Community Amigo: Karl á Hjaltlandi from Cymru

In this new series, we talk to film fanatics from all around the UK about their passion for film photography and the best places to shoot in their home town. Meet Karl á Hjaltlandi from Cymru (Wales).

Name: Karl á Hjaltlandi
Facebook: @leopoflex
Where I Live: Hen Golwyn, Cymru

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Enthusiastic hobbyist and amateur photographer from Scotland via Shetland living in Wales. North Wales is possibly the most photogenic part of the country apart from Scotland and in particular the Shetland Isles but then I am biased.

Music and Photography have always played a massive part of my life, and I am fairly unskilled at music so Photography has become my default medium of artistic expression.

Where did your love for film photography start?

My Dad started me off on rangefinders and then when I was about 9 bought me a Zenit E which was brilliant, a 1 Kg monster in the hands of a small child.

The Zenit E was totally unforgiving and taught me tons about the technical aspects of photography.
Up until 2001 I always had a film camera ready to hand. Then film stock was getting too expensive and developing was also stupidly expensive so I foolishly switched to digital.

In late 2013 I bought a book on pinhole cameras at an art gallery in Llandudno and the first Leopoflex was born. It was built from cardboard and leopard print duck tape. I was hooked again. Then with some encouragement from a friend, I started collecting cameras through freecycle and that was that. Totally caught hook line and sinker.

What are you favourite cameras and why?

Has to be the first Leopoflex pinholes I made, they leaked and seeped light like nothing on earth and what would come out of them was a complete mystery until I went to the chemists, and even then the first images were still a mystery. The first reel I developed at Boots who called me as they were worried about the images, and that I might be upset at them for destroying my film.

The images from the Leopoflex Pinholes have been described as Abstract Impressionist by a friend who went to art college and I am quite happy with that, also because I make them myself that adds to the joy of film photography.

I have a Carl Zeiss Ikon which takes great photos and I love the fact that rangefinders are not the easiest beasts to use, and a Canon TLb which is fully manual and with a mechanical shutter I love the clunk that old mechanical SLR’s make. Recently I got my hands on a Canon A1 which is a dream come true.
To my shame I was sent 2 Absolut Lomo Holga 120CFN’s one to give away on a photo blog I was running at the time, I gave both away which was a big regret of mine, it was a great camera.

Tell us a bit about these photos you chose.

Redscaling on the way to Wonderland
- I acquired a mystery out of date film which may or not have been exposed, the only logical thing to do was stick it in a pinhole and redscale it. I was particularly pleased with the effect here. A friend said it reminded her of Alice in Wonderland hence the title.

Untitled With Rangefinder
- I think it was taken in a coffee shop but I can’t fully remember, i like the effects and how the Carl Zeiss Ikon just works so well with black and white film.

Didcot Power Station
- The shot was taken with a pinhole camera balanced on the top of my car. I like the Stalinist cold war industrial feel it has.

Stained Glass Window Frame
- Just liked the shaped and colours here taken with my Canon TLb and inspired slightly by Paul Klee

Acrobats at Conwy Feast
- I wanted to get some of the view towards the other side of the river here. I am quite chuffed at the position I got the acrobat in and a bit disappointed with the framing but its a good action shot

Share your top 5 locations for shooting in your town.

I don’t have any preference; it’s anywhere at any time, as long as I catch something from the atmosphere I am happy.

The Welsh word Cynefin sort of sums it. One of its meanings is “a place or the time when we instinctively belong or feel most connected. In those moments what lies beneath mundane existence is unveiled and the joy of being alive can overwhelm us.” If I can capture that then I am happy.

You have to love a language and culture where one word can convey all that and more.

If you were to invent a new film camera, what would it do?

I already have. It’s the Leopoflex, made by my fair hands with card, tin cans and lashings of duck tape. Some people make beautiful pinhole cameras that take beautiful pictures; I don’t. I am happy with that and will continue to experiment with them.

written by dribri on 2014-12-02 #people #pinhole #black-and-white #redscale #analogue-photography #photographer #uk #lomography-gallery-store #landscapes #gallery-store #analogue-cameras #lomoamigo #eastlondon #35mm-films #londonsoho #soholondon