Recap: Ireland Analog LomoWalk in Galway

Last year we teamed up with film photography group Ireland Analog for a LomoWalk in Belfast using some LomoChrome Metropolis film. This year we sent them a mix of Lomography cameras, including a La Sardina, LomoApparat and Fisheye No.2 to try out for a LomoWalk around Galway in Ireland. We talked the groups founder Marc Argentique about the day, the route they took and what's next for this growing community.

Hello Marc, tell us about bit about this LomoWalk. Where was the walk held?

We held the LomoWalk in the city of Galway, located on the west coast of Ireland. Most of the community being based out of Dublin, we took the bus together early in the morning for a day trip. We arrived directly in the city center at Eyre Square where we met with Jack, one of the local photographers who helped us plan the route. The walk began with the usual chit chat of introductions, catching up with familiar faces and distribution of Lomography cameras. We had a selection of 35 mm cameras: the LomoApparat, two second edition Fisheyes, an Action Sampler as well as the classic Sardina.

Once the film was loaded, the group photo was taken and the plan of the day communicated, we headed west towards the river Corrib photographing swans and the river side along the way. We then followed the foot path towards the Galway cathedral and eventually reached University of Galway campus. At this location trees, plants and the architecture of older buildings became the main subject. This is also where we took another group image using the Fisheye. This one is a black and white shot of a smaller group with the camera looking upwards, giving an impression of the "Holes" movie poster.

After a little while there, we walked back through a network of canals heading back to the docks and Spanish Arch area. On the way, we stopped for a portrait session, playing around with the kaleidoscope filter on the LomoApparat and people also using their own cameras too. We reached Claddagh basin and its old parked boats around 3:30pm where we stayed to photograph details of the scenery and additional portraits. With dark clouds coming in and light rain starting to fall, it was time to move to the last location for the day – the pub.

This is the traditional way we like to end our walks. Sitting in a pub for a couple of hours with good chats, warm food and of course, a pint of Guinness or two.
Sunlight came through the beer garden roof towards the end of the afternoon and it became the perfect backdrop for one last portrait session before everyone headed home.

How did you get on shooting on the day? Anything that stood out?

As always, one of the aspects that definitely stood out was the people. We mentioned it before but this was our first time being in Galway for an event with the group. That means there were lots of people we had talked to online during the last couple of years but had not had the opportunity to meet them in person just yet. People were excited to finally be able to put faces to the names and chat all things analogue for an afternoon. To us, this really is the key part in our monthly events.

Photography-wise, it is always refreshing to visit new places, but even more so when you are shooting with a new perspective. Being able to try creative cameras like the Fisheye No. 2 or combine color gels and flash with the LomoApparat was a fun way to break from the routine. The cameras were straightforward to use which allowed everyone to focus on the shooting experience without having to think about the technical aspect too much. One last thing that stood out was the weather. We were fairly lucky to have an extremely sunny and warm couple of hours, which is not exactly the norm on the west coast of Ireland in March.

What's next for the Ireland Analog Community?

With summer just around the corner, we are excited to be visiting more of Ireland with the group including an upcoming walk in Cork City, as well as a weekend in Dungarvan in May. In April, we are also back in Dublin with the annual walk for "World Pinhole Photography Day" which should again be quite a refreshing experience for those of us who don't shoot pinhole cameras on a regular basis. Everyone is welcome to join us and details can be found on our Instagram or on our website.

A big thanks goes to film_fotojn, bubbles_35mm, shaka1277, thatdarkroomlife and tomdouglas1995 for sharing your photos from the day with us.

2023-04-29 #news #people #videos #dublin #lomowalk #ireland #galway