Anitra+Justin Engagement Portraits, part 2 – Lomo photos!

In anticipation of Anitra + Jusin’s Minneapolis wedding this weekend, I want to show off a couple more images. Justin is a cameraman himself, and he asked if I’d take a departure from my usual equipment to make some photos with a Holga camera.

For those uninitiated to a Holga, it’s essentially a toy camera that has gathered a following among a certain set of photographers both amateur and professional — those that enjoy unexpected results! Holgas are actual film cameras — “Wassat? Film?” –  known for their plastic elements and light leaks. To focus the lens is to choose a point somewhere between three settings: “one person,” “three people,” and “five people.” It’s photography guesswork, and the results rock!

Lomography is an unorthodox and freestyle way of making photos with an inexpensive camera such as a Holga. It’s  very hipster idea, and the cameras fill a table at any Urban Outfitters. To switch gears after wrangling a massive camera takes some getting used to, but is ultimately very freeing.

I used “redscale” film for these Lomo photos from their engagement session:

Nothing like a creamy, apocalyptic engagement session!

I’ll be experimenting some more with the Holga at their wedding … stay tuned.

Tastes Like Burning: Station Fire

Next to traffic and taxes, flames are a rest-assured fact of life here in southern California. Friend and fantastic web designer Zoey said that from her house, it looked like Glendale’s Forest Lawn Mortuary was on fire (!!!) so I scarfed down my food and checked it out with Ingrid. Watching dusk fall away,  I wandered Atwater Village in my car, thinking “high ground high ground high ground.”

Turned out, high ground was the I-5 onramp. Braced my lens by wedging it into the corner of the open sunroof. Just barely squeaked an angle between massive power lines and messy foreground foliage.  And juuust enough light in the sky to balance the lit cross with the expanding Station Fire’s flames.

And then it was dark!