Community Spotlight: @rockisdead and @jbasco

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 @rockisdead and @jbasco and their unique way of seeing the world. Rock & Roll Baby!

Name: Marcello
Location: Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy
LomoHome: @rockisdead

Hi, Marcelo! Welcome to our Community Spotlight column. What do you do and what got you started with photography?

Hi everyone and thanks for having me. I am Marcello, I’m 29 years old and I’m an illustrator and graphic designer. Basically what got me into photography is just the curiosity about using a new artistic medium beyond paper and pencils, and the fact that my father’s Zenit 122 camera was sitting on a shelf watching me. :)

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

I discovered Lomography totally in a random way, I was looking for information's about a 126 cartridge I used on Instamatic camera, and then all of a sudden some pictures from somebody who used the same film stock popped up, then I clicked on the link and now I’m here talking about Lomography, on Lomography! What made me really join the Community is the creativity behind it, the fact that every single user has his own vision and no rules restrain that vision on this platform, and I think that is amazing.

As I said, I enjoy every photographer, but if I have to choose some names I’d say: @duffman, @pierlu_rmr, @frenchyfyl, @flaviaslick, @ncarl, and many more!

We really enjoyed your work with music, musicians, concerts, and the whole world that surrounds it. What do you usually look for in a scene before you hit the shutter?

It changes from time to time. Sometimes I click fast, following the feeling of the moment and not thinking about it too much, instead of when I have more time I like to think about my picture, about colors and about composition. I like music and I play music, so it’s an important part of my life and every time when I can I bring my camera to shoot some memories in the rehearsal room or at live gigs.

What inspires you in analogue photography and music? Why shoot film?

What inspires me in analogue photography, in music, in my work, and in every creative aspect of my life, are movies, records, experiences, people in general. I mean, I think that everyone who in every form makes art is inspired by the creations of others, I’m no different in this way, I’m always searching for inspiration in every form, and when I find the inspiration I study other artist’s work to learn and transform what I’ve learned in my vision.

I shoot film just because of the calm that I found in the process, the time to think about your picture, and the feeling of waiting to develop your roll and find pictures you forget, as a surprise after days, sometimes even months. It brings me back to my youth times when digital was a thing for few people, the world seemed fine, and the time passed slowly.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

As I said, from everything. People, experiences, movies, art, records, videogames, literally everything.

What's coming up for you in the future?

I hope better times than the last years, cheap film, a lot of photographs, and happiness for everybody! :) Thanks.

Name: Josh Basco
Location: St. Louis, MO, USA (for now?)
LomoHome: @jbasco

Hi, Josh! Welcome to our Community Spotlight column What do you do and what got you started with photography?

Hi! I currently do freelance photography and video editing. I also offer (in a limited capacity) affordable developing and scanning, with the goal of keeping analogue photography accessible to those who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford commercial lab rates.

My dad's been a pro photographer my entire life, so I was bound to at least give it a shot. Honestly, after having to sit still for "just one more picture" so many times, I was sure I'd be turned off of photography forever. Towards the end of high school, he bought me a Canon Powershot G12, which started my interest in photography. A few years into college, I took my first 35mm class, using only a Nikon F3 and Kodak Tri-X. That’s when I really started taking photography seriously. Only a year after that, I bought myself my first SLR, a used Canon Elan 7E.

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

When I was looking into buying my first SLR, I also started looking at color film and how much it would cost me. The cheapest option I found was Lomography Color Negative 100. Right away, I loved the look of the examples I saw. When I found this site through film shopping, the creativity of everyone’s work here just instantly blew me away. I actually joined here several months before I even made an Instagram. I still consistently find new favorite photographers more often through the community here and the Lomography Magazine.

There are too many to list, but just off the top of my head, I love just about everything from @agrimony @akula @amelia37blue @charliedontsurf @hodachrome @montagu @lufeparo, and of course @wil6ka .

We really enjoyed your work with music, musicians, concerts and the whole world that surrounds it. What do you usually look for in a scene before you hit the shutter?

Thanks! I just look for where the next photo-worthy moment's most likely to happen and set my camera for it. Sometimes I have to wait a while with my eye near the viewfinder, and sometimes I have to quickly pull my camera up. But usually, all that's left for me to do is compose the image, and maybe double-check focus ("f/8 and be there", anyone?)

Whether it's a physical feature of the place I'm at that's likely to influence a good photo moment or certain people that tend to make for good moments, there are always clues that give away what to keep an eye on. Once it all inevitably comes together I hit the shutter.

What inspires you in analogue photography and music? Why shoot film?

Although I get most of my work shooting live concert stuff, I actually prefer shooting the lesser-seen parts of the music world: green room and backstage hangs, studio time, tour life, or just artists enjoying their free time in general. I started making the switch to film less than a year into shooting concerts. I started taking an analogue camera (an Ansco 1065 with a Sunpak Auto 140) to show with me just for fun.

Right away I enjoyed how freeing it was to shoot without worrying about seeing how the image came out. After seeing the results, I started taking that camera with me every night. Then I started fully embracing the front flash look (which I could never stand on digital), and a year or two after that, I practically quit digital altogether. The big 2 reasons for me were: 1) I got tired of shooting 1000-2000 pictures in one night, editing those down to maybe 100-200 decent pictures, and then editing those down to maybe 25-75 pictures I'd actually post online. 2) Film doesn't demand perfection to make an aesthetically pleasing image the same way digital does… not as long as there's soul or intention behind the image.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

My biggest inspiration for sure would be Arthur Fellig, better known as "Weegee." Obviously, his impossibly good timing and captivating subject matter are a big part of why I love his work, but more than that, I love how all his work has a very human element to it; both in front of and behind the lens. That's what I've started trying to prioritize in my work, soul over technical quality.

What's coming up for you in the future?

Last fall I got to hop on a tour in Alaska for two and a half weeks, and I just loved the place and all the people there. Before even returning home, I got offered some more manual labor type work (but with people I know are chill.) So I'm excited to go back there for a good several months, during which I'll have a chance to separate "photography" from "work," and be able to focus on doing photography only for me. No deadlines for a while.

Also, coming up for me is my grand return to shooting primarily black and white film. For the past few years, the cheapest film I've been able to find was Kodak Vision2 and Vision3, which led to me shooting color film semi-exclusively. However, right as ECN-2 has become increasingly popular as of late, I managed to get a hold of 2000' of Svema KN-1 and KN-3 (expired 1984) for pretty cheap. Turns out, it is in much better shape than I expected. Looking forward to returning to my black and white roots! Thanks!

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

eparrino tarafından, 2022-01-20 tarihinde ve #kültür #insanlar #community-members #community-spotlight başlığında yazıldı.