Lomomatic 110: First Impressions with Dana T.

Dana T. has enamored us with her 110 photography for quite some time now, so it is no surprise that she also impressed us with her results from the Lomomatic 110. She has new images to share from her first few rolls of Color Tiger 110 – playing around and experimenting with the camera's unique features while still keeping the classic, delicate style that is often expressed in her work.

We are excited to have Dana back on the magazine to chat about this brand new pocket camera! Let's get into it.

Hi Dana, and welcome back to Lomography Magazine! Can you please re-introduce us to yourself and your work?

Hi! Thank you for having me back. I am a film photographer based in the Midwest, USA. I have been shooting film since 2020. A generous friend gave me a Pentax K1000 and a couple rolls of 35 mm to try, and I was in love as soon as I saw the developed photos. In the past four years, I have learned so much and found my style and what I love to shoot the most. I love self portraiture; sometimes it’s almost like playing pretend, storytelling - other times it’s a way to express myself, document, and capture emotions. Often I’m drawn to bright, colorful scenes, and I love to shoot still life photos as well!

You’ll often see a trend of flowers and fruit in my work. I think these subjects are so unique in color and texture and fun to photograph.

After shooting a few rolls through the Lomomatic 110, what are your impressions of the camera?

My first impression of the Lomomatic 110 was that it has such a sleek, easy-to-use design. I love that it advances by opening and closing the camera. It’s very portable, fits in your pocket, and has so many adjustable settings! Having an adjustable ISO setting (and two aperture settings) is a bonus that I haven’t seen in another 110 camera. I’m not totally accustomed to zone focusing, but it actually makes shooting quite simple if you are mindful of your distance from the subject.

What is your favorite feature or characteristic of the Lomomatic 110?

I think my favorite feature so far is the multi-exposure tool. I experimented with it a little and had my partner take a few double exposures of me. On top of the adjustable ISO and aperture, I had not come across another 110 camera that has this feature. Combining the multi-exposure tool with the colored gels really adds a whole other layer of creative possibilities!

Can you tell us about your past experience shooting with 110? What do you like most about the format?

I discovered 110 film through a friend a few years ago. I was interested in the weird-shaped cartridges and quirky cameras, and wanted to try it myself! I bought a cheap pink plastic 110 camera online with pretty much zero expectations for the image outcome - and was pleasantly surprised. I used Lomography Color Negative Tiger for my first roll, and I was impressed by how much the colors popped, and how clear many of the images turned out. I've been experimenting with different 110 cameras since then - and got my hands on a Pentax Auto 110 which really changed things for me. Some of the images from that camera are so sharp, it’s hard to believe it came from such a tiny negative!

110 film sometimes get a bad reputation for being grainy, low-quality, or just not possible to create high-quality prints off of. But I think what I love most about the format is what some criticize it for - that grainy, vintage, nostalgic quality of the image is special to me. I love the unique size of the frames, the weird film borders, and I love how easy and quick it is to load or unload and use. Overall, it’s unique from the other film formats and I think sometimes the satisfaction can be even greater when you get a great photo with a less typical “high quality” film or camera.

Have you found that shooting with a 110 camera changed any of your photographic perspectives or habits?

Definitely! 110 cameras are so portable, they are easy to bring with you anywhere, even compared to a point-and-shoot. I think I’m also more inclined to have fun with 110 cameras, try to be more creative, and not take shooting so seriously. It feels like there is less pressure to take a perfect photo and more room to play around and embrace creativity.

Do you have a favorite shot taken with the Lomomatic 110?

It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I really love how the still life of the ballerina jewelry box turned out. It came out so sharp, I was so impressed by the lens on this camera. I think my runner-up would be the selfie in my star mirror – I love the colors, and was once again very impressed with the sharpness, and how well it handled the exposure.

Any tips and tricks for shooting with the Lomomatic 110?

I’ve shot three rolls through it so far and I would say my main tip is to press and hold the shutter button harder than you think you need to! At times I thought I triggered the shutter, but it didn’t fire or I didn’t press hard enough. I would also recommend looking up zone focusing conversions before you start taking photos to get an idea of what distance you should be shooting at. (I personally didn’t know off the top of my head 0.8 meters was about 2.5 feet and I could have tried to be more accurate in my zone focusing.) I think my other main tip is that my best shots come from bright, daylight settings – and if you’re unsure about the exposure – don’t be afraid to use flash!

What are your hopes for the future of the 110 format?

My hope is to continue to see more people try out 110 film and embrace it. It’s exciting to see a new, advanced 110 camera being produced. I think it’s a super fun, accessible format for new film shooters. It’s very user friendly and takes the stress out of loading and unloading, or accidentally exposing your film. And, it’s an added bonus that you can have the best of both worlds – cute, mini cameras that can still take impressive photos.

Anything else you'd like to share?

I love to see unique types of film being embraced and experimented with! I think 110 film and many 110 film cameras have the potential for fun, casual, spontaneous captures, and also to be used with creativity and to make great artwork. Keep shooting!

Thanks for joining us, Dana! If you would like to follow Dana and her work, you can find her on Instagram

written by alexa_alexiades on 2024-04-24 #gear #people #110 #colortiger #first-impression #lomomatic110