A television report on Nizhny Novgorod lomography

Lomography is spontaneous photography, a genre of contemporary art. In 1994, two Austrian students, Matthias Fiegl and Wolfgang Stranzinger, founded a worldwide movement promoting the use of the Soviet camera LOMO Compact Automatic Camera) — the Lomographic Society.

Today the market price of the LC-A on the American and Western European market reaches 200 euros, while in Moscow it is similar. In Nizhny Novgorod the camera can be bought for a few hundred rubles.

Nature of the phenomenon

According to the Lomographic Society, the word LOMO stands for "LOve & MOtion."

Lomography teaches the photographer to harness their own intuition.

An experienced lomographer can shoot from the hip, without thinking or looking through the viewfinder, and still get good shots. A lomo image captures a mood and — since the photographer does not dwell on the technical aspects of shooting — is deeply symbolic, distinguished from conventionally taken photographs by its dynamic composition, natural scenes, and bold compositional choices.

Viewed from the perspective of spirituality, lomography appears as a form of dynamic meditation. A similar practice is intuitive archery, characteristic of certain schools of Zen Buddhism.

This is both street smart and intelligent.

Background


The "Lomo Compact"

The "LOMO Compact (Automat)" was the first Soviet miniature camera with automatic exposure control.

In late 1981, the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee — having reviewed Japan's experience in producing popular compact cameras — raised the question of creating such a camera in the USSR as quickly as possible. The process was overseen by Igor Petrovich Kornitsky, Deputy Minister of the Defense Industry of the USSR. The development of the camera was entrusted to a team of designers led by Mikhail Grigoryevich Kholomyansky.

A Japanese Cosina camera served as the prototype, but the developers had to carry out a great deal of original work. The task had to be completed within an exceptionally short timeframe by Soviet standards: less than two years. The process was accelerated by the fact that documentation for individual parts for prototype units was sent directly to the workshop floor as soon as it was ready.

Series production of the "LOMO Compact" began in 1983. The first batch of 6,000 units was presented to delegates of the 27th Congress of the CPSU. The resulting camera was equipped with excellent optics and a wide-range electronic shutter controlled by an exposure meter. Thanks to its exceptional lightness (just 250 grams), compact dimensions (107×68×43.5 mm), and sturdy body, it could be carried at all times in a pocket or handbag. The combination of high-quality images at a relatively low price, along with the automation of key photographic functions, made this camera unique in the early 1980s. It enjoyed strong demand on the USSR's domestic market.

The LOMO plant after perestroika

In the early 1990s, the economic crisis made camera production unprofitable. Many amateur photographers could no longer afford to take their camera along on holiday, and cheap point-and-shoot cameras flooded shop shelves. Under these conditions, LOMO was forced to gradually discontinue one camera model after another, so that by the mid-1990s production had virtually ceased. The last batch of the Smena — the world's best-selling camera — was given as a gift by the company to first-graders in the city on 1 September 1996. The once highly popular LOMO Compact was assembled in small runs from parts held in stock — production of its components had been halted, and the camera itself was planned for discontinuation. It was at this time that LOMO first encountered the large community of fans devoted to its creation: the lomographers.

The emergence of the Lomographic Society

The Lomographic Society was founded in 1992 but in its early years maintained no contact with LOMO. Moreover, no one at the company knew the lomographers existed.

So when, on 1 April 1994 (April Fools' Day in the Russian tradition), a fax arrived at the plant announcing that more than 300 people in Austria had fallen in love with the miniature Soviet camera LC-A, had formed a special society, and were keen to share their enthusiasm and were inviting LOMO representatives to a lomographic exhibition "Moscow – New York," it was taken as a prank and thrown in the bin.

Matthias Fiegl and Wolfgang Stranzinger expressed their wish to purchase all the LOMO Compact cameras the company would produce. Initially, LOMO approached the young men's proposal with caution, since resuming production of components for the LOMO Compact required substantial investment. However, over the following year the Lomographic Society managed to prove itself a serious and reliable partner, and in 1995 LOMO decided to continue production of what had by then become a cult camera.

Development of the partnership with LOMO

In 1995 the Lomographic Society was granted exclusive distribution rights for the LOMO Compact in Europe, and two years later a new five-year supply contract was signed. The ranks of the Lomographic Society grew rapidly, and its cooperation with LOMO expanded accordingly. However, the open sale of the famous cameras in LOMO's own retail store allowed enterprising individuals to sell them abroad, bypassing the Lomographic Society — which seriously harmed the latter's interests.

To remedy this, a new 15-year exclusive contract for 500,000 cameras was concluded in 2000. The signing of the contract was timed to coincide with the celebration of "Photographer's Day" — the 70th anniversary of the first Soviet mass-produced camera, the Photocor No. 1, manufactured by the same company as the LOMO Compact. So as not to deprive Russians of the chance to acquire the legendary Compact and join the friendly ranks of lomographers, the opening of a Lomographic Society embassy in St. Petersburg was announced at the same time. The embassy subsequently organized several lomographic events with LOMO's support. Meanwhile, the partnership continued to grow. The question arose of lomographers purchasing other LOMO products, such as the Elf night-vision device. LOMO began developing a special night-vision attachment for the LOMO Compact.

Of course, the relationship between the lomographers and the St. Petersburg optics company occasionally encountered certain difficulties, which were successfully resolved. In the summer of 2001, for instance, LOMO hosted a conference of lomographic ambassadors — representatives of the Lomographic Society from various countries around the world — whose main goal (achieved, it should be said, successfully) was to change some lomographers' perception of LOMO as a small camera factory. When the St. Petersburg company began building its website, it was discovered that the address http://www.lomo.com was already taken by the Lomographic Society's site. Following negotiations, the lomographers' site was given the name http://www.lomography.com, while lomo.com now hosts a page from which visitors can reach either the Lomographic Society's site or LOMO's own site.

Also at the St. Petersburg company's request, a number of words derived from "lomo" that were having a negative effect on the company's image were removed from lomographer slang. Visits by Lomographic Society representatives to the city on the Neva — which take place practically every year and are always interesting and productive — further contribute to cooperation and mutual understanding.

Today the activities of the Lomographic Society help promote the LOMO brand worldwide. Millions of people have come to know of the St. Petersburg enterprise. It can be said that the Lomographic Society provides LOMO with something akin to free advertising. Thanks to lomography, LOMO feels connected to a movement whose core aims include bringing together the most diverse people from countries around the world. In addition, production of the LOMO Compact has helped preserve around 90 jobs at the plant.

Contacts and links

  • Russian embassy of the Lomographic Society: www.lomography.ru (archive). Here you can order lomo cameras, including the LC-A, as well as communicate with other lomographers and view their work.