I heard about the lomographic movement and started out with a basic Holga, then eventually decided to buy an LC-A for the ease of using 35mm film. It’s a little easier to work with than 120mm. I ended up finding an original model of the LC-A from a seller in Latvia. It took an entire month for the thing to work its way through the mail and had me wondering at times about the reliability of ebay sellers. As soon as I got it, I started shooting all the film I had, getting a few rolls developed, and then leaving some in the finished rolls to age since I was a college student and too poor to get them developed. Okay, maybe I was just lazy. These days I’m this strong desire to bust open those undeveloped time capsules and see what I was looking at, and how I was looking at it.

It’s a very personal tool, kind of how I’d imagine a rifle is to a marine, or a fast internet connection to a fast-handed 13 year old. The camera’s back latch broke a couple of times, and I eventually secured it with industrial epoxy. Every time I want to shoot a new roll of film, the back needs to be taped to prevent excessive light leaks. The reason all these inconveniences are so important is because the extra work gets me connected with the results; an inherent process to shooting and enjoying.

I’m not advocating a revivalist move back to analog formats. It’s quite inconvenient, but for that very reason, digital photos will never give you the same personal connection. It’s not a matter of lacking a physical print, but lacking that personal investment in the process of getting a shot. Making things easy and available has a price.