Lomography’s 10 Golden Rules Challenge (Part 2)

1

We’re back with part 2 of our 10 Golden Rules Challenge. We recently assigned some of our Lomographers the task to shoot a role of film inspired by one of our 10 Golden Rules and asked them to upload the results to their LomoHomes with the hashtag #goldenrulechallenge

Last time we took you through Rules 1-5. In this article we complete the list with five more intrepid Lomographers who agreed to take up the challenge, each of them armed with a roll of LomoChrome Metropolis 35 mm film.

Credits: amp_puttipong, zekiphone & hereiscloudland

Rule 6 – Don’t think

For this experiment Lomographer @FEIFAIN got creative with double exposures, light leaks and obscure angles. His results express a sense of unburdened freedom and playful originality. This mood is enhanced by his use of the La Sardina 35 mm camera, with its lightweight build and simple features that makes this rule easy to follow.

“Don’t think” really suits my creativity [. . .] It is indeed the way I usually take pictures. In this shooting project, I took every shot in an intuitive way. I was trying to turn the camera upside down, shooting with multiple exposures. Just shoot when you want to. This experience was very amazing.”
“I haven't used the La Sardina 35 mm film camera for a while. After using it this time, I think it's really convenient and interesting, and the results surprised me a lot, which makes me very happy.”

Rule 7 – Be Fast

“Sometimes I struggle with photography, but this rule helps me think less and keep shooting the way I like.”

Japanese Lomographer @ZEKIPHONE captures the energy of a fast-paced city in these intriguingly chaotic shots of Yokohama’s China Town. He told us how he headed out on this challenge with his trusty Lomo LC-A+ but without a firm idea of what he would photograph, instead trusting his instincts and knowing he would find interesting scenes in the crowded streets.

Credits: zekiphone
"First I had to figure out what “fast” means to me. One can define it as “capturing decisive moments” but this totally depends on luck. Trying to capture “decisive moments” makes me shoot whatever triggers my interest. Many of the photos do make me wonder what I was trying to do at the time. I honestly don't know what I was doing, but I hope you can see how I struggled to photograph those “decisive moments.”

Rule 8 – You don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film

“It's a rule that's made for fun. Which is very similar to my photography that focuses on fun first. I like to try new things. I like to find a strange camera to try. After reading the golden rules of Lomography, I immediately want to take my camera out of the house.”
Credits: amp_puttipong

@AMP_PUTTIPONG captures the sense of fun beautifully with these photos that present familiar scenes from an unfamiliar viewpoint, be it architecture or nature, and shows us how versatile a fisheye lens can be. He also told us how with this challenge he wanted to use his imagination and take photos from a strange perspective to distort his images.

“This camera (Fisheye No.2 35 mm) can take multiple exposures. It makes it more fun because I am a person who likes to take multiple exposures. During the shooting, there were many new ideas that popped up in my head all the time for me to try out.”
Credits: amp_puttipong
“It was my first time using a fisheye film camera. Many of the pictures surprised me. Because I didn't think it would come out like this, strangely good, some pictures came out as intended. Overall, I like this set.”

Rule 9 – Afterwards either

Recently it has not been easy for our community members in China to get out in the streets and take up this challenge. So instead we asked our China based Lomographers to delve into their personal archives and submit photos that capture the spirit of this particular rule. We’ve pooled some of our favorites for you here:

Clockwise from top left: © Wen Jing Hao, © Henera, © Lin Wanchuan, © Lin Wanchuan, © David Lee, © 9 Irls, © Lin Wanchuan, © Hudson 2333, © Lin Ding, © t-ab-t-ab-ta

Rule 10 – Don’t worry about any rules

For this final and most important rule we enlisted two talented Lomographers, @HEREISCLOUDLAND from South Korea and @WAGGRAD00 from the US. Both of them took the challenge as an opportunity to embrace randomness and the simple joys of photo making.

Here’s what @HEREISCLOUDLAND had to say about the experience:

"I don't take pictures to make art, but because I'm taking pictures, I'm sometimes called an artist. I wanted to make people understand that beautiful things I create are 'useless' - and that's why they are beautiful in this society where people are often dismissed as if they don't matter if they don't have meaning. I just take pictures of what I like, how I feel, like dancing and meditation. And the Golden Rule seems to say that all of this is 'perfectly imperfect. That's why you are amazing'. It's a rule, but it's not a rule."
“With my favorite friend and my favorite Lomo film (LomoChrome Metropolis), I went straight to the park. As for the concept, 'Let's have fun while running, rolling, and standing on the handstand, no matter how others see it!’”
Credits: hereiscloudland
“We just played and laughed and had fun for an hour. It was fun to feel the ground better while running on the concrete in socks instead of shoes. That me and her 'play' create a completely different world when they pass through light, lens, film, and my gaze. And knowing that that world would be a haven for me, I was overjoyed both during the filming process and seeing the results.”

Finally, Chicago based Lomographer @WAGGRAD00 aimed to get back to basics with this challenge and focus on capturing moments of beauty on an ordinary day. For this reason she decided to shoot the entire film during her walk to work one morning.

“Analogue photography is amazing; it is also very expensive. Sometimes. I have to be selective about what I shoot and how much I shoot because I need to be able to afford the film and the development.[. . .] But this Golden Rule really spoke to me. I wanted to just freely create and capture what spoke to me. I didn't want to be stingy with the number of frames I used. I didn't want to overthink each shot. I wanted to just have fun creating, something I have neglected for a really long time. This rule encouraged me to just freely put myself out there and to have fun!”
Credits: waggrad00

@WAGGRAD00 told us that the city of Chicago, combined with LomoChrome Metropolis, seemed a perfect match for each other. Looking at her pictures we couldn’t agree more.

“I LOVE this roll!! It's been a really long time since I shot an entire roll of film I love! I've shot the LomoChrome Metropolis film a handful of times in medium format and in 35 mm and I have had moderate success. I was totally convinced this film needed a lot of sunlight to be its best, but I was absolutely wrong. I shot this roll on an overcast/rainy day when there were a couple pockets of intermittent sun [ . . .] I am especially fond of the shots that have nice lines and people walking into the frame. I just love this roll so much!”

We would like to thank everyone who participated in this challenge. More of their wonderful photos can be found on their respective LomoHomes.

Which is your favorite Lomography Golden Rule? Share it in the comments below.

written by alexgray on 2022-05-27 #culture #people #taiwan #chicago #china #community #thailand #japan #fisheye #10-golden-rules #lomo-lc-a #fisheye-no2 #south-korea #la-sardina #film-photography-day #lomochrome-metropolis #10-golden-rules-challenge

LomoChrome Metropolis 35 mm ISO 100–400

This film comes with a unique chemical formula specifically developed in our Lomography film manufactory, which desaturates colors, mutes tones and makes contrasts pop.

One Comment

  1. waggrad00
    waggrad00 ·

    This is really awesome! Thank you so much for including me! 💛

More Interesting Articles