How I did it:

1. I had a keen eye at Urban Outfitters & found a lomo camera tucked in the back corner of the clearance section. ($30. Still too much for what it is, but it's an essential part of the hobby)
2. I had a keen eye at Blick's & bought a pack (3 rolls) of lomo colour film at the art supplies store ($10)
3. I followed the instructions for loading the camera.
4. I was pretty sure that I had loaded it wrong and that the film was being crunched inside the camera body.
5. I took it on two dates anyway and snapped pictures. I experimented with double exposures on some.
6. The film ran out, so I rewound it. The camera made lots of popping/scraping noises. I was concerned.
7. I took the film out of the camera. The end was pretty mangled.
8. I took the film to the 1 hour photo at Walgreens. The lady there looked at me as though I was a bad person (for treating film so horribly). I told her that it's likely that the entire film is overexposed. She said she would only print the visible pictures.
9. I picked up my pictures and... SUCCESS! Real images! Hooray!
10. I can't wait to shoot another roll!

Lessons & tips:

• Do not give any one snapshot any amount of importance. With so many variables (crude camera, plastic lens, etc), it's easy to lose a shot. With lomo, I find it's better to have low expectations and be beautifully surprised by the end result. 

• Buy lomography film or treated film. If it weren't for the cool colour effects, my photos would look pretty shitty (I still love every single one of them, of course!)

Nov 11, 2011, 03:16PM PST | 2 comments | 9 cheers