A Los Angeles Grocery Store Outing with Jason Travis and the Lomomatic 110

We recently teamed up with The Photographic Journal to recruit photographer Jason Travis for a serious task: putzing around a bodega with the Lomomatic 110.

On a sunny day in L.A., he took out the pocket camera and turned an everyday grocery store into a creative playhouse, filled with colorful fruits, veggies, and egg yolk splatters.

Alongside a photo essay featured by TPJ, Jason is here to chat with Lomography about his 15-year-long career as a multidisciplinary artist, thoughts on sprinkling analogue wonder into a digital workflow, and experience testing out the new Lomomatic camera.

Hi Jason, welcome to Lomography Magazine! Can you start off by telling us a bit about yourself and your work?

Hi! Thanks for having me. I’m a photographer-director-designer-musician living in Los Angeles. My work is heavily influenced by my design background, regardless of the medium I’m working in. I bring a detailed eye to everything I do and most of my work is highly stylized or meticulously composed. At this point, I’m more than 15 years into a career and I’m still very inspired, often looking for something new and different to try.

Tell us about what you chose to photograph for this series.

I’ve had this simple idea for a while now — utilizing an old market or bodega and just putzing around – spilling groceries, making a mess. I set out to make some magic with mundane moments and a limited timeframe. My friend Courtney found the perfect location and I reached out to my friend Kelly to model. She was a great fit because I knew she was a fan of 110 film. She styled herself based on a couple discussions, and off we went.

How does it feel to switch gears to analogue amidst your mostly digital workflow?

I’ve dabbled in film photography but have always stuck to digital for the sheer volume of ideas I can create and execute. However, there’s a tangible quality I love about shooting with film. It forces one to slow down and live in the moment. Also, the unknown aspect is liberating—not being too precious about the end result. I generally bring along a 35mm film camera, instant film camera, or a camcorder to most sets as a way to get some behind the scenes shots and to catch random moments. I’ve always loved spicing things up with film-based shots. This series was especially fun because I purposefully didn’t bring any digital equipment to the shoot.

Have you worked with 110 film prior to this shoot?

I've never worked with 110 film before!

After shooting a few rolls through the Lomomatic 110, tell us your impressions of the camera!

I loved shooting with this camera. The way it slides open to advance the film is super fun. Also, the size of the camera is wonderful. Pocket-sized! And of course another feature I love about it is the easy loading/unloading of the film. I had no idea what to expect from the film processing and was pleasantly surprised when I saw the results.

Any tips or tricks for shooting with the Lomomatic?

I experimented a bit to learn more about the camera and film. One thing I enjoyed was using the flash indoors which helped to fill shadows. I’ve always enjoyed that aspect about point-and-shoot cameras, so I leaned into that. When I was outdoors I used the bright sunlight. Sometimes I even used the flash outdoors in the sun. I’m a fan of nice, bright photos, and wasn’t going for anything too dramatic with these shots.

Even though there’s only a few settings on the Lomomatic, I wanted to be as precise as possible to ensure better results, so I adjusted settings with every shot. I eye-balled the distance to the subject so I could adjust the zone focus setting. I also adjusted aperture frequently to what I thought might yield the best results. Because the look and feel of the film lends itself to spur of the moment shooting, I even had a few happy accidents where I enjoyed the imperfections of mis-focusing or light metering.

Do you have a favorite shot from this series?

That’s a tough one, but I think my favorite shot is any of Kelly in front of the bright yellow hand painted grocery signs. The green and yellow combo has always been a favorite color scheme of mine. Probably dating back to my love of the Oakland A's in the '80s.

You're a photographer, director, designer, and musician. How do these different practices blend together for you? Any common threads between them?

Most definitely! My time spent working with design influences my photographs, and my love of color influences my designs. My love of music and art influences how I spend my day-to-day life. It all works together. I try to keep an open mind and approach every project with a fresh pair of eyes. Creating gives me the means to express a wide array of emotions and ideas. It’s an endless exploration, but I approach every medium through a similar lens, probably because it’s all coming from the same brain.

Are there certain themes or subject matter that you feel most drawn to in your work?

I’m drawn to so many different subjects and themes. Sometimes it’s human-centric, sometimes it's object-centric. Sometimes it’s both. Too much of anything drives me to push in the opposite direction. For instance, if I’m working on something deeply personal, I tend to want to work on something light after that. When I do look back, I notice evolutions throughout my work. Sometimes that’s based on a commercial project I had, or maybe a personal milestone in my life. One exploration leads to the next. I like being open to trying out new ideas. Most of all, I want to create something that makes me feel energized. And generally that revolves around a new idea. That, and I like to get weird.

Do you have any recent or upcoming projects you'd like to share with our community?

My wife and I welcomed a daughter last year and taking her photo is the most wonderful experience in the world. I love spending time with her and going on adventures. It’s just a little something for us, but I’ve been putting together a printed photo album documenting her first 15 months.

I’m also working on some new music and that’s exciting since I haven’t had time to focus on that much lately. I’m energized to switch on that side of my brain a bit.

Anything else you'd like to share?

Thanks for sending me the Lomomatic 110 to try out! It was really fun to use. It was nice to get out in the sunshine and I was happy to have the opportunity to catch up with an old friend. I also went home with a few fresh eggs and tomatoes.

Thanks Jason for joining us! If you'd like to see more of his work, you can find him on Instagram or his Linktree with leads to his photo, design, and music sites.

Be sure to check out this series in a photo essay with The Photographic Journal!

written by alexa_alexiades on 2024-05-08 #gear #people #places #gear #110 #la #lomoamigo #losangeles #lomomatic