LomoGuru of the Week: npkishi

“Shoot what you love.” This is what our latest LomoGuru believes in and a quick look at her stunning LomoHome will instantly reveal what she loves the most – cats! Meet Japan’s Nobuko Ishikawa, or npkishi in our Community, our LomoGuru of the Week.

Name: Nobuko Ishikawa
LomoHome: npkishi
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Number of years as a Lomographer: 4 years
Number of years in the Community: 4 years

Tell us something yourself. What are your main interests?

I’m working for a Japanese automobile manufacturer. As a staff in the PR division, I plan the sales promotion and attend the sales events.

I’m a crazy cat lady. Four years ago, a calico cat, which I call Hannah, came to live with me. She fascinated me at once. At that time, I also started using film cameras so she became my first photo subject. Currently, I have four young and vigorous tomcats. It is a little bit difficult for me to shoot these cats when they run inside the room, but they make really funny moves so I can’t stop shooting them. Probably, I have spent hundreds of film rolls shooting cats!

Tell us something about your LomoHome’s name. Why did you decide to have that username? Or if that’s your actual name, what LomoHome name would you like to have?

It is my nickname and there’s nothing special about it. I have used this nickname for a long time and aside from my LomoHome, I also use it for my blog and twitter account.

Share with us your most memorable experience in the Lomographic Community.

When I joined the Lomo community, I was excited to see beautiful and experimental photos from different parts of the world. When I uploaded my first pictures, most of which were of cats, I received a lot of kind and encouraging comments. I love the friendliness of the community!

Have you actually met people in the Community that you now consider as close friends? If yes, name at least one of them.

suke has been my friend even before I joined the Lomo community. Actually, he introduced Lomography to me. I also met some people from the Community when I attended a workshop organized by Lomography Japan.

Do you think you’ll still be taking Lomographs in the next 5 years? Why?

YES! I’ve just started to understand how the cameras and films work! There are still a lot of things to learn and techniques to try. I enjoy reading the tipsters and these inspire me so much. And besides, my subjects, the cats, are worth shooting! Their shapes, expressions, and movements are so diverse and beautiful and I’d like to catch more adorable moments of them.

What is your favorite Lomo camera and why? Do you have any memorable experiences using this camera?

My most favorite Lomo camera is Lubitel166+. It was my first Lomo camera. For me, it was a little bit difficult to use and I destroyed some films in the process, but it delivers unexpected and beautiful photos like this one:

Please share with us your favorite lomograph and explain why you love that particular image.

Cross processing is a very exciting discovery for me! It is apt for my humdrum pictures, as I usually photograph the cats in my room. Cross processing gives remarkable results with high contrast, dark but beautiful color, and splendid grain. I really love grainy photos!

Also, I always try to catch a “decisive moment” of the cats while they are moving or making a funny expression, so I’d like to share this one:

Please share a Lomograph you wish you had taken and explain why.

There are a lot of lomographs to choose from so I’ll just limit it to photographs of cats. I admire the cat photographs of adash, weidong, and pussylove. But for this, I chose this photograph by a lomographer in Japan:

piropiro’s cat photographs are so impressive. Sometimes, the cats look calm or funny. Sometimes, they display brutality in the photographs. Piropiro inspires me to look not only at the superficial but also at the stories behind each shot.

What’s the best Lomographic or photography advice you think you have given?

“Go as close as possible.” I can’t make the whole image good without thinking about the details. I’d like to approach and observe my subjects. And of course, it is actually good to shoot small things like a cat in the back street!

If there’s one song or movie that best describes your Lomo life, which one is it and why?

I’d like to introduce this song by my most favorite Japanese band Tokyo Incident. It is called _閃光少女_（Senkou-Shojo）(English title: Put your camera down)

Sorry if the music video is in Japanese, but you can check the English lyrics here.

This song tells me how precious it is to spend every moment lively and I can say the same thing for taking photographs!

Is there any advice you can give to new analogue shooters?

Love and shoot what you love! Film will give you unexpected, splendid results. The more you shoot, the more experience you’ll have to create finer pieces of work!

written by icequeenubia on 2014-10-12 #people #videos #lifestyle #lomoguru #lomoguru-of-the-week