Quarantine Chronicles of Mattia Moretti with the Lomo'Instant Automat Glass

Italian Lomographer Mattia Moretti, a.k.a. mmattia leads an exciting life in photography as he captures the paradisical views of his home in San Martino, Gattara. With the cool ochre Lomo’Instant Automat Glass (Elbrus Edition), he shares to us his appetizingly sweet and visual feast of an instant photography album during the earlier days of the pandemic outbreak this year.

Italy was one of the countries in Europe heavily stricken by the virus. San Martino, a small village in the Italian countryside, did not suffer as heavy as with cities and crowded areas. However, it did not stop everyone from following precautions. He was still avoiding gatherings, following laws enforced in observation of the pandemic, and stayed at home. For this, he took the time to experiment with home photography with his own Lomo’Instant Automat Glass (Elbrus Edition).

Mattia chose to focus on interiors and furnishings like book cases, paintings and chose to see them in a different point of view. He also got into still life, creating a more 'modern' approach to it. He owuld spent hours by simply taking images of still life. The real challenge was working with exposure as indoor photography can be tricky with light, but he eventually found a routine and formula to work around it.

For shots that dissatisfied him, Mattia went on and reconstruct it to mixed-medium art. Drawing on to the photographs made his shots look more personal. Mattia proves that instant photography can be experimental.

"Another spectacular thing about snapshots is that even if you get the exposure wrong and the photo is completely black (or white), you can still work with your imagination and try your hand at drawing trying to create something extravagant (see photo WOW man). First rule of instant photography: NEVER THROW SNAPSHOTS!"

As a lover of surprises, learning about the Splitzer tool was welcoming during the lockdown, and he now uses it for every opportunity.

Though not his first Lomo'Instant Automat Gass camera (he owned the Magellan version), the LIAG gave him the creative freedom he needed despite limitations of views and surroundings. He picked the LIAG Elbrus in particular due to its design, deeming it as one of the most beautiful cameras from Lomography. Now, he alternates it with his Lomo'Instant Square.

"They are both a bomb: the glass lens allows you to get very well-defined photos, and the possibility of having an instant tangible memory is priceless! During the lockdown, I got to experiment a bit with the splitzer: after a few bad attempts I got carried away and some cool compositions came out. Also, I enjoyed playing with lights and double exposures: the possibilities with the LIAG are endless and that's why I could never do without it!"

Now, Mattias is back to work as a car salesman. Life goes on as he continues to also pursue his passions for climbing, trekking and photography. Next, he's eyeing on learning more about the LC-Wide.

"I am a real fanatic of Lomography packaging: I have an entire showcase where I jealously keep my cameras and their beautiful and colorful boxes jealously displayed, like a museum. I call it my Louvre!"

For all that's he's said and shown to us, we can really tell that Mattias is a true-blooded Lomographer through and through.

Visit Mattia's album for more of his quarantine chronicles with the Lomo’Instant Automat Glass (Elbrus Edition).

written by cielsan on 2020-09-06 in #culture #indoor-photography #lomo-instant-automat-glass #quarantine-photography