Sun-Kissed
Trust me, there’s nothing that the Minitar 1 lens adores more than pure, uncut sunlight. Just fill that multicoated glass with as much blinding photons as possible, and reap the rewards of beautifully saturated colors, creamy dark vignetting at the corners, and a long depth of field that puts a fat slice of your subject and background in sharp focus.
Cross/Over
Slide film is great for scanning and treating your folks to charming projection shows, but any Lomographer worth his/her chops will tell you that cross-processing (developing slide film in negative chemicals) is the freaking bees knees. It takes that lovely and sublime slide image that might-have-been and blows it out into a hyper-saturated, insanely contrasted, and wildly color-shifted little jewel. The results are wonderfully unpredictable, and vary from film type to film type and from lab to lab. You quite literally never really know what you’re gonna get.
Long & Lovely
We’ve all had that point-and-shoot camera at some point in life – the one that sees a low-light or night scene and feels the need to blast it with ugly white light every single time. If only the LC-A+ was available, for us to prop up on a ledge and hold the shutter button down while all of the gorgeous ambient light flows into the lens and forms and image with powerful, natural color. Hold it still for a sharp shot (tripod + cable release is the best combo), and move it around for abstract streaks n’ blurs.
Flash and Hold It
As mentioned in our Specs section, the LC-A+ offers a second-curtain flash sync. Practically, this allows you to bust out a dual effect image, where your subject is a crisp and flash-lit little island swimming in a sea of streaming, psychedelic background lights. Just hold down the shutter button and let the camera do its thing – it will open the shutter first and fire the flash right before it closes. Try taking the flash off the camera and firing it from a different direction while your little shutter-open interval lasts. And DEFINITELY toss things up with a colored flash burst here and there.
Flash in a Dash
Sometimes you want a simple instant flash shot and the LC-A+ has you covered there too. Instead of waiting for the camera, just press and immediately release the shutter button. The very pleasing result is a solid shot with nice dark vignetting at the edges and a shallow depth of field that only puts part of your subject into focus. When paired with a colored flash burst, you then have a monochromatic shot in the tint of your choice.
Multiple Mayhem
Don’t let it sit there – just hanging out on the bottom - punch its clock and put that multiple exposure button to work! Fire it during the day to superimpose one subject on top of another. If it’s bright out, change your ISO speed to something faster (ex. use 400ISO with 100ISO film) to prevent overexposure. Shoot a subject normally and then flip the camera upside down to make the two halves reach out and touch each other. Use a combo of flash and non-flash exposures at night. The possibilities are endless!
Hip Shots
Shoot from the hip, between the legs, down by the feet, over the head, around the shoulders, by the thighs, through the elbows, right beneath the armpits, way the hell over the back, on top of the belly, barely between the fingers, above the ears, in front of the eyes, nestled in the hair, and anywhere else that you can physically manage. The LC-A+’s combo of compact body, wide-angle lens, auto-exposure, and zone focusing means that you can care less about what the viewfinder sees and obtain impossible perspectives from the most unheard of and awkward positions.
Anger Management
Rule #6 – Approach the Objects of your Lomographic Desire as Closely as Possible. It’s often the case that the 100 touristy-postcard images that you shoot of the Eiffel Tower will probably not be as awesome as that crazy-fast Lomographic portrait of Bertrand the street vendor. As a true Lomographer, it is your sworn duty to document everything around you – and that very much includes amazing people shots of total strangers. Everyone is shy at first, but don’t be afraid – just walk up with a big natural smile and say “you look so great – can I take your picture,” and most people will respond with an instant “yeah, sure.” If it doesn’t look promising or you want something candid, then we’ll let you in on a photographic truism: it’s (usually) better to apologize and have the shot than ask permission and be denied. If there’s any ill feelings, just give a dazzling smile and say “that shirt is AMAZING – I just couldn’t resist!”
