DIY Film Developing: Carl Foran with the Belomo Villia and Actionsampler

Some passionate artists never let anything stop them from doing what they love, and such is with Lomographer foranfilm a.k.a. Carl Foran as he develops his shots taken with Lomography's Actionsampler and the Belomo Vilia.

All of his monochromatic shots were self-developed using Ilfosol 3 chemical, expecting high contrast and grain. Home-developing his own photos have been on his mind for quite a while now, and so he took advantage of the lockdown in Spain. Searching for his own equipment and some coming from his uncle – who used to work in a film lab – he managed to successfully process his own films.

Carl started using film around 2011 when a friend loaned him a Minolta camera. According to Carl, his first shots were of silly portraits of friends and family. The real gamechanger for him was when he encountered a twins lens reflex camera from his uncle – the very camera where a childhood photo of him still sits in his parents' house. " I'm going to say that first moment when my uncle gave me the TLR is what sparked my interest in obscure old-timey cameras. I really think I owe most of my photography interests to my Uncle. The camera I am shooting on mostly at the moment is the FED5B which he has also given me,” he said.

"Film has allowed me to calm down and pay attention to what’s in front of me. Even using film on the streets allows me to think more slowly and really watch out for that perfect (decisive) moment."

After that, he started learning and got introduced to Lomography by 2016 via his significant other. His first Lomo camera was the Diana Mini, and it marked the beginning of his constant burning of film rolls and experimental photography. After receiving Lomography's Actionsampler from his brother-in-law as a Christmas gift and the purchasing the Russian camera Belomo Vilia on Etsy, he's created some unique, fun compositions of daily life.

How Carl approaches reality with the Actionsampler is by treating the camera as if its a notepad taking down musings of daily life. Using a roll of the Ilford HP5 PLUS 400, he loved how the Actionsampler recreated the look-and-feel of movie reels. He used the camera on a recent trip up north to Belfast, Ireland.

“Capturing fun images on the side, capturing random action happening between family and friends, capturing those perfect personal moments in life in a new fun and quirky way. I had read an article in your magazine about the action sampler where a fellow photographer had said that the images were like looking at a mini-movie reel. This is exactly the feeling you get when you first see the images. So when you use this camera, take each shot as if you are capturing a scene in the movie of your life.”

Moreover, Carl also photographed both in color and black and white with the Belomo Vilia.

Carl shared that he loves looking through personal galleries on Instagram and reading Lomography Magazine, the latter becoming a hub for him to meet the creative and experimental fellows of photography. It has also sparked him to write something each week about a new artist he's fallen in love with and how they ignite the spark of creativity in him.

Recently, Carl's been in touch with a health care organization where he wants to raise some cash by selling his own prints. He's also looking forward to putting up his own exhibition where one or two acoustic artists will perform as photos of his love for Dublin streets are on display.

For more of Carl’s work, visit his LomoHome and Instagram!

geschrieben von cielsan am 2020-04-21 in #Kultur #News #Menschen #actionsampler #film-photography #carl-foran