Community Spotlight: Adam Abdullah (@ad4m_92) and Tobias (@kralle)

Being one of the largest analogue photography communities on the web, we are proud of the creativity and diversity of our members. For this month's Community Spotlight, we are pleased to introduce to you Lomographers Adam Abdullah @ad4m_92 and Tobias @kralle and their unique way of seeing the world.

Name: Adam Abdullah
LomoHome: @ad4m_92
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Hi, Adam! What do you do and what got you started with photography?

I work as an assistant contractor in a small maintenance company. My father's old Minolta camera and my passion for traveling got me started with photography.

How did you discover Lomography and what made you join our analogue Community? Who are your favorite photographers here?

Actually, I discover Lomography unintendedly while I was googling for an online platform to keep my photos and I was surprised to find a film photographer from all around the globe in one place. I don't have any favorite photographer here but I like all the Lomographer here because everyone has their own uniqueness and interesting style of photography.

What is your favorite subject to photograph? What do you usually look for in a scene before you hit the shutter?

My favorite subject to photograph usually nature, landscape, architectural structure and sometimes animals. Something that catches my eyes and curiosity. I choose film because I like the vintage looks on the film and the nostalgic feeling about it.

In this day and age, why choose film?

Film photography is like a dying culture and it would be a shame if future generation knows nothing about it and I am grateful to experience it while I can.

What does a perfect day look like for you?

A perfect day for me is the day when the sun shines bright in a foreign land to me and I have nothing to do except taking photographs with my Minolta.

Name: Tobias
LomoHome: @kralle
Location: Reutlinger/Germany

Hi, Tobias! What do you do and what got you started with photography?

Most of the day I‘m an electronics engineer, designing and programming machine control systems, I‘m based in Reutlingen, south Germany. After 10-12 hours in front of a computer display, my eyes need to look further. No need for another display on the back of my camera. Analog photography works better for me than digital. I also want to see the real world sometimes. :-)

I also do camping, trekking, and bushcrafting in my free and analogue times!

My first contact with photography was with an age of about 10 years. In the summer holidays, my father taught me how to use his Praktica MTL. Back at home, I found an old box camera which uses 120 film. The result wasn‘t what I was expecting – light leaks, camera shake, extreme under and overexposure. I can‘t see the beauty of this imperfection at this time. Also had not enough money to afford film & development. After that reverse there where many years of mobile phone and digital compact camera snapping.
Analogue photography got me back when I received an Instax camera for my birthday, three years ago. I have no school education or such in photography. I‘m an amateur, turning the dials and pushing the buttons. It‘s fun. :-D

How did you discover Lomography and what made you join our analogue Community? Who are your favorite photographers here?

I was searching for a better instant camera with more control options and I found the Lomo Instant Series. On YouTube, I watched the documentary/movie about Lomography and thought it is a nice idea. A short time later I started uploading my first picture on my brand new lomohome. For my surprise, there where people linking it.
With no knowledge about film photography in general, I was searching for information and inspiration – and yes I found it – really well.

A great photographer and the first person I was texting with on Lomography was @klawe. He was very kind, answered a lot of my questions and also encouraged me to try a 35 mm camera, besides instant film. I blame him, that I have about 50 cameras in my display case (most 35 mm SLRs) and a separate fridge only for film — today, 2 years later... :-D
There are many creative and experienced Lomographers I use to check out for new pictures here. @blondin has a special style and her way to use light and shadows inspires me.

What makes you stay with film photography in this day and age? What's your favorite subject to shoot?

The process of creating pictures with analogue film is so romantic and satisfying — I don‘t know why I should stop! There are still many Lomography cameras and old cams which I want to try and use. Films are coming back from the death, new cameras are released, the interesting and alternative film is easy to get (my next project: check out my first LomoChrome Purple 100-400 2019). What a time to start with film shooting!

Nature and everything that is interesting — in my view. That‘s what I shoot. I‘m still very surprised about the many likes and comments which my „tree pictures“ are getting. Thank you very much for watching them, every one! I can‘t pass a huge and harsh looking oak, standing alone on wide field :-)

For you, what's the best part about being a Lomographer?

The very kind community. In the last 2 or 3 years, I haven‘t seen any “internet hate” or flaming on Lomography. I think the analogue photographers master it to continue scrolling if they do not like something. Or there is constructive criticism, that's even better. People take the time to be kind. Like they take the time to process their pictures in a classic way. There are not many internet communities around where that applies.

One cool dude here saw that I bought a Rollei 110 camera on eBay and sent me some film for it. Just like that — once through Europe. And he didn't want any reward. Sure, I also send him some rolls of film back!

Another nice story. I was in Croatia for holidays and used an “underwater” disposable camera...but it wasn‘t close and ran full of saltwater. No lab was willing to process it for me and sent it back. I have not processed film by myself yet. In the community, I found a nice guy who wanted to accept the challenge. I sent the salty film, after 3 weeks in this water, to Berlin. The saltwater was absolutely moldy, horribly stank and he almost had to puke, when he opened the cartridge in his darkroom :-D The pictures look very lo-fi, spacy-interesting… He was very happy, that there was anything visible on the pictures. And he had a reason to get a new set of C41 chemistry after that. :)

One thing I like to do more often is film swap. Only got to do that once, though. Very interesting results!

What is your favorite Lomography camera and film and why?

There is no camera who can take every Lomo need :-) That's one part of the fun. You pick the camera which will work best for the situation – and your mood. Shooting an instant film on parties and events is really fun. But most of the time you go home with no pictures in your pocket, that has to be considered ;-) Lately I used the Lomo Fisheye cameras and it did the job very well. Always funny moments when shooting, easy to use and unexpected, crazy results. Everyone wants to take pictures with it and – especially – want to wind the film :-D

“Your smartphone is missing this feature?”

My most used camera is a Nikon F-601 SLR from 1990, which I can use from full auto to full manual. Depending on my mood.

The Lomo Color Negative 400 is one of my favorite films ever used. I love the saturation and color rendition. It‘s also forgiving and versatile - perfect.

The Lomo LC-A 120 is definitely on my wishlist!

Stay tuned for our monthly Community Spotlight to discover the work of some of the most talented Lomographers!

escrito por cheeo el 2019-07-28 #cultura #gente #kralle #community-spotlight #ad4m_92