Past and Present's Dualism: the LomoGraflok Instant back Meets a 19th Century Camera

Giacomo Favilla is a photographer and video-maker from Tuscany. He recently tested our Neptune Convertible Art Lens System and Lomo'Instant Automat and is back with us again with this fantastic series made with a late 19th century camera and our LomoGraflok Instant Back. Read about his experience.

© Giacomo Favilla

The project was born from the discovery at a vintage market of this late 19th century camera that belonged to the photographer J.B Ciolina. Investigating his origins, I discovered he was of Italian origin, born of a Piedmontese father who emigrated to Germany. Johann Baptist lived and worked in Frankfurt. During his career, he made a name for himself in the field and even photographed the country's royal families.

© Giacomo Favilla

Honoured to have come across this piece of history on my journey, which immediately fascinated me, I dedicated myself to restoring the camera. The first step was to find a suitable tripod, in this case, a wooden Kodak from 1908, then to install an internal mechanical shutter and clean all the brass parts, the optics and the bellows. Then came the most important part, the construction of the back to house the LomoGraflok, built in wood by the craftsman and trusted collaborator Giacomo Masoni.

© Giacomo Favilla

A brass hinge system has been made to open/close the Lomo back sideways like a flap. Same for the focusing glass anchored on the opposite side. A quick and easy system to frame or shoot depending on the moment.

I decided to shoot portraits in nineteenth-century clothing, but with a breaking element. One that was as relevant to our times as Instax instant photography is. The stylist Viola Buti chose to use Balaclavas by Foomo to make the photos unique and with a strong impact, expressing a dualism between past and present: a machine from the 1800s meets an instrument from the 2020s - the LomoGraflok.

© Giacomo Favilla

The beauty of this equipment is that it allows us to stay totally in the analogue world and gives us the possibility to have images immediately developed at an affordable cost, even with very large or very old equipment.


Follow Giacomo on his Instagram profile and check out all his works in his website.
Backstage video shot by Federico Anglano.
Costumes are from Costumeria Capricci of Gabriella Panza.

written by melissaperitore on 2022-03-14 #gear #videos #largeformat #largeformatphotography

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