I took this photo with Lomography’s La Sardina. I used an 800 ISO 35mm colour film and a flash to get the composition. I have been using the La Sardina for quite a while now so I just wanted to give a review on the camera and little tips that might help.
The La Sardina has an 89° field of view wide-angle lens. The camera usually comes with a Fritz the Blitz Flash, which has 3 distance settings and different colour filters. There is 2 different focusing distances 0.6-1m/ 1m-infinity. With the Rewind Dial and MX switch, getting multiple exposures are very easy. Shutter speed options are Bulb (B), 1/100 (N).
First of all the La Sardina looks great but it isn’t a heavy camera so when you’re trying to shoot something you need to be as stable as possible. If you move the camera too much the photo will go blurry and you will not get that perfect moment as you pictured it. After this little problem there is getting the distance right. Lomography has extra tools that you can buy for this problem but if you choose not to buy one you really need to get the distance right otherwise you will end up with spaghetti legs, just joking, the photo will end up blurry again or you won’t get the image at all.
Another thing is you need to pick your film right. If you live somewhere like London you have to go for the 800 ISO. It’s about how much light the film can capture so in a cloudy, dark city with not much natural light 200 ISO films will come out unclear and black. But if you are somewhere that has strong light then even 100 ISO films will do. Because the La Sardina does not have an aperture setting, selecting the right film is important. After picking your film correctly my advice will be ‘use the flash at all times.’ It really helps to get clear photos, even if there is plenty of light you might not get the image that you want without the flash.
Now it’s all up to you, get creative. Use different 35mm films; go for moody black and whites, redscale or just the normal colour. Try your flash filters. It’s always good to shoot from different angles, try shooting right from the ground or from your knee angle or chest just give it a point of view that’s more you.