Lomography Pioneers: Lawypop Always on the Horizon

Always on the move, whether within his city or around the world, Lawrence Chiam (@lawypop) has been a source of street photography inspiration to many in the Lomography community. Known for his wide-angled street shots, @lawypop has mastered the use of the Horizon Perfekt. Today we look back at his works and catch up with him to see what he has been up to.

Lawypop has been a Lomographer since 2008. A graphic designer by profession, he bought an Actionsampler on impulse and never stopped shooting since. His early work already saw him use other Lomo cameras such as the Lomo LC-A+, Diana, and Supersampler. Lawypop describes himself as a street photographer where he embodies rule #6 of Lomography "Don't Think".

I studied photography as part of a subject for visual communication in school but it was never my favorite. The original LC-A ignited the hidden photography or Lomography fire in me. And as they say, the rest is Lomo history!

From his earliest albums on Lomography, you can see that Lawrence is very well traveled. Here you can find everything from street portraits in Italy, the United States, and Japan to dreamy landscapes in China, Iceland, and Vietnam.

It was once in a lifetime kinda thing that you somehow need to tick off this bucket list. I came to know about Iceland through a few Icelandic athletes competing in CrossFit games. The landscapes in Iceland are often not what we see when traveling. So it was like in Alien world!

Despite traveling far and wide, lawypop's favorite place to shoot is his home country of Singapore. He's taken some of his best photos around the city and documented both his daily life and major events that have come through Singapore in the past decade. From yearly art and light shows, to the opening of the Lomography store, to major sporting events and even the death of their Founding Father, Lawrence has shown Singapore through the lens of a local.

Singapore is hot and I mean hot and humid, so most of the time my cameras are drenched in my salty sweat. Even though we are really small it is surprisingly great and awesome in photos!

Lawypop is most known for his use of the Lomography Horizon Camera. He has brought it with him throughout the years, capturing breathtaking landscapes and long-exposure night shots.

I used to carry this heavy and size-of-a-brick camera with me everywhere I go! I love how it captures what my left eye and right eye see on the horizon level

Catching up with Lawrence this is what he has to say about what he's been up to and about his Lomography journey:

If I’m able to travel back in time, I don’t think there is anything I want to change! That’s the beauty of film photography and Lomography! We need to make mistakes to learn valuable lessons! These mistakes were often priceless, beautiful, and unpredictable!
I mean the good ol' days of Lomography ( the community, competitions, Lomo walks) for me were forever in my heart and memories that's for sure but somehow over time and because of technological advancement, the way we shoot changed and I have to say hats off to the Lomographers still passionate about this craft. I'm currently more active on IG with the same handle @lawypop and I've just been working and becoming a better human being. Thank you Lomography, you will always be in my Lomo-licious memories!

Lomography Pioneers is an ongoing tribute to our earliest community members, whose stories and photographs helped shape our thriving online community into what it is today diverse, creative, and inspiring. See the Lomographers we've featured so far!

written by rocket_fries0036 on 2022-08-22 #culture #people #places #travel #tibet #singapore #horizon-kompakt #horizon-perfekt #lawypop #lomography-pioneers