funny i ordered a Diana camera the other day to back up my rusting Holga!

 

[Jocko]

I think if you enjoy photography, we are already brothers or sisters. And if they all did it the way I do, photography would be dull.

Absolutely right. And good luck to everyone who takes photographs.

And yet , as they say, "love the sinner, hate the sin" 🙂 My scepticism is not aimed at the Lomo or the Lomo user, but rather at the Lomographics organisation. Isn't there something utterly false about marketing an alleged photographic counter-culture? One look at their web site reveals it is aimed at people who know absolutely nothing about photography or photographic equipment.

Whatever the virtues of rampant capitalism, isn't it grotesque to sell a Smena 8 for £62.00, when you can still buy one new for £9.00 from British dealers? Or boast about "the huge maximum aperture" of one of the slowest SLR standard lenses? To my way of thinking this is very near active deception. To me, Lomographics are the bogus mediums, the psuedoevangelists, the medicine show hucksters of photography.

But above all, I object to the idea that you can buy (and buy expensively) into creativity - that imagination is in some way linked to a product. This is nonsense, whether claimed for Leica or Lomo.

Cheers, Ian

 

[Spider67]

Hi Ian!

It's the same thing they do with the Fed 5B....I got mine on the the bay new for about 15 € they sell (or sold them) them for an abominable 60 €.
That's also the part of the story I don't like.
if you buy Prada, Gucci or whatever luxries for incredible amounts of money at least they don't bother you with contrived stories of their idealism.
When lomography started I kinda liked it....as it was the "the price of your camera isn't important"- attitude....but a lot changed since then.

 

[vindstille]

I think the lomographic society stuff is one of the more successfull marketing plans today. take a cheap, bad and flimsy old camera, promote it as cult, special or whatever. and they did it. lot's of people use them.
I have to admit, I own an LC-A myself. bought most out of curiosity. it's fun to use for more art-like photos with no respect for composition or other things technical. the bad image quality is art for some people, and the LC-A randomly produce stunning results with a strange feel in them.

but for serious photography, my m6ttl is king 🙂

 

[principe azul]

No people shots yet - they're all on some b/w rolls which are now 67th and 68th in the queue for developing. 🙁

Anyhow, I found a roll of year-old NPZ 800 in my bag, and thought I'd rush through it in ten minutes to check my new cam for focus. There's absolutely no artistic merit in these snaps, but they might give a flavour of the event for people who weren't there.