Newcomer of the Week: Vineeth Jason Putti

Vineeth Jason Putti considers himself as an old soul with a penchant for anything analogue. What drew him into shooting on film is its slow, almost meditative, process, which allows him to take careful considerations in each step — from loading the film roll to finally printing the photographs. Get to know our featured Community Newcomer from Bangalore, India in this short interview.

Please tell us something about yourself and what you do.

Hello, I’m Vineeth Jason from Bangalore, India, but you can call me Jason. I’m a postgraduate who’s currently trying to get a PhD in the US. I have never professionally learnt or studied photography and have also never had the opportunity to take it up as a career.

Considering the fact that I wake up most mornings feeling like I belong in a previous generation, I’m a huge fan of anything analogue or vintage – vinyl records, handwritten letters, vintage cars, and film.

I love shooting film be it black and white, colour, slides or expired, and I also develop my own film which makes the process more enjoyable for me, while giving me greater control of the results.

How did you find the Community and who/what convinced you to join?

A couple of years back, I was walking through the streets of Soho in London and came across the Lomography Store in Carnaby. I saw a whole wall covered with photographs with bright, vivid colors and with wild lens flares and color shifts. I was intrigued by this and went in. I was already shooting film at this point, and so spoke to one of the guys inside and I ended up buying a Diana Mini. I was very intrigued by the pictures on the hand book that came with the camera, and I wanted to see more. I discovered the Lomography webpage and I was hooked.

As you have read the 10 Golden Rules of Lomography, what rule do you apply in your everyday life?

Rule 01 - Take your camera everywhere you go. I rarely have space for a camera in my bag but I try to take a tiny one like the Olympus XA2 with me wherever I go, so I have the opportunity to shoot every day.

If I do make the mistake of leaving the camera at home, I’m constantly thinking about the pictures that I could’ve taken and about interesting compositions that I know would have look good on film.

In this digital age, why still film?

My first ever camera was a bright red unbranded film camera that I owned at the young age of six. There were no expectations from the photographs that I took and I just enjoyed the process of taking a photo and the feeling of having the camera in my hands. I get a similar feeling every time I pick up a film camera and shoot.

Other than this sentimental reason, I also crave the analogue, physical, and chemical nature of film. The fact that you can literally touch and control everything that happens, from light entering the lens and camera, all the way up to creating a physical print blows my mind even now. It’s a very hands-on process that slows you down and lets you pay more attention to your subject.

Your favorite analog camera as of the moment? Why?

My dream camera has and always will be the Pentax 67 ii, but the favorite camera that I own at the moment is a Voigtländer Vitessa. It attracts a lot of attention from passers-by and its compact nature allows me to carry it in a jacket pocket if necessary. The plunger film advance system is also unique and is quicker than a winding lever if you get used to it.

What is the Lomography camera you’d want to have someday?

I have always lusted after bigger formats of photography but they all have a disadvantage of being unwieldly and definitely not portable. I feel like the Belair X 6-12 is a camera with one of the best film size to camera ratios on the market now. And it is undeniably a stunner in terms of looks, especially in that gorgeous City Slicker black.

Any song, book, or movie you live by?

I read a lot of Haruki Murakami and I am inspired by his take on "surrealism" which aims to create a super reality filled with illogicality. He also writes about a lot of "fatalism" which is the concept that you don’t have the ability to influence your future or your own actions. I find that the combination of both these concepts fuels the mind to further appreciate what we perceive as reality around us.

I listen to a lot of 70’s and 80’s pop and rock music and I find that they simply don’t make music like that anymore.

Share your current favorite Lomograph, could be yours or a friend’s. Why?

This was a very unexpected picture an I didn’t expect it to turn out like this. I was on vacation with a friend and we decide to go for breakfast and left our bags at home, and I almost forgot to take my camera with me. This picture is a reminder to always have a camera on me.

Any Community member you look up to? If so, why him or her?

I look up to the whole Lomography community because they have so many great ideas, concepts, images and visualizations, but if I had to pick a couple of Lomographers at gunpoint it would have to be @stouf and @mephisto19. They just have such vivid and colorful photos especially on expired film, and I absolutely love the look of expired film.

What are you looking forward to in our Community?

I’m looking forward to interact with more members of the community and to keep seeing more amazing, quirky and interesting Lomographs and Lomo Homes.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, Vineeth! Welcome to the Lomography Community and we're looking forward to seeing more of your work.

2018-08-03 #文化 #people #lomohome #lomohomes #newcomer #newcomer-of-the-week