Lomography... ???

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Right guys, can someone simply explain Lomography? Results look kind of cool but with so many different Lomo camera's I'm struggling to differentiate them. Examples would be great.
 
I think lomography is based around the idea that you shouldn't really think too much about taking photos and just snap snap away at all sorts of things at crazy angles using funny looking cameras that are cheaply made. The Holga is a perfect example, but my advice is don't bother buying one of the CFNs as they are quite often overpriced and have terrible light leaks, cannot focus, meter etc. BUT people say that is the fun of it. It was my first taste at medium format so i have it to thank for that, but it doesn't compare to a cheap Zeiss Ikon or something......
 
I thought is was about the exploitation and b*stardisation of cheap Russian toy cameras and trying to make them 'hip' so numpties would pay 4 or 5 times the going rate for a camera and crap quality film to go in them.

But if it gets people to move onto other aspects of film & photography, it can't be all bad I suppose.
 
the diana/diane camera is a cheaper alternative to the holga if you're looking that route

however i really have little interest in lomography as someone above has said it's more about being hip and cool and you'd probably get nicer results being careless with a decent rangefinder.
 
I love these cameras, I don't love the people buying them to be hip and cool, but I do love the philosophy that your camera doesn't matter!! it's your photographic skills, to be able to use one of these 'cheap' cameras and produce great results with is more worth it for a photographer (maybe not a photography equipment enthusiast), than any sharpness or amount of megapixels RAW vs jpeg yada yada yada..

[/rant over]

I just think a few weeks with one of these cameras 'rejuvenates' your creativity
 
Some clients recently sent me a Lomo as a thank you after their wedding, this thread reminded me I still have to use it - going to a barbeque today so I think I'll give it a go.
 
Lomography, derives from the cheap Soviet camera brand Lomo, plastic body, plastic lens, plastic quality control. The results from the camera can be vaguely interesting, strange colour casts, vignetting, distortion etc.

Ryank says "I do love the philosophy that your camera doesn't matter!! it's your photographic skills" and so do I but skill doesn't count for much when the camera is incapable of consistant results. It is possible to take a good and interesting photograph with a Lomo style camera but it's as much down to luck as anything else.
 
I got myself a Lomo LC-A for £45 off ebay last year looking forward to see some crap pictures. Now, most things I buy I have trouble with. If it's not DOA or something missing, then it will die under warranty or more usually just outside. So it was no great surprise to me when after putting the first film through this Lomo I immediately saw that there was something wrong with the camera. The pictures were absolutely perfect. No focusing problem, no strange colour casts. As good as any 35mm camera I've ever had, and a couple of people with 'The Knowledge' agreed. Boy was I a bit upset. £45 down the drain. At least the film counter failed to work, which was a small compensation. I'll never be able to sell it with a truthfull description.
 
MisterE said:
The pictures were absolutely perfect. No focusing problem, no strange colour casts. As good as any 35mm camera I've ever had, and a couple of people with 'The Knowledge' agreed.
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Did you have a go at getting the film cross processed?
 
Hawker said:
Did you have a go at getting the film cross processed?
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Sorry, don't understand what you are saying here. I had to get the film developed in order to see that there was nothing 'wrong' with the pictures. I cannot subsequently get the already developed film cross-processed.

But I think you may be talking about getting further films cross processed? I don't see the point as you can do it with any camera's film. The whole idea of the Lomo is to produce straight from the camera.
 
Quick links, about cross procesing, in it's most basic terms it processing the film in chemical usually used for a differnt process.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_processing

http://www.squarefrog.co.uk/holga-techniques-xpro.html

MisterE said:
Sorry, don't understand what you are saying here. I had to get the film developed in order to see that there was nothing 'wrong' with the pictures. I cannot subsequently get the already developed film cross-processed.

But I think you may be talking about getting further films cross processed? I don't see the point as you can do it with any camera's film. The whole idea of the Lomo is to produce straight from the camera.
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Yes I was talking about getting the next set of film cross procesed, I thought you might have got some done that way. I think possibly you might be expecting too much from the film afterall it's still just film being exposed through a cheap lens. I think a lot of the big coulour cast changes you are expecting are due to cross processing. And yes you can do to any film, but then again few cameras take 120 film (that I'd use to cross process anyway).
 
Hawker said:
Yes I was talking about getting the next set of film cross procesed, I thought you might have got some done that way. I think possibly you might be expecting too much from the film afterall it's still just film being exposed through a cheap lens. I think a lot of the big coulour cast changes you are expecting are due to cross processing. And yes you can do to any film, but then again few cameras take 120 film (that I'd use to cross process anyway).
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I've only put the one film through it. Ever since I've resumed occasional film shooting about 3 years ago I have found it incredibly difficult and time consuming to complete a film compared to digital. In order to finish it I ended shooting all sorts of rubbish. Literally. I actually took a couple of my wheelie bins. I put another roll in a couple of weeks ago and I may be half way through it or more (no film counter). The Lomo LC-A takes 35mm.
 
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