Roaming Around Rome with Edinamonsoon and the LC-A 120

Among all the pictures uploaded in our community, we noticed these wonderful medium format pictures of the city of Rome. Thus, we contacted the lomographer edinamonsoon to know him better and to know his impression of the eternal city!

Hello Thomas, welcome to our magazine!
Before starting the interview, we would like you to fill this questionnaire we've developed to understand which type of a photographer you are.
What kind of photographer are you according to the questionnaire? Does the result you had reflects you?

According to the questionnaire, I am a "Retro Romantic" which is pretty accurate in that I actually am somewhat nostalgic and sentimental. Friends who know me and my work describe my pictures as a little crazy artistic rather than perfect in the technical sense - and that's actually exactly my intention. For me taking a photograph is the attempt to capture a moment, an impression, an emotion that you can never fully depict. You only draw outlines, using light reflections as your brushstrokes. For me, the authenticity of the photographic picture lies in this inherent imperfection.

When your passion for photography has started?

I remember that my mom gave me her Kodak Instamatic camera that used 126 format cartridges when I was at primary school. I recently found some of the square Kodachrome slides that I took back then. But this was more of a toy for me. My passion for photography is probably one of the things that I inherited from my grandfather. He was a great photographer and thought me everything from focal length to aperture to shutter speeds. He gave me his Edixa Reflex which was my first SLR camera when I was a teen.

What are the things which inspire you the most in photography?

I’m not sure if there's anything specific. It's really more a spontaneous emotional thing for me: colors, shapes that I can imagine in interesting compositions. I visualize the image in my mind before I take my camera out my bag. Of course, the work of others inspires me. I especially admire the work of Inge Morath and Vivian Maier.

Why do you like analogue photography and what do you like about the Lomo LC-A?

That's a tough one. Analogue photography is kind of "the real thing“ for me - it's how I learned it from my grandpa. I know exactly what I can get from a certain film stock in terms of look and performance and I like that. Of course, I also have a great digital camera that I use for specific tasks especially when I don’t have time to develop film and need the results instantly.

LC-A, what can I say? It's amazing. I actually have a little family of LC-As. I have an old Russian one that I have to repair on a regular basis. An LC-A+ which is more reliable than her older Russian sister and the amazing LC-A 120. I just truly love all three of them and at least one of them is always in my bag.

What was your perception of the city of Rome before going there and how it has it changed after your visit?

Actually, I’ve been to Rome before and I remember it with less military presence and fewer security checks. This time I took my husband with me to show him around and visit all the tourist sight. Although my Italian is pretty bad I love the language, the culture, and the people. One of the great things about Rome is that the impressive images that everyone knows from the movies, it's all there and even more impressive. And if you look at the amazing architecture Rome feels like a time capsule. You just have to walk through the city and pay attention and you can spot buildings from every era.

What are the most memorable photographic journeys you have done so far?

I like to think of every day as a photographic journey. Whenever you leave the house with a camera in your bag a photographic journey begins.

Check out more of Thomas's works on his LomoHome.

écrit par paolocunico le 2017-12-04 dans #Gens #lieux #rome #analogue-photography #italy #lomo-film #film-photography #lomo-lca-120