Life Observed

Lomo and Holga have a lot to answer for. The low fidelity movement using these two cameras has glamourised bad optics and weird colours in the past few years. I suppose it is a backlash against the digital camera pixel race and the search for the perfect image.  While it's fun to see a blurred and distorted image from time to time, I wouldn't like my camera to produce this sort of result all the time. So - we can compromise. Here's a modern technology camera (a Pen E-PL3) making nasty pictures. Simply grab an old lens, any sort of lens,  and hold it in front of the camera body. Cup your hand to keep stray light out and fiddle about tilting and moving the lens until you see some sort of image. Well, maybe it does have some sort of arty attraction ... Click. Instant Lomo!

The horse paddocks around the village are filled with wild flowers at present. The result has a timeless feel to it which appeals to my artistic side. So, here is my homage to Pointillism, the painstaking painting by dots method favoured by painters such as Seurat.  The result shown here also recalls the Autochrome starch process, one the earliest attempts at colour photography. These days you can make Photoshop produce an impression of Pointillism, but it still takes very many stages to get the desired look. The process is so complex that it is best handled with a Photoshop action. I keep one for Autochrome and one for Orton Sandwich hidden in my menus.