Tony Kemplen

UK-based photographer Tony Kemplen is a long-time Lomographer, who’s mastered the art of mixed doubles and experimentation with color-shifting films and 360° shots!

I like to think that the creative element is as important as the technical aspects of my photography and I’m a big fan of Lomography cameras. I’ve got most of them and those that appeal most do something that can’t be easily done with cameras that already exist.

Lomo LC-Wide 30th Anniversary Edition

Capture more of the world around you in the ultimate analogue aesthetic with the world’s widest 35 mm auto compact camera, in a limited edition handcrafted leather design to celebrate 30 Years of Lomography. With FREE Krab Underwater Housing!

Special Price £319.20 Regular Price £399.00
2021 LomoChrome Turquoise 120 ISO 100–400

Unique chemical formulas set our LomoChrome color negative films apart. Pick up this color negative film to explore a wonderland of tantalizing turquoise tones.

£12.50
2021 LomoChrome Turquoise 35 mm ISO 100–400

Unique chemical formulas set our LomoChrome color negative films apart. Pick up this color negative film to explore a wonderland of tantalizing turquoise tones.

£12.50
Lomo LC-Wide 35 mm Film Camera

Say hello to the world’s widest 35 mm auto compact camera. Now you can capture more of the world around you in the ultimate analogue aesthetic. With FREE Krab Underwater Housing!

Special Price £279.20 Regular Price £349.00
Spinner 360°

Create incredible 360-degree panoramic shots on 35 mm film with the pull of a cord. FREE with all orders over 250 EUR/USD!

Special Price £71.20 Regular Price £89.00
Out of stock
Lomography Redscale XR 120 ISO 50–200 – Pack of 3

Bathe your photos in glowing shades of red, orange, yellow and even cool blue – experiment with the extended ISO range to render different results.

£22.90
Lomography Redscale XR 35 mm ISO 50–200 – Pack of 3

Bathe your photos in glowing shades of red, orange, yellow and even cool blue – experiment with the extended ISO range to render different results.

£43.90
ActionSampler Clear

Snap up not one, not two, not three but FOUR sequential images on one frame with this miniature 35 mm camera.

Special Price £25.42 Regular Price £29.90

I bought the Spinner 360° as soon as it hit the market in 2010 and I worked out how to use post-processing to make circular images out of the long, thin negatives. It’s such an unusual camera that it inevitably attracts attention and it works well for taking group shots – everyone’s looks of surprise and wonder add a layer of interest. Where possible, I like to make images that build on the characteristics of the camera.

Photos taken with the Spinner 360°, both as circular image and long panorama
Photos taken with the Spinner 360°, both as circular image and long panorama
Photos taken with the Spinner 360°, both as circular image and long panorama

I’ve got more than 500 film cameras. Most of them only get the occasional outing, but a handful are in near constant use and I’ve taken nearly 1000 photos with my LC-Wide. This camera has a very wide angle 17 mm lens which gives plenty of scope for getting in close to a subject while including background interest. For me, the feature with the most creative possibilities is the ability to switch between half-frame and full frame. I often overlap frames to create new images. I switch the film advance to half-frame but leave the format as full frame, so each exposure overlaps the previous one by half a frame. This ability to make double exposures sets the LC-Wide apart from most pocket cameras.

My favorite Lomography film is LomoChrome Turquoise. Its bizarre color shifts give a unique look to the photos. I also regularly use the redscale technique and roll my own 35 mm redscale films. This is not practical for 120 film so Lomography Redscale provides a ready-made solution. With redscale, the film is exposed through the orange-colored base and the photos take on a distinct orange/red hue. I find it’s very effective when pointing the camera directly at the sun or some other strong light source, it also works well with double exposures.

Photos taken with the Redscale film, LomoChrome Turquoise and LC-Wide
Photos taken with the Redscale film, LomoChrome Turquoise and LC-Wide
Photos taken with the Redscale film, LomoChrome Turquoise and LC-Wide
Photos taken with the Redscale film, LomoChrome Turquoise and LC-Wide
Photos taken with the Redscale film, LomoChrome Turquoise and LC-Wide
Photos taken with the Redscale film, LomoChrome Turquoise and LC-Wide
Photos taken with the Redscale film, LomoChrome Turquoise and LC-Wide

I’ve learned a lot by looking at other people’s work and I know from the feedback I get that others have learned from my experiments. I’ve been playing with the technique that I call Mixed Doubles for several years now. This involves putting the same film through two or more cameras for double or triple exposures. I use simple, multi-lensed cameras like the Supersampler or Actionsampler and tape colored filters over the lenses. With fixed apertures and shutter speeds, these cameras need bright daylight and I use a relatively slow ISO 100 film to avoid overexposure when double or triple exposing, although this is largely canceled out by the light lost with the colored filters so it actually all balances out quite nicely. Even so, I leave a few frames blank on each camera (by covering the lenses while firing the shutter) so that on the finished film there’s a mix of double and triple exposures.

As all the frames overlap, there are no individual negatives. After scanning a strip on a flatbed scanner, I crop and select bits that I like. With this technique, a lot is left to chance, which I like. Some parts of the film are more successful than others and I’m happy to get half a dozen interesting images out of a roll. Even if you only have one multi-lens camera, you could still use this technique by simply putting the film through the camera again, perhaps changing or covering some of the filters.

Mixed Doubles using the Supersampler and Actionsampler
Mixed Doubles using the Supersampler and Actionsampler
Mixed Doubles using the Supersampler and Actionsampler

You can see more of Tony’s work on his Instagram or in the Lomography Magazine.