Time was, there were these cheap Russian cameras that went by the brand name of Lomo. Lomo made several different models that 1. used film and 2. were cheap, cheap like $20 cheap. They had plastic lenses and plastic bodies, and you could hack them up and make other things out of them if you wanted to. People were attracted by the fact that you never knew what you were going to get when you released the shutter.

There were other varieties, like the Holga, and the old Diana, and these cheap cameras with their horrific optical distortions gave rise to an entire branch of photography, lomography.

But I’ve discovered that I don’t need to buy a plastic camera to enjoy lomography. I don’t need film. I have a low-quality, optically-distorted camera that I carry with me most of the time. My new phone touts its 2 megapixel camera, which, as far as I can tell, is just a slightly higher resolution of crap.

I give you, 21st century lomography:

Gastown at Night

It has a certain dreamy quality about it. I rather like it, actually.

*** UpDATE ***

Ha! The irony abounds. It seems that now that lomography is cool and is the prowl of various hepcats, the price of your basic Lomo has risen to $350. At least the Holga kit is still affordable, at $70, and it includes the opaque tape needed to make the average Holga lightproof. Ish.