JANUARY 14, 2009

Lomography: Process Over Product In An Experience Economy

What qualifies as an “experience economy?”  You may have first heard the term described in a book of the same title written in 1999 by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore.  Arguing that businesses must learn to orchestrate memorable events for their customers, Pine and Gilmore envisaged that memory itself will become the product, or the “experience,” on which consumers will spend their free money and free time in the 21st century.  From the plush, oversized chairs and indie music at Starbucks, to the “retailtainment” toy store known as FAO Schwartz - for the past ten years, we’ve been living in an experience economy.

Although the concept of the experience economy was born in the business field, in recent years it has crossed into the frontiers of tourism, architecture, nursing, urban planning and other arenas – even art media.

Take Lomography, for example – a niche, retro form of photography that was “born again” in the mid-1990s and enjoys a cult following today.  Inspired by former state-run optics manufacturer LOMO PLC of Saint Petersburg, Russia, Lomography encourages taking casual, snapshot-like photos rather than purposeful, realistic ones.  Its motto: “Don’t think, just shoot.”  There is even a list of rules to follow.

According to Ben Sellers of The Free Lance-Star (VA), “For photographers in the digital age, film is a bit like vinyl is for music buffs – there’s an intangible quality that is more about the process than the product.  Maybe it’s nostalgia – or maybe an indie, do-it-yourself spirit – whatever drives film lovers to their passion is in full effect in the cult of Lomography.”  Sellers also reports that the Holga, a Lomographic camera first manufactured in Hong Kong in 1982, has seen a minor resurgence in popularity of late.  (A fan site on Facebook recently boasted more than 5,000 members.)

Photo enthusiast Alfred Klomp has a different take on Lomography, however.  While Klomp agrees that Lomography is a lot of fun, and that “its philosophy isn’t crap,” he believes nonetheless that the medium has become less of a philosophy and more of a business, therefore losing its shine.  Says Klomp, “Lomography is an orchestrated hype, a marketing trick right from the get-go.  A sort of early exercise in viral marketing, not for a product but for a lifestyle.”

In my opinion, while the business and cult-like nature of Lomography may have lost its shine, the philosophy – process over product – remains as brilliant as it ever was.  When you purchase a Lomographic camera, you are not investing in the realistic, true-to-life photographs it will produce – say, as a pricey 12-megapixel digital camera would – but you are investing in the experience you will have with the camera.

To me, Lomography seems to be more about the value of the experience of taking pictures than about the value of any particular photograph.  (Unlike with digital cameras, you are not distracted by the instantly-developed image.)  It’s true that you may later develop a beautiful photograph to share with your friends and family – or, in the case of Facebook, with the entire world – but the point is that your photograph will more than likely spark conversation about the why and the how and not just the who or the what.

My first Lomographic camera arrives next week.  Out with the new and in with the old!