When the Russian company Lomo 1984 launched a small-scale camera called LC-A onto the market they didn’t expect the camera to be this successful. Under the government of the USSR, every citizen was supposed to own a camera in order to capture their beautiful life on photos. The Lomo 1984 became one of the few cameras that were affordable for everyone in the USSR. After the USSR fell apart, connoisseurs discovered the potential of this camera that became extremely popular amongst artists.
Well, you wouldn’t call this camera made of synthetics excellent or “good” in the classical sense. The photos are often blurred, vignettes, color distortion, exposure errors and other malfunctions often occurred, which was the reason why professional photographers stayed away from this camera. However, the gem still succeeded in bringing an entire photographic genre into being, the so-called lomography where you try to incorporate errors and mistakes into the photo in order to makeit unique.
The photos often appear to be accidental snapshots due to the special effects, much appreciated by artists. Lomo fanatics often call themselves lomonauts and stayed true to this iconic camera despite the fact that the production of the LC-A stopped in 2005. If you still want one, you definitely should expect to pay high collector prices.
Image © Gilberto Taccari
