Locostgraphy.

What means Locostgraphy?

I didn't create this term, but I've read it at the yahoo group Praktica Users Group Worldwide as they had a conversation about this post of my blog.
I was very happy that these guys have found my blog and I decided to join this group.

Now I don't want to repeat their explanation about the term Locostgraphy, but my point of view.

In 2005 as I started to photograph, I've got only a little compact digital camera with 5 Megapixel, which was a wonderful camera and I made wonderful pictures with it. But I wanted more, I wanted a more sophisticated camera, but my pocket book was very low.

So I went to flea markets and the first camera I've bought was a Zenit ET by Belomo with the Helios 44M-7 2/58mm lens for 15 Euro and a Revuenon Special 2.8/135mm lens for 10 Euro.
The Zenit was, as for many other people, my first SLR and I thought: Wow the camera rocks!

But I wanted more and bought many old cameras at flea markets.
A time ago I made a statistic about my equipment, for example "How many times I've used each camera?" and so on. And of course I've calculated how much I've invested in my cameras. I've bought up to that point 40 analog cameras and paid for them in total 479.49 Euro.


It's nearly 12 Euro for each camera, for the little compact digital camera with 5 Megapixel I paid 199 Euro, more than ten times than for a used analog camera.

Yes this is an explanation for the term Locostgraphy, because the expenses for the cameras were low.

But of course Locostgraphy is more than this. Namely, in relation to today, the technology of these old cameras can be low, but not necessarily. For their time they were up to date, but with the revolution of the digital cameras, these old analog cameras became old stuff, what explains the relatively low prices today.

Today you can buy a Pro-SLR from the 90s, what is almost the same as a modern Pro-DSLR, but of course with film, for little money. But is an old Pro-SLR a part of Locostgraphy?

In 2009 I've bought a Leica R4 with a Elmarit 2.8/35mm for 1300 Reais, approximate 540 Euro. For a Leica a low price and in comparison to a new Pro-DSLR it's a ridiculous amount, but remember I paid for 40 cameras 479.49 Euro.

Yes, at least now there is the question: Can (old/used) analog cameras compete with (new) digital cameras? The old battle Analog vs. Digital! Read my view to this battle here!

Today you can buy used analog cameras, but also new analog cameras, for example the Lomography stuff, these cameras are just lo-tech, but no lo-cost. Therefore you can make with these cameras Lotechgraphy with lo-tech effects, but for a high price.

Another part of Locostgraphy is the DIY-section. Of course DIY is always a lo-tech solution, but in comparison to the Lomography style, really lo-cost.

If you build DIY-lenses, for example DIY-macro lenses, you can easily create very cool effects, which are just as great as the Lomography effects, or better.


Another question is: Are digital cameras a part of Locostgraphy?

Yes of course! The first digital cameras, for example the Sony Mavica series, are now a part of Locostgraphy. The picture quality is almost the same, or even poorer, as by cheap and simple analog cameras, like the pocket- or instamatic-cameras. And the most important, the cameras are thrown at one on ebay and flea markets. I paid 5 Euro at a flea market for a 2Megapixel Canon PowerShot A200. I love this camera and use it very often.

The conclusion is, that Locostgraphy not necessarily means lo-tech, but that you get for little money a lot of camera! See here 5 combinations of the Locostgraphy style!

Finally, a wonderful quote by Man Ray:

"Two or three lights [for greater speed in working], any lens on a light-tight box [no progress has been made in cameras since their invention], and a bottle of developer, are sufficient for the realization of the most convincing image."