Lomography Response

As photography student I often find myself looking up to those who have made successful careers out of their talent in the medium. I believe that there is no better way to be inspired and no better place to look for a model, but I think that I sometimes place well-established photographers too high above myself. It is all too easy to think about the price of one of their prints and become intimidated and in this case, the value of their cameras and various pieces of equipment. Earlier in the semester Meg introduced us a Peter Adams quote that I try to always keep in mind, "Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gismos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn't make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel."

Over fall break I was at the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis and I purchased a Lomo book. Since then I've been flipping through the book and constantly looking at the website with the above quote in mind. All through photography classes I have (for the most part) been told to crop out the light spots from unexpected, and unidentifiable sources, crop out random limbs or objects that are sneaking in from the borders of the image, and make a final print with the appropriate and perfect contrast, composition, etc. I have enjoyed the encouragement to be even more spontaneous with my camera and accept flaws and the unexpected as a supplement to the image.

The Lomo company makes these cameras that are relatively cheap and fairly durable considering the price. It is an incredible way to promote photography. When I think about Adams, Frank, Nixon, Leibovitz, and all of the other widely known names in photography, I sometimes sadly dismiss my aspirations to be like them because I don't have and can't afford the tools that they have. Lomo seems to do everything possible to push photography on us, which is a great thing. They essentially encourage the breaking of traditional photographic rules and just set our own trends. The Bowdoin Art Department needs to invest in a variety of these cameras.