A fisheye lens is an extremely wide angle lens that distorts images.
As an architectural photographer, I like my images nice and straight as well as the image not being distorted. Spirit levels to straighten my camera are my best friend.
With a fisheye camera, I can do the complete opposite. So, what’s the attraction?
Life would be a little too dull if everything was very straight. There is a part of my creative self that needs to run riot and break the rules. It’s like pushing the button when you’re not supposed to.
It allows me to look at things in a completely different way, and often in a very circular way. I look for images that lend themselves to being bent out of shape. Cars often catch my eye, particularly the VW beetle I walked by one day in Mayfair. It could be a headlight, a logo or even a reflection in the rear-view mirror.
Another attraction to the Lomography camera is it’s not a SLR camera. Most of my images are hit and miss. I don’t know exactly how they will turn out. It can be frustrating, but it can produce things that I wouldn’t have expected. You also develop a bit of a second sense with it once you get to know the camera.
Using 400 ASA film is often best in the Lomography camera. The resulting images can be grainy and imperfect, but that adds to the charm and character for me.
Perhaps there is something a bit old fashioned about me, but I enjoy waiting to see what the results are when I develop the film. I hope for the best and often get a few surprises along the way.
You can buy a fisheye lens for digital cameras, which I may do at some point – if I can afford it. But I enjoy playing around with a quirky camera that with unknown results. Perhaps that’s just the geek in me.