Meet Our Holiday LomoAmigo Disdis!

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For our special edition of Holiday LomoAmigos, we cornered Disdis to ask him a few questions about his Lomo-life, and to find out about his upcoming plans for the Holidays!

REAL NAME: Diego Ruiz de Gauna Lopez
LOMOGRAPHY USERNAME: disdis
CITY: Vitoria – Gasteiz
COUNTRY: Spain

Tell the community a little bit about yourself and maybe something about you we would never have guessed.
I look like I’m not Spanish. I think it’s because of my almond-shaped eyes. I write like a kid and sing like a squirrel. Don’t ever be close to me when I’m singing. You may become deaf. I’ve tried to play music but my fingers are just used to massage Vas Vas’s back. I’m quite clumsy doing crafts (maybe that’s why I don’t usually post many tricks). I try to mature but maturity just hurts. So, to ease all these faults, I bring my cameras with me anyplace. I just want to see the world from outside.

What do I do to get money to live? I’m a marketing manager of a 142 years old playing card company. Most of the people out there have played at least once with this company’s playing cards.

How long have you been a Lomographer and how did you get into this whole thing?
I think there are 3 main reasons I started being a Lomographer.

  1. I was not a lucky kid (photographically talking). I was the second child of my family. You know what that means! Parents taking thousands of pictures of their first child and when the second one comes, they are already tired of shooting so you cannot find a single picture of your first years. My brother still has several completed albums of his infant days. I don’t!
  2. When I was 9, I had a friend that received one of those Kodak Mini Instamatic with 110 cartridges when he made his first Holy Communion and I was completely green with envy. I liked the shape of the cameras, watching the world through the finder.
  3. I think those 2 situations created me some kind of frustration so, when I grew up, I decided I’d have the rest of my life well documented in pictures. I had my parents’ old Werlisa and then a Nikon and ….. but then I met Vasvas and when we were living in Barcelona, I saw these poppy plastic little toys on TV and found out there was a small shop in our favorite neighborhood. It was and still is an awesome place.

For my following birthday Vasvas bought me a Supersampler. It was 2005, I think. I’m getting old. Since then I started my personal race to have all the Lomo cameras existing. First came the Holga (maybe my second favorite camera) and then the glorious masterpiece that it is the Lomo LC-A (I still have one from the original products but the light meter doesn’t work). But even when I have a great bunch of them, what I still love is that different way of watching things. Officially I’m into this since 2005 so I think I’ve always been into this.

How will you celebrate the holiday season? Will you be getting together with family and friends and do you have anything special planned?
I have one week holidays but vasvas has to work so I’ll probably go shooting and shopping during her working time. Some friends told me also to show my pictures in their lounge club in January so I suppose I’ll have to prepare something.

Now traditions are changing in Spain and more and more people stay with friends instead of the family but I still love staying with my family during these days. We’ll surely go to the beautiful city of Santander to have dinner with my cousins on 24th December. There are so many beautiful places near Vitoria. I love how my cousin decorates her house. There are 4 kids in my family now (first time for my nephew Daniel) and having them makes Xmas time more interesting. Last year Santa came with Holgas for 3 of my family members. I swear I didn’t tell him anything.

I love how our conversations start with a summary of the year, then start discussing about economy, politics, the high prices of young eels or any other typical xmas food, this year vintage wine, putting pressure on vasvas and me to have children… until we end up seriously arguing and mixing different conversation until it’s impossible to listen to each other. When the dessert arrives, all the hard feelings disappear and we start telling jokes, drink and sing until dawn. I love my family meetings.

Describe if you can your personal shooting style. Are you a classic snap shooter, experimental lab rat or just plain up for anything?
I think I’m more a classic snap shooter than experimental. I don’t have many opportunities to use the lab so I basically try to use composition, angles,

  • If you had to choose one- (yes, just one) shot – what would be your favorite photo from the ones you took this year?*

One thing I’m sure of is that I’m not very good at self portraits. But this one became seriously one of my favorite pictures and as watching some comments, also liked by many people. The curious thing is that vasvas think it’s scary and doesn’t let me put it on a wall we want to fullfill with pictures at home. And I have to say one thing…. I thought of this before shooting and what I saw in my head became true…. That made me almost cry with emotion.

We ask for a photo selection that you feel is kind of a recap of your year. If you could make a soundtrack for your photos / year what would these songs be? Any reason in particular? (3 songs title & artist please).

  1. Taking People – Cat Power. It was written in 1996 but it reflects my experience in Senegal.
  2. Recuerdos – Aroah. It was written in 2001. If you speak some spanish and listen to it, you’ll know why (if there’s no film, there’s no memories… she sings)
  3. Prêt à porter – Nacho Umbert & the Compañía – Because it’s one of the most beautiful songs I’ve listened in 2010. Nacho is a Mediterranean poet.

What is your weapon of choice when it comes to your favorite camera and film?
I have no doubts. My LC-A and the Kodak CT Precisa x-processed. Crazy colors make my eyes explode in all directions.

If you could choose any Lomographic analogue goodie to receive this year (hint, hint family & friends) what would it be?
This would be the moment to ask for the world bundle bag megalomaniac though I’m not so greedy, so I would like to get another Lubitel 166+. I once bought one in E-bay and it broke down the following day. Since then, I prefer not to risk and buy everything in the Lomo shop.

What is the strangest, funniest, or hands-down greatest photographic/Lomographic moment you had this year?

You may know I’ve been to Senegal this year. The first day we got the chance to swim in a swimming pool and I took my LC-A with the krab. Some kids there ask me to shoot some pictures and I ended up letting them the camera. The pictures were senseless but we all enjoyed that glorious moment of spare time. One of my favorite pictures of that travel was made in that moment. Kids in Senegal are awesome, they enjoy living with a smile even when they don’t have our chances.

Are you making any New Years resolutions for 2011 that you would like to let the community on?
I shouldn’t write this down here but if I get on fit by the month of June, vasvas will buy me a new surfboard. I used to go surfing when I was a teenager. Now I think I would like to go back to those days. On another side my New Year Lomographic Resolutions are two: start a blog and prepare some exhibitions near home.

There are lots of people in my city taking pictures and it’s time to show them my lomo love. Ahhh…. And I’m preparing some cianotipos using my lomo pictures. Should I change the answer to the fourth question to Experimental Lab Rat?

Any parting words of wisdom to all your Lomography friends out there?
Fist of all, being a Lomographer is to have the camera you love. You have to love your camera as if it was a part of your body. Then go out. Walk your city around and if you feel tired, sit down on one of those benches you take pictures of and watch. Watch everything as if everything was new to you. Let yourself go to a new place out of this world. You’ll find every little thing more interesting.

Configure your own personal taste. Don’t trust anything else but your own one. You are the life and the life is the one you choose. If you don’t like something, don’t even watch it, because it won’t be useful. Use your own judgment, but see other people’s one. You always have things to learn while you watch other people’s work. (Sergio Larrain dixit)

2010-12-03 #people #interview #holidays #lomoamigo

20 個留言

  1. jaalvarez
    jaalvarez ·

    Here he is !!!!
    A great lomographer !!!
    Congrats !!
    ¡¡Felicidades!!

  2. wuxiong
    wuxiong ·

    Good article and nice photos. He is one of my fav lomographers out there in the communuty. Good luck.... <:))

  3. bccbarbosa
    bccbarbosa ·

    Grande @disdis!! One of my favorite lomographers and a big inspiration!! Salud y larga vida para ti campeón!! =)

  4. disdis
    disdis ·

    Thank you guys! You are the best!

    #3 in the first gallery is part of the unfinished doubles project with @lomodirk
    #7 of the first gallery is part of the spring double project with @paramir
    #4 of the second gallery is the best of the senegal vs singapore project with @renaishashin

    They are awesome... if you didn't know them already (sure you do)

  5. eatcpcks
    eatcpcks ·

    thanks for that article

  6. kylewis
    kylewis ·

    Congratulations, stunning images as usual and a great article!

  7. vicuna
    vicuna ·

    I'm a great fan of your work Diego!! Congrats for this interview! :)

  8. eskimofriend
    eskimofriend ·

    I'm a huge fan too you're awesome!!
    thanks for the interview :)

  9. susielomovitz
    susielomovitz ·

    BRAVO! BRAVO @disdis! I love your work.

  10. clickiemcpete
    clickiemcpete ·

    Nice interview and the pictures were wonderful. :)

  11. warning
    warning ·

    Diego, I wish a Merry Christmas to Vas Vas and you!!!. I love your work too!!!!. Enhorabuena champion.

  12. boredbone
    boredbone ·

    A very entertaining read. great pictures as always. and i'm a fan as well:)

  13. renaishashin
    renaishashin ·

    Definitely one of the great lomographers that I admire :DD

  14. antibiotyx
    antibiotyx ·

    enjoyed reading this a lot, esp. your words of wisdom. thanks for sharing this.

  15. jeabzz
    jeabzz ·

    congrats for the interview Diego, love your work! :D

  16. natalieerachel
    natalieerachel ·

    You have gorgeous macro shots!

  17. i_am_four-eyes
    i_am_four-eyes ·

    Nice interview and awesome pictures! Thanks for sharing this! : )

  18. eva_eva
    eva_eva ·

    Lovely interview. And superb gallery!

  19. basho
    basho ·

    @disdis You're the man!

  20. stouf
    stouf ·

    The great disdis !!! I'm such a big fan ! : )

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