Lola Latella's altered experiments
"I'm Lola, I'm 31 years old, and I live in Avellaneda, Buenos Aires, Argentina, with my cat Tomasa. I'm close from graduating as a Visual Arts teacher, and I've been doing analog photography for about 6, 7 years. When I learned to develop my own reels, I felt that I was on the right track, since I realized that I was very interested in what happened during this entire process with the film. From that, I started to experiment more, besides shooting double exposures, with different cameras and films, I also assembled my own film rolls at home. This also allowed me to start filmsoup, before or after shooting it, and the results were always incredibly amazing. I started trying different ingredients, and the results were always very diverse, that's where I found something wonderful. Therefore, something that makes me fall in love with analog photography is the multiplicity of possibilities when creating an image; with double exposures creating new worlds, the filmsoup for variety and surprise, and the possibilities from these two experiences, of achieving a certain deformity and transformation in the image.
With all this already within my experience, I also understood that I was in need of being able to say something through my photographs. So, I've been working on a book for some time; my idea is really to be able to tell a story, with archive images, with a little text, but always with my own images, using metaphor a lot, studying it as a tool to be able to express myself in a more concrete way and to stimulate other people with my job. My dream is to be able to teach many people about photography, to help them lose fear, to allow themselves to make mistakes in order to grow, to learn to experiment and play with the image."
See more of Lola's work on instagram at @accidentallyalive
A/A: What is your favorite film soup?
LL: My favorite filmsoup has been with vinegar and detergents from different brands, also another favorite filmsoup that I choose is with expired chemicals, already at the time of development.
A/A: Why do you like film over digital photography?
LL: Mainly, I am much more interested in analog photography because of the possibility of being part of and acting on the entire image production process. I really like the development process, the experimentation with different types of film, the colors that emerge from the film, if it is expired, it is even better. Another point that is fundamental to me is the possibility of making filmsoup with very different results, the transformation of color, sometimes even of realities through experience.
A/A: What is your favorite thing to shoot?
LL: In general, my favorite things are the sky, especially during sunset (with clouds, better), flowers in all their states and places, shadows with lights that drain into them, my cat, and finally, myself. On this last point, I came working during the quarantine, as another way of knowing and exploring myself.
A/A: What camera do you use most often and why?
LL: This point is kinda variable, but I have three cameras that I use most frequently, and it depends on each situation. For example, I really like to use my Pentax K1000 with a 50mm lens, because the colors and the type of lens grain, no other brand has it, and I find the depth of field I find incredible. Next, another of my favorite cameras is the NikonFM, due to the fact that it allows me to work double exposures without forcing the camera and above all, use the self-timer. And finally, the Diana Mini (Lomography) for the versatility of also shooting double exposures, as well as having the possibility of shooting in half frame or square full frame mode, which allows me to put together compositions; And being a plastic camera, I find it very light, small and useful to take anywhere.being a plastic camera, I find it very light, small and useful to take anywhere.