An Open Letter from a Lomographer to the Lomography Community

Lomographer Felipe Gusmerini a.k.a. humodepipa got in touch with the Lomography Magazine team for this one heartfelt letter to the Lomographic Community as he looks back into last year and their analogue journey from then to now.

May this letter touch you, make you look back, be proud and appreciative of your creative journey among your kindred spirits with film.

Dear Lomography Community,

After a difficult year in all aspects that one could imagine, and particularly a year in which I personally have not been able to go out and photograph as I wanted, I have had time to reflect on what it means to do analogue photography. Within this introspection are experiments, successes, frustrations, surprises, learnings, and a very important word: Lomography.

When I started doing analogue photography in 2010, thanks to a professor at film school who encouraged us to buy a camera to take his subject, I never imagined the love that I would develop towards this art. In the beginning, it was a truly interesting path due to all the challenges it poses. One of them was being in a generation that was seeing the analogue fade little by little. It is a hard change for the "nostalgic" and even more so for me, having been born in 1993, who is a part of a generation between the old and the new.

My father, an audiovisual producer who has taught me everything about the field, experienced all the changes in technology and sees them as a great advancement (and they are). But I undertook a reverse path, as the years passed and everything progressed towards an increasingly dizzying world, I looked back. At times I felt alone in what I was doing — facing the analogue world in the digital age can seem a bit daunting.

The year 2016, when I discovered the Lomography Community, was a turning point in my story. It was the first time in six years that I felt I had a companion in what I did. During these four years in this Community, I have found millions of perspectives and have been moved by photographs from places unfamiliar. The world has opened up to me.

An important aspect to this experience is the sense of community. I believe in personal paths and self-discovery, but the most valuable part of this journey is to be accompanied by people who support and help us to continue. Here in the Lomography Community, I have found another type of photography, one that invites us to reflect, especially on the conventions about art. It has broken down barriers in the way I see and feel a photograph. It has invited me to take photographs not only because of the rules that are established, but also because of what it feels like at the time, regardless of whether the image is "good" or not. Even my father understood how wonderful the film community is, which at some point was also his.

The invention of new films and cameras makes one eager to continue photographing. The contests have motivated me to find stronger images to share what I want to say. I have exchanged many letters with colleagues around the world who have nurtured me with their values ​​and experiences.

Thanks to all the people who make up Lomography. I don't know anyone personally, but through your contributions in the community, I feel that I already do. Thank you for joining me in my progress as a photographer and as a person. For a community to grow, a place is needed that contains and embraces them and you have known how to do it. In an increasingly fast world, I have learned to stop a bit to appreciate it.

Yours,

Felipe Gusmerini a.k.a. humodepipa
Argentina, Luján, Buenos Aires
23/12/2020

Thanks so much for continuously sharing with us your thoughts and photos, Felipe!

Get in touch with Felipe and other film-loving Lomographers. Build your own safe haven for film here with Lomography and set up a LomoHome!

written by cielsan on 2021-01-07 in #people #new-year #lomography-community