Ludlites Love Light Photo Exhibition Runs Now thru 24 May

The LUDLITES LOVE LIGHT exhibition, part of the prestigious Head On Photo Festival in 2014, is the latest offering from the Australian photographic collective that champions lo-fi photography - the Ludlites.

The exhibition is curated by Steven Siewert, one of Australia's leading photojournalists and art photographers, and focuses on the beautiful and magical thing that happens when light passes through the plastic lens of a Holga or Diana camera or a pinhole camera and strikes old-school film, rather than an electronic sensor.

"High end glass lenses that give an evenness in focus, contrast and colour are now the norm, even in our phones," says Tim Hixson, one of the founding Ludlites, "but we strive for the imperfection that is possible from shooting with a low grade lens and film. You learn to 'feel' the effect of the light and trust your instincts then wait for the lab before you know you have a worthy image. The dreamy quality is something that many phone apps and the filters on Instagram actually attempt to replicate."

This is the third year the Ludlites have featured in the Head On Photo Festival, growing out of regular exhibitions of plastic camera photography at the Blender Gallery, a favourite haunt of Lomo photographers in Sydney. The group has continued to evolve and expand, and new members have joined the fold for this, the 10th 'world through a plastic lens' show, including Australian media identity Osher Gu?nsberg.

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Many Ludlites use film and plastic cameras as an antidote to constant digital perfection. "Sometimes the worse my negatives turn out the more excited I am", offers Ludlite Patrick Boland. "It's nice to have a little unpredictability in your life. I encourage this by using expired film, hoping it's ageing emulsion will take me somewhere new. Professional quality film is still widely available but for me the more cheaply made a film is, the more I love the results. Some of our members like to show the amazing quality they can achieve with their plastic cameras. For me, I like to see how dirty I can get. I love a big fat negative covered in strange spots, scratches and inky muddy goodness!"

Workshop information: Free Plastic Camera Open Day! Bring your Plastic Camera, questions and images you would like to get feedback on. There will be demonstrations, an exhibition tour and mini workshops guided by members of the Ludlites. The workshop will be held Saturday 17 May at The Deopt Gallery, Danks St. Waterloo from 12PM- 4PM, and it's free! For more information see www.ludlites.com.

The Ludlites are Patrick Boland, Lucas Brown, Heleana Genaus, Tim Gibbs, Steven Godbee, Osher Gu?nsberg, Tim Hixson, Gareth Jolly, Hykie Kwong, Peter Lang, Anika Luzemann, Anthony McGovern, Vanessa Power, Craig Proudford, Bradley Shaw, John Wallace and Yvette Worboys. Previous Ludlite exhibitions have been held at the Blender Gallery in Paddington, the Superintendents Residence in Centennial Park, the Pop-Up Gallery in The Rocks, The Bondi Pavilion in Bondi and Foto Frenzy Gallery in Brisbane.

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