Lomographer Natallia Russiyan on Analogue Experimentation and Creative Inspirations

Free-spiritedness and creativity is at the core of Lomographer Natallia Russiyan's works. A member of the online community since 2012, her LomoHome is a mélange of experiments showcasing her own colorful way of seeing and living her daily life.

To achieve this style, she employs different creative methods such as film soups, filters, redscale and multiple exposures. We recently had a chat with her on her inspirations and more. Let's get into it!

Hi, Natallia! Welcome to the magazine. Can you start by telling us about yourself? How and when did you start film photography?

It was a long time ago. Since I'm almost 50 years old, film photography was the only thing I had in my youth. I started shooting film in '92 when my father gave me my first camera, a BELOMO Agat 18K, with a rangefinder and exposure meter, for my trip to eastern Germany.

My father was a scientist and a perfectionist, so the lessons and training from him were informative and rigorous. At art school, I enthusiastically took extra classes in photography. We had an elective class, taught by an experienced photographer, in darkrooms. There I acquired the skills of shooting with different cameras, invaluable skills in preparing photochemistry, developing film and printing photographs.

What do you like most about film photography?

There's a lot of fun and creativity in film photography. And have you noticed, it's not film photography that tries to be like digital photography, but the other way around? And it has more inner freedom.

What do you like to photograph most?

Girlfriends, cats, old houses in the area, beautiful castles during trips, birds, clouds, macro plants, silhouettes of trees. Today's happy or amazing moment is preserved for tomorrow's inspiration, and funny moments that are dear to the heart. Something delightful, like cherry blossom.

Looking through your LomoHome, we noticed that you love experimenting with film soups, multiple exposures, filters and more. Where did your love for experimentation begin and what keeps you going?

The Lomography community is the answer to both questions. This is a big open gate to a bright, warm world. I have received support from the very beginning of my presence here in 2012. I like to experiment and invent.

Do you have a most memorable experiment that you would like to share with us?

Oh yes, there are many of them. For example, I once decided to make a triple multiple exposure: one layer on the Lomo LC-A, the second on Sprocket Rocket, the third on Sprocket Rocket again, turning this redscale film over with an in-camera transparent mask made from a piece of green film. It turned out to be an interesting mess.

I also once drew on the film with felt-tip pens, because the finished frames seemed boring to me. I had to invert the color in my mind for drawing.

You mentioned a couple of Lomography cameras. What are your impressions of using them?

I love my faithful friend Sprocket Rocket very much. It's just, wow. If you don't sit on it, it will last a long time.

And Lomography film is great. The greater the color shift, the better I like it. This expands the capabilities of the ordinary human eye and you can see the world beyond the usual. This really helps creative thinking. I'm happy that the community of enthusiasts has such a positive impact on the world, and that film hasn't been left behind in the last millennium. Due to the fact that in my area only regular film is available for sale, I usually rely on filters, multiple exposures, soups, and redscale.

What is it like to be a film photographer in your area? Is there a community that you can hang out with and do photowalks?

Sometimes being a film photographer is awkward and leads to confusion. People don’t always understand. Multiple exposures are accused of being photoshop. One day on the street someone demanded that the footage be deleted.

Community? It’s either global or I haven’t found it yet. I've always had small get-togethers with friends. When one of these friends stops shooting on film or moves far away, I strive to find new ones for photowalks. One of my best doubles was taken recently with my new friend, when we walked side by side, and photographed each other. We ended up with different views that complemented each other. During this time, I've also met people from other cities, and we even did a joint LomoWalk at the Hercules Scooter festival in Lida.

What advice would you give to people about being creative and experimenting in film?

First, turn the film over. Redscale is a different film, but for the same price. And the color turns out very different, depending on the lighting and direction of the rays.
Scratch the film. You can use buckwheat, or any unpolished surface.

I have a whole box of multi-colored filters (bought at online flea markets), for different lens diameters, and I love them. When it’s cloudy outside for a long time and you’re tired of it, you can add color to your life by making multiple exposures with different lenses.

Are there any projects or experiments you would like to try?

I would like to take part in large international exhibitions. I want to master cyanotypes, landscape pinholes in large sizes, new ways to influence the emulsion. I love doubles, and I want to do this reverent joint activity only with responsible people.

We'd like to thank Natallia for sharing her photos and stories with us! To know more about her work, visit her LomoHome and Instagram Page.

written by sylvann on 2024-02-26 #culture #people #experimental #redscale #mx #multiple-exposure #community #lomo-lc-a #sprocket-rocket