Kevin Meredith known to his many fans as LomoKev – has taken the simplicity that has made his photography so striking and turned it into a charming ‘how to’ book that’s easy to digest. He talks to us about his love of the quirky Russian compact camera, the Lomo LC-A, and photography website Flickr.
James Kendall: One of the core elements of photography is stripping things down, simplifying them and that seems to be at the heart of your book.
KM: It depends what you’re doing. I don’t shoot studio photography so what I use is just the camera as is. Most of the stuff in my book is taken outside. I’ll see something and I’ll take the shot. It has to happen in that moment.
JK: That ‘grabbing a moment’ attitude is at the heart of Lomography, a branch of photography built around the infamous Russian film compact camera.
KM: When I was at university in the late 90s I went on a collage trip to New York and I had an SLR with me. I found it to be too much of pain in the arse – should I take it out, should I leave it. I wanted a cheaper camera, something I could carry everywhere. When it came to the next time I went took a Lomo camera with me. Lomography comes from two people selling this camera, the Lomo LC-A. Some people call it an art moment, but I think it’s more of a brand. What most people think about are the very accessible, easy to use cameras, and mainly the use of film. For some people it’s like an ethos, not taking the same old holiday snaps. It’s more like taking pictures of dogs or crazy shit. If your picture is slightly out of focus it doesn’t matter, it can add to the whole aesthetic.
JK: It seems to be about embracing the imperfections.
KM: People think that when you go to buy a camera it’s about the megapixels. Basically people are looking in their camera technology for perfection. Lomo photography is about not having to worry about all the technical aspects. There’s an aperture selection on there that I never touch – the only thing I change is my focus. As soon as you press the shutter button it takes the picture. There’s none of this, It can’t focus, it won’t take the picture. You might get something a bit out of focus but at least you’ll get what you were looking for.
JK: On the one hand you’ve embraced the anti-technology of the Lomo camera, but on the other the photography website Flickr has had a massive affect on you.
KM: It’s weird. Most of my photographs I take on film but I don’t get prints. The lab scans them straight onto a CD. I do a tiny bit of Photoshopping and put them on Flickr. It might seems strange, the mix of old technology and new technology but I’m not anti digital. I must stress that. I got into Flickr at the start and got to know the people who work there. They’ve given me quite a high profile on the site.
JK: Flickr must have had a massive effect on photography as an artform.
KM: People now – whether it’s their phone or a camera – have always got something to take pictures with. Because of Facebook and Flickr more people want to be good at taking pictures. One of the problems is that because so many people have got cameras it’s taken down the quality of journalistic photography because newspapers are willing to print camera phone images. But because so many people are posting on Flickr it’s much easier to find out how to take better photo, through looking at EXIM data – like shutter speed and lens information. It’s like a recipe.
Hot Shots is out now
5 Simple Steps To Better Pics
Try Changing The Angle
Put the camera on the floor or hold it above your head
Avoid Bright Sunny Days
Grey days don’t give harsh shadows – 15 minutes after sunrise or before sunset gives the best light
Let Friends Relax
Don’t pose them but shoot off some warm up shots instead – get to eye level for kids and pets
Keep A Portfolio On Your Phone
If you want to take shots of strangers it will show them that you’re serious
It’s Not About Splashing The Cash
Check out Flickr to find out what kit suits you best – second hand is much cheaper
