Category Archives: Lomography

Lomography Super Sampler Camera

I got me new camera (cue the groans from my readership). But wait this one is really cool (more groans). It is a Lomography SuperSampler multi-lens camera. It has four lens and is spring powered. You set the spring by pulling on a ripcord. When you hit the shutter button it opens each of the four shutters over a two second period. That is it for controls. There are no exposure, focus, or anything other buttons, not even a viewfinder. Just my kind of camera.

So I’ve only had one roll of film developed and I’m liking the results so far.

This is cheating. You can’t take a bad flag shot can you?

My mil’s dog Fiona was not too impressed when she found out she couldn’t eat it.

Speaking of mothers-in-law here is mine times four. She is a very long suffering woman. At least as far as what she puts up with from me. But I’m worth it…. Hey throw me a bone somebody.. Oh, somebody cut me some slack!

Also speaking of long sufferring here is Sweetie. One advantage of multi-lens cameras is that all is not ruined by a little thumb in the shot.

And SuperPizzaBoy. I have to treat he and Sweetie a little better. They are going to be picking out my nursing home.

So far I like it. The pics are interesting but the best part is pulling the camera out of my pocket and pulling the ripcord before taking the shot. I get a few looks.

Flowery Hands Wednesday

From a double exposure with my La Sardina 35mm Lomography film camera. I hid the sun with my hand on a bright clear day and snapped the shutter. I then took a picture of my wife’s knockout roses without advancing the film and voila! rosy hands. It worked out better than I thought it would. Poor man’s texturizing maybe?

Wordless Wednesday – Double Exposure

Wordless Wednesday

Our World – Tulips

Early in April the Tulips were coming up in Tulsa’s Woodward Park. I took along my Lomography Diana Mini toy camera, a simple film camera.

The tulips were beautiful as you can see. I loved the deep rich color.

They were everywhwere.

Above and below I did a little experimenting with double exposures. The poor man’s photoshop.

It is certainly not an improvement on nature but I like the tulip ghosty images.

Our World Tuesday

Weekend Reflections – Split Frame

One of my film cameras has the ability to put two small images on the same 35 mm frame. You shoot one image, wind the film a half frame and shoot the other. It drives the guys at Walgreen’s nuts. This frame shows two buildings set against a gloomy sky that are somehow reflecting blue skies.

Weekend Reflections

Minolta Zoom 110 SLR – My “New” Camera

Way back in 1977 when I graduated from college I bought this camera. It is a single lens reflex camera that uses the once popular 110 cartridge film: a Minolta 110 Zoom. I used it for a few years and moved onto other cameras. I always did like its funky shape and its “feel.” I’m a sensory guy and things have to feel right or I don’t like them. The Minolta had a nice heft to it and the sounds it made when you hit the button to take the shot or pushed the lever to advance the film felt just right. I was never very happy with the photos though. They seemed a little grainy and not very sharp.

Well 110 cartridges have become available again thanks to Lomography dot com so I ordered a couple cartridges and loaded them up and over the last couple of months took a few pictures (Cuz, yall are very nice but I’m not a photographer so I don’t capture images, I’m a picture taker so I take pictures.)

I took the pictures and then waited a month or two before I sent the cartridges off to get processed. Some things never change do they. Well I got the photographs back and I am really happy with them.

The photos are sharper than what I remember and the colors much more vivid. It seems they used to be kind of washed out. So I don’t know if it is the film quality now compared to 35 years ago or maybe my dementia as kicked in the last month or so because of the Girl Scout Cookies I’m eating, or just what.

The camera doesn’t have auto much of anything. You set the f stop and it figures out the shutter speed is about all. You have to focus yourself. Above is a slightly out of focus shot. I still like it but it isn’t very sharp.

(World’s Tallest Totem Pole, Foyill, Oklahoma)

Gotta love Orpha’s. Downtown Tulsa’s last dive bar.

Overall digital beats analog hands down. It’s faster and cheaper and you can tell right then and there what your shot looks like.

Analog, you still have to buy the film and then get it processed. It is pretty expensive.

But I love the look and feel of analog. The various apps and filters available for digital images are amazing but they are not the same thing.

This is SOOC but I’m still a major cheater on this photo.

I think analog will always be a part of my picture taking.

(My son about to be swallowed whole by a blue whale!)

Do you still use your old film cameras?

Weekend Reflections – Glass

Weekend Reflections

Signs, Signs, – The Vault

The Vault is a new restaurant in downtown Tulsa that opened up in a re-purposed motor bank. It has a mid Century Modern theme. I don’t know if the food is any good but I love their sign.

Signs, Signs

New Camera for a New Year – Lomography La Sardina Marathon

Well here we are another New Year. I don’t know what has happened but it seems like we fast forwarded from 1986 or so to now awful danged fast. So lets make the most of the time we have and have a Great New Year.

The world’s greatest MIL, Nana gave me another Lomography camera, the La Sardina. I think there are over 50 models of this camera. (Lomography is a fancy name for capturing images with “toy” film cameras.) The basic difference besides metal or plastic is the design. Mine is the “Marathon” that is decorated like a sardine can. There is one model that is just white plastic, the “DIY” and the intention is that you decorate yourself with Sharpie pens for those of us who just have to be us, and are gifted artistically which is so not me.

Lomography is just one of those things that one either “gets” or you don’t. The photographs are not anywhere near the quality of the most inexpensive digital cameras. You pay money for the film and then you pay more money to develop the film, and to top it off I don’t even get prints, the lab puts the images on a cd. Also, there is no view finder so you can’t see what you got until it is developed, there is no zoom, very little if any in the way of exposure or focus settings. It is also very east to forget to take the lens cap off. It doesn’t make any sense at all,I fully admit.

I love the pictures that they take. I can’t explain it and I’m not going to justify it.

Every shot counts and if you put too much foreground in, that’s too bad! I know that digital photographs are so much more superior.

I love playing around with the Camera. Most Lomography cameras make it very easy to make double exposures. Above is son, SuperPizzaBoy walking one of our dogs.

So anyways, I’m liking my new camera. We haven’t had decent weather to do much with it.

Lomography has their “Ten Golden Rules“, as follows. They work. The best Lomo photos are the ones that are up close and spontaneous.

Take your camera everywhere you go
Use it any time – day or night
Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it
Try the shot from the hip
Approach the objects of your lomographic desire as close as possible
Don’t think (by William Firebrace)
Be Fast
You don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film
Afterwards either
Don’t worry about any rules

Anyway, I hope that everybody has a great 2013. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy visiting everybody’s blogs and the visits made to mine. We certainly occupy a the great side of the internet. Thanks Al Gore!

I put many of my Lomo photos on my tumblr blog (along with digital photos). It is just pure images, no blah blah blah but you’ll see some of the same images. Check it out if you have time.

Skywatch Friday – Crossed Signals

I’m always amazed at not just our skies overhead but how much wires, cables, signs, signals and other stuff we have overhead all over the place. As a pipeline engineer I can tell you that there are probably just as many wires and cables as well as pipelines carrying natural gas, fresh water, sewage, storm-water under our feet.

On one level it is all just visual pollution, on another it gives me a feeling of the net of connectiveness between all of us on this planet. If I had your phone number I could probably call you right now as you are reading this.

Would you pick up?

Skywatch Friday