Vivien loves to roam Hamburg armed with her cameras. Her favorite camera is the Canon EOS 500 with which her mother photographed her entire childhood.
Who are you?
Hello, my name is Vivien and I'm from Hamburg. When I'm not studying for university or working, I pursue my two passions: film and photography. I love extended forays through Hamburg, armed with camera(s) and enough film!
How did you get into analog photography?
About 2 1/2 years ago, I found my camera from childhood again. A rather ugly point-and-shoot camera from the 90s. That sparked my interest in (analog) photography. I read a lot online, and about two years ago I bought a Diana F+ Black Jack. My interest kept growing... and it keeps growing.
Do you have a favorite camera?
For indoor shots, I really like using my Holga CFN; for outdoors in daylight, I prefer the Diana F+ or my LC-A+. I always have a Polaroid camera with me, either the Impulse AF (with flash) or the Spirit. It's always such a great feeling to see the image develop before your eyes!
A few months ago, my mother gave me her Canon EOS 500. That meant so much to me! Almost all photos of my childhood were taken with this camera; it was there on every vacation, every outing. I think the Canon is definitely number one in my ranking of favorite cameras.
Do you have a favorite film?
I think it's also hard for me to limit myself to one. I really like using the (no longer available) 35mm film Agfa XRG 200. For me, it has that lo-fi lomo look, a bit dreamy, somewhat retro, but still vibrant colors. Since I live in rainy Hamburg, I usually need films with 400 ISO in my cameras. I'm very fond of Fuji Provia 400X, which cross-processed gives great colors that are still natural.
But my absolute favorite is Fuji MS 100/1000! You can expose it anywhere between 100 and 1000 ISO, and you always get different results! But I prefer using it in the Diana, because then the result is unpredictable!
What tip should someone have given you when you started analog photography?
I think you learn the most from your own experiences and mistakes. You have to try things out yourself, also to understand why one way might be better than another. That would also be my tip for those starting analog photography: try everything yourself and experiment!
What would you photograph if you only had one roll of film left?
What a difficult question! I think I would gather all my friends and photograph them all together. And then I would be drawn to my favorite places in Hamburg and capture them for eternity.
Where can you be found online?
http://www.lomography.de/homes/vivie
