Lomography Partners: Filmlog, Seoul & Jeju

Come one, come all. Lomography has partners all over the world to help serve your analogue needs. If you're in South Korea then it's your lucky day! We're speaking to our friends from Filmlog in Seoul.

Hi, and welcome to Lomography Magazine! Could you introduce yourself to the Lomography community?

Hello! We are Filmlog ! We are a leading lab developing the film culture in South Korea. In Filmlog, film enthusiasts from various fields gather at the lab to enjoy researching and working on film!

What is your store's behind-the-scenes story? How did you get started?

'Is there a platform that records films on a roll-by-roll basis?' We've started with this small question. How about if film users could share their film rolls and easily access them at any time? Furthermore, wouldn't it be fun if they could compare the feelings of different films? That's the idea behind the start of Filmlog, where we pledged to create what film photographers have imagined while taking pictures with film. And currently, the Filmlog website has recorded 23 million rolls of film, becoming a repository for archiving people's memories.

Do you have a favorite Lomography product?

Lomography's Sprocket Rocket Film Camera! We sell innovative and creative film cameras from Lomography, and among them, we particularly enjoy using the Sprocket Rocket! Recently, we've been fascinated by "perforation scanning" at our lab, and the Sprocket Rocket film camera does an excellent job of showcasing the charm of perforation scanning.

I have a cherished photo among those taken with the Sprocket Rocket. It's a shot I accidentally took after dropping the camera on the ground during my first outing with the "Rocket." When I returned to the lab and scanned the film for perforations, the resulting image was a completely new gift that I hadn't experienced before with regular 35 mm film. The light streaks created by the cross lines and the full-frame image filled with the charm of the film struck me as very appealing.

Who or what inspires you?

I believe we draw the most inspiration from conversations with customers. The reasons why each person chooses to shoot with the film are so diverse. I find the inspiration that I receive from these conversations which led us to even organize a festival dedicated to film conversations with people in fall 2023.

The WHY SHOOT FILM? festival was organized precisely to address this curiosity. By listening to the responses of many people who visited the festival, we were able to learn about the diverse backgrounds and experiences people have, gaining new ideas and opening our eyes to new perspectives based on those answers.

What is your favorite part about your job?

Filmlog lab takes responsibility for completing people's photos as a photo-finisher. Unlike digital photos, each film has its own unique color and texture, so we focus on preserving the unique characteristics of each film, which always gives a new feeling.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

The most challenging part of operating a lab in South Korea is the 'speed'. Have you ever heard of Korea's 'fast-paced' culture? This culture applies even to photo development labs. Customers hope to have their film processed, scanned, and printed all on the same day they submit it. In the past, we also tried to keep up with this speed, but we realized that it prevented us from giving each roll of film the attention it deserves.

So, we decided to find our own pace. We created more time to work on each roll of film carefully and thoughtfully. Even though it takes more time, we focused on the quality of the results. Customers may have to wait a bit longer to receive their photos, but fortunately, they reach us out with understanding and appreciation of our approach to film photography.

Do you have any projects ongoing at the moment or any you're planning to do?

At our lab, we host a monthly "Film of the Month Contest" where we select one film from among the submissions. The winning entry is determined through votes from visitors to our showroom. Additionally, at the end of the year, we gather all the winning entries from the year to select the annual winning photograph. It's an event exclusively dedicated to film photography.

The "Film of the Month" contest has now entered its third year. We hope that this contest continues to support and promote film culture. At the Filmlog showrooms in Seoul and Jeju, the "Film of the Month" exhibition and voting are always ongoing. Feel free to visit anytime and participate in the voting!

What is the best part of living in Seoul? Do you have a favorite place to take pictures?

We recommend the area around our lab! Filmlog lab is located near Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station in Seoul, which is an area where the past and the future coexist. Situated at Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station, the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) is the world's largest three-dimensional irregular structure designed by architect Zaha Hadid, making it an ideal place for photography. You can also climb up Namsan Mountain to overlook Seoul at a glance, stroll along Euljiro Street passing through Gwanghwamun Square, and head to Gyeongbokgung Palace to trace Korea's footsteps through history. I highly recommend visiting these places!

To keep up to date with everything from Filmlog follow them on their Instagram page.

Want to see your favorite store featured in our magazine? Please send us an email at wholesaleinquiries@lomography.com and we will check them out!

written by hey_springtime on 2024-05-05 #gear #culture #places #partners #seoul #gear #community #south-korea #lomography-partners Share Article