New York in Color and Instants: A Tour with Lomo'Instant Cameras and @ilovefrenchfries

It's never a bad thing to enjoy life like you did when you were a kid. We feel that youthful vibe and energy in the work of Community Member @ilovefrenchfries during her trip to New York. It's like seeing things with fresh eyes. Let her show you around this side of New York City with her wonderful instants taken with Lomo'Instant Cameras.

Her favorite cameras to bring along on her adventures are the Lomo'Instant Wide and the Diana Instant Camera. Why, you ask? Well, you'll find out soon enough by taking a look at her pictures!

Hello, Maria! Welcome to the Lomography Magazine. What do you do and what got you started with photography?

Hola, Thank you so much! I'm a creative director and photographer, but before that, I’m a dreamer, a happy person with endless curiosity that loves capturing happiness, natural beauty, magic, and style.

My family loves photos so I grew up surrounded by cameras but my real passion for photography started my first year of art & design school, I signed up for the photography class and since then I haven't stopped taking photos.

We learned that you're an avid instant photographer. What made you choose that photographic medium?

I lived the past 7 years in Lake Tahoe, California, in the middle of the woods, and developing film was an issue, I had to drive about 50 minutes to drop the film and wait 10 or 15 days to get it back. I needed a faster way to work, experiment and create.

What's your favorite thing about instant photography?

There are many things I love about Instant photography but the fact that I can see the photo right away is what got me addicted to it. I can learn from every picture, improve and experiment. I also love the old school vibe that the whole process has — it brings back the magic and the challenges that this crazy digital world is making disappear.

We also heard that you always bring your Lomo'Instant Wide and Diana Instant camera with you. What made you choose those cameras? What do you like about them?

When I was looking for instant cameras the Lomo'Instant Wide took all my attention, I loved how big the pictures were, the way it captures natural color mesmerized me and I thought the lens cap/remote feature was very interesting and fun to play with... and of course, the camera looks so cool! The Diana is all about nostalgia, my father brought me the camera form NYC many many years ago, it was my first Lomo camera and I loved it! I was super curious to see how the instant photos from the Diana would turn out. I also didn't want to just take the automatic easy instant photo, I wanted to challenge myself and be able to experiment. Both cameras are magical, you can create and play as much as you want.

Could you share tips with our readers who would like to master the art of instant photography?

Try and have fun! The more you shoot the more you know your camera: the light, the distances and the framing (which can be challenging with the Lomo'Instant Wide, I never use the viewfinder, I learned to guess)

So just take photos and enjoy, don't be afraid to "waste" film because you learn from every picture you take and sometimes you create very cool things with those “mistakes”.

Your recent trip to the Color Factory in New York had us swooning. Everything is so fun to look at. How was the experience?

It was eustressing, you know! I waited for that day for so long! I missed it when it was in San Francisco and when I found out I would be in NYC during the exhibition I got very excited! At the Color Factory, there were so many things happening, it was almost overwhelming for a curious person like me. I wanted to live the full experience and also take photos. It was an explosion of colors and sensations! All these colors and sensations were so interesting I would have needed many days to be able to fully explore it with my cameras... I was able to take some fun photos but I mostly enjoyed the experience. Even the outside of the building looks very cool, I saw a couple taking some wedding photos there and I had to sneak a picture. It's an experience I recommend and I hope I can go back soon.

NYC is a creative urban jungle and I made a full photo adventure day out of it. After the exhibition I got lost and kept taking pictures, I really love finding street art!

As a photographer, what inspires you to create content?

Everything but mostly colors, patterns and people. I love capturing the magic side of things and I enjoy capturing smiles.

I'm very curious... I just look and look and fall in love with everything... Natural beauty, smiles, clothing, places, silly details that make me stop in the middle of the street or that color right there that makes me keep walking forgetting where I was going or that I was talking to somebody... Art, music, sports, and dance inspire me a lot when I want to create action photos and experiment with multiple exposures.

Are there other Lomography gear you would like to try next?

Yes! I recently moved back to Barcelona, where I'm from, and the city life makes it easier to start exploring with film again, I'm excited to get back to using cameras like my Lubitel. I also would love to experiment with lights and long exposures using the Lomography Light Painter, the Ringflash and give the Lomo Instant Square a try!

You seem like an adventurous spirit who likes to travel a lot. Where do you plan on going next?

Since I spent the last 7 years in California I'm honestly very excited to re-discover my amazing Barcelona and Europe in general. There are so much beauty and uniqueness to see and capture in Barcelona, Catalonia and the Pyrenees that I will be busy being a tourist in my own country. I'm very excited about the winter road trips to Andorra and I have few European destinations in mind: Vienna and Innsbruck, London, Rome... anywhere!

What does a perfect day look like for Maria Ferrés?

Mmmm I'm not sure I can describe a perfect day because I kind of end up improvising all the time, even if I try to make plans it always changes.

But since you asked, there are a few things that could make a day perfect, things like a box full of brand new film, lots of films! Or a blue beautiful sky with few clouds, just enough to give the sky some texture... and happy friends ready to go on an adventure to take photos; hanging out with my family and homemade french fries with Scott of course!

Any last words you would like to say to our readers?

Thank you so much for reading this interview but now go take some photos and make somebody smile today. Oh! and if you see me around taking photos, come and say ‘Hola’.


We would like to express our gratitude to Maria for letting us use her images. If she's not chilling at her LomoHome, you can follow her on Instagram for more of her creative photo adventures!

เขียนโดย cheeo เมื่อ 2018-12-28 ในหมวด #gear #วัฒนธรรม #places #nyc #new-york-city #lomo-instant #ilovefrenchfries #the-color-factory

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