It's Never Too Late For Film with @Tondyno

Film photography has been a part of the world for a long time. Despite the advances in technology, it's always exciting when younger generations discover the wonders of film. Tony (@tondyno) was born in a generation where film was fading out, but he fell in love with analogue photography through a friend. Since 2021, he has been using his cameras to document his time with friends, ensuring he never forgets his youthful 20s. Today, we'll speak with Tony and learn how he became enamored with film photography.

Hi and welcome to Lomography Magazine! Can you introduce yourself and tell us about how you started your analogue journey?

Hey, my name is Tony. I am 26 and I live in Prague, where I work at the Faculty of Arts at Charles University. In my free time, I take pictures on film. My analogue journey started in January 2021, when my friend David got several cameras. I remember him showing me the Canon AE-1. At that moment I thought I should get an analogue camera as well, and so I did. My first camera was a compact Canon Prima 76. I fell in love with the photos it could produce. Up until today, I have shot with many films and on many different cameras and I still enjoy it so much.

In your LomoHome bio, you said you no longer take photos with your mobile camera. Coming from that experience, have you noticed a change in style or the way you take photographs?

Of course. Ninety percent of the time, I have a camera with me. I rarely use my phone to take photos. When taking analogue photos, I am much more careful with what I am capturing since the number of photos is limited. In my opinion, it isn't important to have hundreds of photos on your phone. I am content with having just a few photos I can be proud of.

How would you describe your style of photography?

I like capturing the moment the best because I enjoy the uniqueness of photos that tell a story. People might not like certain photos of mine and they can find them to be quite ordinary, but I see in them the moments that me and my friends have spent together. I also like to take portrait photos using the "3D camera" (Nishika/RETO). After editing, the movement effect is really cool.

Your photos mostly feature your friends. What is it like, to capture the growth and time spent with your friends?

I like to spend my time with my friends, whether it be a hiking trip or just hanging out at the bar. Every time we are together, I never miss out on the chance to take a camera with me. Especially since I've moved to Prague and met my girlfriend and all the great people I like to share my time with. In the last few years, I have met many great people, but some of them are no longer in my life. However, I still have photos with them to remind me of the great times we've had together. I am interested to see what comes next!

Has that always been something you've been drawn towards, capturing memories?

Recently I was going through my mum's old album and found many photos from the time she was a teenager and was spending a lot of time with her friends, which I found very cool. My mum has several of these albums and every one of them represents a certain period of her life, starting with her childhood and going all the way up until the moment she has become a mother. It was one of the impulses for me to start my own physical albums, where I could keep my most precious memories.

Besides photography, what other hobbies are you into?

Apart from photography I also collect LPs. I have been collecting vinyl records for seven years now and my last album, Joji's Smithereens, was actually a gift from my girlfriend.

I noticed you haven't yet tried a Lomography film or camera.

I have to admit it's quite a shame, but it is not too late to start experimenting, right? I would especially like to try the LomoColor 800 and when I do, I will share the results!

Can you share a couple of memorable pictures and the stories behind them?

I took this photo with my first camera, the Canon Prima Zoom 76, and with my very first film. Me and my friends were taking a walk around my hometown Zlín, where I grew up. We were in the Gránické valley and climbing up a steep slope. I had to climb ahead so that I could take this photo. You can see my friends catching their breath and so was I. Every time I see this photo I am reminded of how terribly steep that hill is.

Before New Year's Eve 2022, me and my friends were walking in this pretty deep forest close to Lipno. The road was all muddy because it rained the day before. During the walk, David, the friend who introduced me to analogue, got the idea of walking down a fallen tree. The tree was really wet and slippery, but David thought it would be fun. And it indeed was, although, after a few steps, he started to lose balance and decided to jump down. It looked really grotesque and I had an Olympus Mju ready to capture the moment. The camera did not manage to get the timing quite right, but it is okay, as the photo looks really cool.

Do you have any tips or anything you want to share with the rest of the community?

I am just a guy with a camera in my hand, who shares the moments with his friends with the community. I have never expected to be able to share my thoughts on photography like this. I dare say analogue photography is my lifestyle, even though I started quite late. And that's why I'd like to say to all the newcomers, that it is never too late to start your own analogue journey. Because I like this community and when I need advice, they are always helpful.

We thank Tony for his inspiring story of discovering film. If you want to keep up with his youthful adventures be sure to check out his LomoHome and Instagram. For the rest of the community, tell us about how you fell down the rabbit hole of film photography by commenting down below!

written by rocket_fries0036 on 2023-09-23 #gear #culture #people #friendship #prague #youth #czech-republic #coming-of-age #slice-of-life #lomocolor-800