What's Big and Black and Not My Cock?

The La Brea Tar Pits! That's what.

so this is short notice i know... but hey, that's just how we roll around here. total spontaneity. but we're going to be checking out the pits this saturday the 20th, meeting around 11:00am. kinda like what we've been doing all along now, meeting up in front of the Page Museum and then just exploring the place and the surrounding area.

so come one, come all and join us for our third official meeting. hooray!

schools in

so it turns out that a gallery in downtown has an upcoming course offered which teaches about toy cameras and what amazingness they have to offer. it's going down on october 11 from 12:00-4:00. the downside about it though is that it'll set you back $165 for the 4 hour course (i mean come on, doesn't that go against the code of plastic photography?). but it's taught by a photographer who apparently has gotten some serious recognition for her work with plastic cameras, so it may be worth it but know once can really know.

the gallery is called studio 538 and you can find info on the course here. and you can look into the instructor's work here. the pic bellow is a sample shot of her work.

i sadly can't make it that day, so if you happen to you'll definitely have to let me know how it turns out.

last second i know...

but it's the thought that counts right?

tomorrow is the Downtown LA Artwalk. you can get all the lovely details here. i'll definitely be checking it out later on in the evening, so let me know if you're also planning on heading out or maybe i'll bump into some familiar faces.

also, definitely be sure to check out SWITCH Gallery. a buddy of mine works with them and promises some good shit. if you need more convincing, get a taste here.

something smells fishy

so i finally got a couple rolls of film back that i shot with the fisheye lens that i posted about awhile back. if you have any send them on over (lomocore@gmail.com) and i'll be sure to post them.

those damned kids and their spacetube!

so we're really trying to kick things into high gear and keep this momentum rolling. we're also still stoked to see that nearly 70 people are planning on coming to the event on the 18th. but why settle for 70 when we can have 700?!

well maybe not that many for the first event.

but in an effort to penetrate into the furthest and darkest reaches of the internet we created a facebook group for all our fellow cyber-nerds. basically think of it as an extension of the blog where you can post ideas/shots and keep up to date with future events. so feel free to join and we'll get this revolution started.

come one come all

here it is. the beginning of something beautiful. so tell all your friends and don't be afraid to make some new ones. we're meeting in the park to just hang out, picnic, meet fellow lomographers, and most importantly share ideas as to how we can come together as a lomographic community. don't worry if you can't make it right at 6:00, we'll be there well into the night so come whenever you can.

"every generation needs a new revolution" - thomas jefferson

so today was definitely a step in the right direction methinks.

the other day a fellow lomographer contacted me (and some of you i'm sure) about wanting to get something official started here in the LA/OC region. so margarete (who just returned safely from europe the other day) and i (who just finished summer school safely the other day) met up with this avid lomographer by the name of mat (ca_vant) for some coffee this afternoon. needless to say, we're all on the same page. but he brings to the table something i've been trying to get for some time now: actual contact with lomography headquarters.

so we sat down and talked for a good two hours trying to devise a plan to legitamitly kick things off for all us lomographers in the area. and from mat's exchange with headquarters it sounds like if we want to ever get official recognition we need to start meeting and having events on our own and basically prove to them that we have a cohesive group. so in an effort to get things started, we're planning on meeting at clover park in santa monica on monday the 18th in the afternoon/evening (tentatively around 7:ooish). basically we want this to be a chance for everyone who can make it to come out and meet some new people and fellow lomographers and just hang out/eat some food/take some pictures/play some kickball and basically start sharing ideas for what we can do in the following months to come together like lomography communities in other cities. more details will be available in the next few days. we'll keep everyone posted.

so come ready with some ideas and don't be afraid to introduce yourself, we'll only be strangers for the first minute. after that i really do hope that we can combine our collective brain power and get things rolling.

await our signal LA!

lazy sunday

so my shutter finger has been itching for an event to come up that can give me the opportunity to just let loose for a day. and it looks like good ol' downtown LA has provided thusly.



this sunday the 27th is the second annual american apparel factor flea market at their downtown warehouse located on the corner of 7th and alameda. from what i have gathered, it's basically going to be a giant flea market/carnival extravaganza where they clear out their entire stock. tons of super cheap clothing (both by american apparel and other companies), music, food, rides, live DJ sets and muscial performances, and a dance party for after the sun goes down. it's open from 2:00 to midnight and there's a $5 entrance fee. or you can pay $12 for the early bird special and get in at noon.

and from what i read about last years event you'll really want to get there early. rough estimates suggest that about 4,000 attended and i read somewhere that the wait to get in at one point was nearly 2 hours. but i hope that doesn't discourage anyone, when you think about it that's just like waiting in line for the indiana jones ride at disneyland on any other day. they also estimated 200,000 articles of clothing were sold (and there's going to be more this time around), so there should be plenty to go around for everybody.

but me and a couple good friends are packing up my van and heading over for the festivities. and i hope all those out there in the dark abyss that is the internet and stumble across this blog (or already know of this) will be sure to check it out.

fantastic piece of plastic

so it appears as if there is a new toy available for all you holga lovers out there. may i introduce you to the Holga 120WPC:


this behemoth is a panoramic pinhole camera, and of course being a holga shoots on beautiful 120 film. so expect some pretty epic negatives. from what i can gather it appears to include most of the common features of other holga cameras. it's a plasitc body that comes in two pieces and held together by those ever reliable little metal clasps. it also has a standard tripod thread, little red window that allows you to see where you are on the roll, and uncoupled advance for all the multiple-exposures you can handle. it comes with two masks; there's the 6x9 which gets you 8 shots, and the 6x12 which gets you 6 shots to a roll (though it is funny that the window on the back still lists 12 and 16). and from what i can see in the pictures of it, a nice little level sits on top of it. it also appears as if the shutter is threaded for a release cable, so if you don't have one you might want to look into investing into one for added stability.

so far it looks like you can only get them off of ebay right now, which will cost you around $50 plus shipping and handling. but i'm sure hunting a little might get you one for a little cheaper.

i leave you with shots i was able to find from people who already got there hands on one:


update: Freestyle Photographic Supplies will be carrying the WPC sometime in august or soon after that. when i know, you'll know

all aboard?

so it's summer and that can mean only one thing: road trip.

me, tony, margarete, and our good friend erik are hightailing up to san francisco at the end of august for the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival. it's a three day festival (the 22nd, 23rd, 24th), but we're just going for friday the 22nd. and personally, i think that the lineup for that day equals a whole weekends worth of rockin': cold war kids, the black keys, beck, and radiohead amongst others.

so this is an open invitation to anyone else who might be interested in joining us for some road trippin'. we're either going to be driving in one of our cars or taking the amtrak up the coast. either way, if anyone wants to join i'm sure we can figure out the best way to get us all up there safe and sound. a ticket for the day runs about $100 (including all those lovely little fees they tack on). if we take amtrak roundtrip tickets are also about $100, if not we could just split the price of gas. either way, i think we should all be able to still afford enough film to document the aventure as it unfolds. housing is still an issue that needs to be looked into, but we have a couple options we can explore when the time is right. if not, i don't know about you guys, but camping in Golden Gate Park sounds pretty fun.

another potential roadtrip for the summer, or really just whenever people have a free weekend they want to use to go exploring, is down to the salton sea. for those not familiar with it, it's an inland lake that was accidentally created at the turn of the century and had a community boom in the 1950s. basically it was advertised as being the next Palm Springs, but a number of geological occurences essentially left the lake dead and most people abandoned the area. fortunately for us they left almost everything behind (houses, a marina, a whole hotel, etc), much of which is still around and terribly decrepit. sounds gross, but it's picture perfect. there's also salvation mountain, an entire hill that has been painted and repainted by a guy named Leonard that is definitely worth checking out.


but enough from me, any ideas from anyone else out there? and not just road trips either, know of some local spots to check out? let us know.