LOMOGRAPHY GALLERY STORE 536 Queen West, 647-352-6702, lomography.com
For the Contact Photography Festival, Toronto’s Lomography store mounts an exhibition featuring the work of 9 amateur shooters exploring the theme of belonging. Shots of tattoo art and landscapes of immigrant neighbourhoods are all snapped with various types of Lomo cameras.
And there are so many Lomos to choose from. The store’s most popular model is the battery-free Diana, with its dreamy-image-producing plastic lens and retro, oversized flash. It can morph into an instant camera with a back attachment, or its interchangeable lenses can be used with an SLR to create vintage-looking digital photos. For more seasoned snappers, the Lubitel 166+ is a replica of a Russian twin-lens model and takes perfectly crisp shots.
There are also spinner cameras, multi-image samplers, the iconic Holga and pinhole options to produce every effect you’re after.
Lomography picks: The base Diana F+ camera is $95, or grab the deluxe kit that includes an arsenal of lenses and accessories for $240 a neon-yellow camera tote is part of the store’s apparel and bag collection, $60 miniature camera key chains come packed in metal film canisters, $7 each.
Look for: Weekend workshops that include a half-hour instructional seminar and time to practise with your own Lomo around the neighbourhood.
Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10 am to 7 pm, Thursday to Saturday 10 am to 8 pm, Sunday noon to 6 pm.
