1-hour photo lab, London, October, 1998. Lubitel 166U, Fujichrome 64T, cross-processed as color negative.
Lil of esthet was asking at dinner last night after a local Japan Photographer photo shoot if anyone knew where one could get film cross-processed in Tokyo. I couldn’t help her with that question, not having done it here (yet), but I was reminded of my brief foray into this alternative process a few years back, and so I dug this image out tonight. And because Lil was also pestering me to teach her how to use her new Kyrgyzstan-bought Lubitel 166U 2¼ TLR (aka “Lomo”), this image seemed more than appropriate seeing as it was also one of the first images I shot with my own Lubitel 166U back in 1998.
My brother, a freelance photographer, had bought me the Lubitel when I was visiting him in LA. At that time, about all my brother shot in terms of color was cross-processed Tungsten film (he was doing a lot of fashion stuff at the time), so at his instigation, the first rolls I ran through the Lubitel were Fujichrome 64T slide film, exposed for later cross-processing as color negative. Much of it came back underexposed, and way too blue; this is one of the few images from that batch where the cyan didn’t completely dominate the shot.
With respect to the Lubitel, well, it ain’t rocket science, so get out there and shoot a roll or two Lil! My best advice actually is to get a new strap for the thing. The day I took this image in Shinjuku, I had the camera strapped around my neck. At some point the chintzy strap buckle came loose and the camera crashed to the sidewalk. Took nary a beating, and for sure has kept on ticking since then, but the bemused stares of passersby who stopped in their tracks upon hearing the collision between Russian plastic and Japanese pavement is not something I’d like to endure again.
