How I Met Lomography

10

I first met Lomography in a Specsavers magazine while waiting for an eye test. This would just a fleeting meeting. I was entranced by the colours and amazing shots where you didn’t necessarily even need to look through the view finder but you definitely had to use film! I put the magazine back, got a new prescription for my glasses and, sadly, swiftly forgot about lomography.

I can not remember when this was, but I presume I carried on to use digital point and shoot and my mobile phone to get my family pics and to take pictures of things while out and about. I had moved away from film after getting several blank rolls and getting rolls stuck in my dad’s old Olympus OM2 that I “inherited” (read: my mum stole) after my parents’ divorce, and as a student I couldn’t really afford film development anymore. The Olympus went away and I relied on lack lustre digital to capture my beautiful children until….

My 23rd birthday! My wife had got me a Holga 120CFN! She had hyped up what I was getting for quite a while, and I find out now that it had taken her quite a lot of deliberation over which lomography camera to get – a Diana, a Fisheye or a Holga. She choose the Holga and I’m so glad she did, though at first I was a little bemused by this ugly square piece of plastic crap! The pictures in the book more than won me over.

To say that I was obsessed, would probably be putting it lightly! I lost many of a night of sleep researching films, cameras, techniques and I guess really just admiring other peoples’ pictures. This coincided with two major things in my life though. My two year old twins were absolutely miserable at the nursery that they were at and I was miserable in my job at a call center and was facing the sack. I was in a job I hated to pay for daycare, that the children hated! I talked things through with my wife, took some sick leave, looked things through further, bought LOTS of film, a fair few cameras and finally quit my job to become a stay a home dad and part time lomographer.

I can honestly say without this site and without my Holga I would either be unemployed, stuck in another dead end job or still in the same job being miserable! What would have happened to my twins at the nursery, I’m not sure, but now I have lots of (analogue!) pictures of my children who I get to spend every day with and I’d like to think we are all a lot happy for it!

Credits: nicolas_noir
Credits: nicolas_noir
Credits: nicolas_noir
Credits: nicolas_noir

written by nicolas_noir on 2010-12-01

10 Comments

  1. vicuna
    vicuna ·

    Great story and lovely children!! :))

  2. amyrose
    amyrose ·

    beautiful story!!!!!!!!!

  3. erinwoodgatesphotography
    erinwoodgatesphotography ·

    very cute!

  4. natalieerachel
    natalieerachel ·

    Aww lovely pictures!

  5. squamy
    squamy ·

    Lovely story! Cute kids!

  6. eatcpcks
    eatcpcks ·

    nice story man:) Better than the facebook event:)

  7. stadtpiratin
    stadtpiratin ·

    that's a beautiful story!! :)

  8. antibiotyx
    antibiotyx ·

    those photos are priceless!!! being a full-time dad is a noble, admirable profession. thanks for sharing this story!

  9. easilydistracted
    easilydistracted ·

    wonderful story, my holga completely changed my life too :)

  10. lereile
    lereile ·

    :')