366 Days in an Instant: An Interview With Wes Hodge

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Between commercial work, shooting weddings, and hitting the waves, Honolulu-based photographer Wes Hodge works on his #instax366project, creating and sharing one (and only one) instant photo per day. We had the chance to chat with him about the trials of perfectionism and his first impression of the Lomo’Instant Wide!

With his Lomo'Instant Wide and the Fuji Instax 300, Wes Hodge uses this project to “learn to see light, be creative with limitations, and, as a perfectionist, learn how to be okay with flaws.”

Left to right: (1) Lomo’Instant Wide; (2) Lomo’Instant Wide; (3) Lomo’Instant Wide; (4) Lomo’Instant Wide; (5) Fuji Instax 300; (6) Fuji Instax 300. Photos by Wes Hodge

Tell us about yourself and your practice.

My name is Wes Hodge and I’m a freelance photographer and social media specialist based in Honolulu, Hawaii. Originally, I’m from a small town in South Alabama. I was an avid surfer, which sparked a move to Hawaii a little over 6 years ago to get immersed in surf culture (though I rarely surf these days). I’ve been a photographer for nearly 10 years now and a full-time freelancer for one year. For work, I mostly shoot digital for commercial and corporate, and I’m occasionally a second shooter for weddings. But for fun, I primarily shoot film for portraits, daily life, and documentary.

Lomo’Instant Wide. Photos by Wes Hodge

What’s your photographic philosophy?

Photography serves three very important purposes in my life. First of all, it serves as a therapeutic approach to my slight fear of people and connection. I’m very much an introvert with a hint of social anxiety, and so for me, photography is an ice breaker. It’s something I’m very confident to discuss and share with people, and making photos of people is a major connection for me, like a bridge. Secondly, as someone fond of learning about history, I have a huge desire to preserve the visual history of my place and time, hence film. I’m very much inspired by several of the great photographers who I think did and do this very well, whether they were meaning to or not: Steve McCurry, Vivian Maier, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, to name a few of my favorites. Lastly, as I’ve started getting older, I’ve realized that I don’t have the greatest memory in the world, and because there are people and places that have played important roles in my life, documenting my life has become incredibly dear to me.

Left to right: (1) Fuji Instax 300; (2) Lomo’Instant Wide. Photos by Wes Hodge

What kind of inspiration is Honolulu?

Although Honolulu (Hawaii in general) is one of the most beautiful places in the world, what interests me the most is the wide spectrum of diversity and culture here. It’s really easy to walk out your front door and shoot the natural beauty that exists here, but there is so much more to Hawaii than what’s seen on a post card. Hawaii is full of life and color and by that, I mean its people. From the many different ethnic cultures to all of the unique subcultures, it’s a busy place where something is always happening. Art, fashion, and innovation is also a deep root of modern Hawaii, so a lot of inspiration is being pulled from that. However, my goal is to show that there is real life happening here, not just the fantasy in every vacationer’s dream.

What is your #instax366project all about?

The concept is to take one Instax photo per day and upload it to Instagram for 366 days. Normally, people do a 365 project, but this year is a leap year, so I get an extra day. The purpose of this project is to learn to see light, be creative with limitations, and, as a perfectionist, learn how to be okay with flaws.

Fuji Instax Wide 300. Photos by Wes Hodge

Before the beginning of 2016, I was mulling over what I could do for a 366 Project. The idea initially started out with shooting a full 24 exposure roll of 35mm film every day for a year with the purpose to grow in my composition skills and my ability to see and read light. Obviously, that was a little extreme. So, while planning the project and thinking about what would be feasible, I happened to see an episode on the Matt Day Photo YouTube Channel, where he announced that he would be doing an Instax Wide 365. I looked over at my Instax Wide 300 and the idea really resonated with me. It sounded like a much better idea than what I was coming up with and I would still get to shoot film. The results would be instant, which was what I was wanting to do all along. So, with that said, I can’t take full credit for my #instax366project. I borrowed the concept from photographer Matt Day, who is also shooting the Lomo’Instant Wide and influenced my purchase of the Lomo camera.

What’s your favourite #instax366project photo so far?

I think my favorite photo so far would have to be #24 of 366. It was the first photo that I used the Lomo’Instant Wide on. It’s a double exposure of my girlfriend and a tree.

Lomo’Instant Wide. Photo by Wes Hodge

I remember being super excited about getting the new camera and having the ability to have more control and creative options. So, the first thing I did was start playing with things that weren’t available on the Fuji camera and this is what popped out.

What’s your first impression of the Lomo'Instant Wide?

I was very excited to have the ability to turn the flash off and have the camera’s meter compensate with the shutter. That’s the #1 thing for me. That’s what won me over to begin with. Also, I love having the ability to have more control than what the Fuji camera provides and all of the accessory pieces really makes me think about what I could use to make each shot more creative. It’s a solidly built camera and aesthetically pleasing. It does garner attention because of its size, but I’m not trying to be stealthy with it anyway. I will say, though, that the viewfinder is in a very different place and, while it does the job, I’m still catching myself putting my eye up to the left side of the camera at first, forgetting that it’s on the right. However, I’ve grown to love that it’s unique like that.

What’s your favourite feature of the Lomo’Instant Wide?

Hands down, my favorite feature is having the ability to turn off the flash, but since I just said that, I’ll say that the multi-exposure function is my second favorite feature.
Also, having an external flash sync port on an Instax camera was a phenomenal idea and, though I haven’t had a chance to use it, I can’t wait to try it out.

Advice for first-time users?

First of all, be very glad that you have this camera because you have a lot more creative options to experiment with than with the Fuji. Secondly, it may be a bit more expensive but get the version that comes with the accessories because there’s a lot you can do with them. Lastly, give yourself a twin-pack of film to get used to the camera and experiment with all of its features because it will help you visualize your scenes better knowing what your camera is capable of.

Left to right: (1) Lomo’Instant Wide; (2) Lomo’Instant Wide; (3) Fuji Instax 300; (4) Fuji Instax 300; (5) Lomo’Instant Wide; (6) Lomo’Instant Wide. Photos by Wes Hodge

Tell us about your Instagram captions.

Oh man, my Instagram captions are all over the place. It bounces around, depending on the day and how I’m feeling. It can range anywhere from being sarcastic, introspective, thought-provoking, inspirational, emotional, snarky to even caption-less.

As a photographer, I often share what I do day-to-day as well as my interaction with film photography. I like to share my joy, the unique opportunities, the way something makes me feel and, sometimes, I just really want to inspire people to pick up their film cameras and experience the joy that I feel when I create something tangible. I try my best to make sure I share my process by tagging cameras, film stocks and editing techniques and I really just try to let people to know that I’m approachable on the topics of photography and that I’m an open book to anyone who wants to learn what I know.

Concerning the 366 project, a lot of my captions have to do with the struggle I have with perfectionism and doing a project with cameras that limit my control, especially at the start of this project as I was learning the quirks of each camera. With a 1-Instax-a-day limit, it was very frustrating and really hard to accept my mistakes. As time has gone on, I’ve gotten better at giving myself grace and my captions are starting to be more commentary.

Lomo’Instant Wide. Photos by Wes Hodge

Do you have new projects lined up?

At the moment, there are a handful of potential projects on my mind. Like next year, I’m thinking of doing an Instax Mini 365 Portrait project, where each day is a portrait of someone different that I meet on the street to help me get better at connecting with people and to really push myself out of my comfort zone. I’m also wanting to do a photo project on the word “Aloha” and what that means to different people, as well as a documentary series on the winter surf season of the North Shore of O’ahu, Hawaii.


A big thank you goes out to Wes Hodge for taking the time to chat with us about his #Instax366Project and his experience with the Lomo'Instant Wide! To follow Wes on his journey, head over to his Instagram account or check out his other works on his website.

written by azinteimoori on 2016-03-09 #people #lifestyle #instant #instax #showcase #lomoamigo #instax-wide #lomo-instant-wide #first-impressions #instax366project #366-project #lomo-instant-wide #instantshowcase

Mentioned Product

Lomo'Instant Wide

Lomo'Instant Wide

We're thrilled to introduce the Lomo'Instant Wide — the world's most creative instant wide camera and lens system! Combining high quality craftsmanship with versatile features, the Lomo’Instant Wide is the instant camera for any and every person who revels in capturing every beautiful, bizarre and bewildering moment in a creative, super wide, crisply sharp and perfectly exposed way.

3 Comments

  1. ivaylo
    ivaylo ·

    So cool!

  2. marsymallows
    marsymallows ·

    Love your composition! Love the still life photos too and the one with the doible exposure of your girl and the trees! :)

  3. kelvin_wx
    kelvin_wx ·

    amazing!

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