Renee Newman on Pushing her Creativity with the Fisheye Baby

Fashion and advertisement photographer Renee Newman gravitates towards wide-angle experimental shots in her work. When she learned of the Fisheye Baby and its 170° wide-angle lens, she knew she had to try it out. Never having shot 110 film before that, Renee excitingly dove into the wonders of the unfamiliar format, and found a love for it.

She's here to share with us her favorite Fisheye Baby photos on B&W Orca 100, Lobster Redscale 200, and LomoChrome Purple.

Hi Renee! Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hello! I'm Renee Newman, I'm about to be 25 years old and I'm (mostly) a Rhode Island based photographer! I like long walks on the beach and long drives to cute destination coffee shops.

How did you get into film photography?

While I did take analogue film photography and darkroom / print making classes in college, it wasn't until about two years ago I scored an Olympus Infinity Superzoom for a few dollars at a thrift store—battery and everything. I kind of just started taking it everywhere I went. Very rare to catch me without at least one film camera on me these days.

How would you describe your photography style?

Words I personally would use are loud, crunchy (but sometimes smooth), cinematic, graphic, real. I want viewers to be able to hear my photos, what the environment sounded like and the vibrations they might have felt in their body at that given moment.

What made you decide to get the Fisheye Baby Camera? Have you shot 110 film before that?

The Fisheye Baby Camera caught my eye mainly for the fisheye point-and-shoot aspect. In my digital setup I'm utterly devoted to my 14 mm and always have my eye out for wider angle point-and-shoot setups. It was in fact my first 110 experience!

You also used a variety of Lomography film stocks. Which film stood out as a nice partner to the Fisheye Baby?

The B&W Orca so far has been my favorite from the get! With the Lobster Redscale a close second.

Do you have a favorite shot from this collection?

I'll give the shot of my good friend Sarah in the bathtub on black and white, at the higher angle my #1 spot out of this collection. Of course it was one of the first shots of the setup that night on the Fisheye Baby (I believe I shot four cameras total this night), before the makeup all rubbed off. This night was actually incredibly impromptu. We often get together to have work nights as we are both working artists, but this time I asked if I could bring over some lights and cameras and just let instincts take over. I love everything about the shot, while almost entirely candid her gaze always gets me. I'm always incredibly happy with the work we produce together, and I was just that much more excited to introduce the fisheye baby into one of our works.

What would you say to anyone looking to try 110 format?

Absolutely do it! Especially if you're already shooting film, I'd even say it's less intimidating than getting started with 35 mm.

Are there any other photographic experiments you hope to explore?

I did touch on this a little in this collection but I want to continue taking film in studio with studio lighting to higher levels. Live music on film is also something I'm constantly experimenting with to see what kinds of outcomes I can create.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with the community?

Simply try it! Try it all, anything you can think of, the experience of the journey and the experiment is so fulfilling.

Thanks Renee for sharing with us. Find more of her work on Instagram, Twitter, and her website.

written by kaylalew on 2023-05-13 #gear #110 #110-format #fisheye-baby #lobster-redscale #bw-orca