Lomography Partners: Film Coffee HK, Hong Kong

Come one, come all. Lomography has partners all over the world to help serve your analogue needs. If you're in Hong Kong then it's your lucky day! We're speaking to Brian of Film Coffee HK in today's instalment of Lomography Partners.

Hi! Can you introduce yourself to the Lomography community? Please tell us about yourself and what you do.

We are Brian, Matthew, Hugo and Tea. Four who are fond of photography and coffee. We all have our respective full time jobs but always spend more time living at Film Coffee HK. To me, Film Coffee HK is just like a “Bar” in the HK photography community, and I am literally the bartender.

How did it all start?

In a random conversation, we found the common ground between photography and coffee. Using different raw materials (film rolls/ coffee beans), through machines (cameras/ coffee materials) and manual techniques, to produce unique art pieces. As long as any step is slightly changed, the final work will be different.

To connect film and coffee, we provide a service where customers can retrieve the developed film negatives after tasting a cup of coffee. We believed that is a great experience.

Do you have a favorite Lomography product?

I like the Petzval lens most. The rotating bokeh it presents makes everything dreamy, and with the special effect film, every moment in the viewfinder is sublimated.

Who inspires you?

In terms of photography, the person who inspires me is Vincent Yu, a local photographer who can always catch the perfect moment. He uses film to record local historical events and meaningful street scenes. I admire his work very much.

In terms of opening a store, I think our partners inspire each other. Every time someone has a new idea, even though the idea may be unconstrained, we are still willing to express it. This allows us to think out of the box and improve

What’s your favorite part of your job?

I enjoy seeing photographers who don't know each other talking together in my shop. I also like to chat with different customers. The stories they share can always inspire me and give me motivation to shoot my next roll of film.

What’s the most difficult part of it?

During this period of time, maintaining business has actually been the hardest part. Due to the increasing price of film, there are fewer and fewer film users. Furthermore, it is more difficult to find sources for purchasing film than before. (Thanks again to Lomography for its unremitting efforts to provide a stable supply of films to various local stores.)

Do you have any future plans for the store or projects you’re working on that you can tell us about?

Our always-on-top plan is to let more people know us. We always hold different interesting activities, such as photo exhibitions, acoustic music concerts, developing workshops, etc. Our final goal is to strengthen the connection between photographers, and provide a platform for them to communicate more. Hopefully everybody will love this “Bar”.

Key Information

To keep up to date with everything from Film Coffee HK follow them on their Instagram page.

Want to see your favorite store featured in our magazine? Please send us an email at wholesaleinquiries@lomography.com and we will check them out!

written by alexgray on 2023-09-03 #partners #gear #hong-kong #hk #lomography-partners