LOMO LC-A - Finding myself

I am a different person from who I was a few years ago. 3 years ago, to be a little more precise. Back then, I was tearing down hilly slopes on my mountain bike with nary a care in the world, and every thing around me was an exploration of my artistic eye to be captured on film.

I'm not going to talk about who I am today, but I do know that I want to recapture that zest that I've lost. And my first step is to rummage through my closet to find a long lost friend, my LOMO LC-A. This was the camera that rekindled my love for photography, and led me to buy my first digital SLR. What better way to find myself than to start from the beginning.


The LOMO LC-A is no longer made. At least not in its original form. Even so, I'm not really sure how "pure" is my LC-A. The LC-A stood for LOMO Compact - Automat, a compact, unassuming, simple automatic exposure camera from St Petersburg, Russia. It would have probably faded in history if it were not for the marketing skills of the people behind the Lomographic Society. They made the low-tech camera attractive to people who have gotten jaded by Japanese automatic cameras that produced sharp, focused, accurately exposed photographs. Retro was cool, and the LC-A with all its retro gears and capacitors became cool.

However, all good things must come to an end, and the LC-A is no longer made in Russia. Like many of today's corporations, the production of the LC-A has been moved to China and is now called the LOMO LC-A+. The "+" is added because some subtle tweaks have been added. One addition is the MX slider for multiple exposure shots. Multiple exposure is possible with the original version, but is made much easier on the LC-A+. Perhaps the most radical change is the support for lens accessories on the LC-A+ with the addition of grooves on the camera.

Now that I've dusted off my "original" LOMO LC-A, it's time for me to exercise my artistic muscle. First, I have to get some film, and that's my first obstacle. Film...

A quick trip to Tesco and I came back empty handed. Tesco used to sell store branded film, and I wanted these since they should be cheaper than the branded ones. Nope, no luck. Tesco doesn't sell film any more. A peek at the Kodak Express store, and I balked at the RM11 price tag on the Kodak Max 200 film cartridge. It seems that film prices hasn't dropped at all. I guess I should be thankful that prices haven't increased because so few people use film nowadays.

I try looking around in KL on my next visit. Maybe I'll score some cheaper priced films there.