It was a long weekend, the perfect time for over 100 individuals to get together to celebrate a birthday. Most left on the 3 a.m. bus of Saturday, after a night of revelry at Cubao X that served as the pre-party to the party. They occupied the entire bus on June 13 to make the journey up to Baguio City where a big bash was brewing.
Collectively known as Lomomanila, these individuals are avid fans of a camera: the Lomo Kompakt Automat (Lomo LC-A /LK-A), which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Released in 1984 by the optics company LOMO in Russia, the LC-A is meant for everyday use by the Russian masses. It is the Minitar lens that makes the LC-A the center of a cult-following spanning the globe. Images taken with the LC-A are dreamy with over saturated colors and charming vignetting.
There were many a passenger on that 3 a.m. bus trip carrying an LC-A in his or her bag, packed carefully with rolls of film.
Meanwhile, in Baguio, everything was set. Liana Garcia Joyce (also known as golfpunkgirl) with help from her friends and family, was hosting the event at PNKYTravelCafé.
She had spent the past month putting all the details together. The party was part of a global celebration organized by the Lomography Society International. Back in February, LSI had sent out a call for concepts for parties to celebrate the LC-A’s 25th birthday. Twenty-five concepts were to be chosen and awarded a birthday package containing various Lomo LC-A 25th anniversary commemorative items. Liana was the first in the world to answer the call with her proposal to host the Philippine party, and it was the first to be approved!
Just before noon of Saturday, the travelers from Manila made their way to PNKYTravelCafé for the party. And what a perfect place to hold it! Even on a regular day, the atmosphere of the café is decidedly lomo, with a vibrant lomo-wall (a photo collage featuring shots taken with an LC-A) gracing the coffee counter, quaint wood-carved napkin holders in the shape of the LC-A, and a menu that featured Liana’s lomo pictures taken during her travels in Europe. The beautiful photos added to the friendly and welcoming feel of the café.
Guests were welcomed by a cheery committee (Sam, Michele, Patty and Kat) who handed out name tags and party loot: a knitted PNKY bonnet with a Lomography badge, and a notebook from The Philippine Star. With giveaways greeting the guests upon arrival, the party was off to a great start.
It was a lomo fiesta! Bunting fluttered above the guests who were nursing drinks. Tiny cutouts of the LC-A were strewn around the venue: some in plain sight, others partially hidden. Most of us thought they were simply party decor until Liana called our attention to the sign instructing guests to collect as many of the cutouts as we could for a prize.
A henna tattoo artist was stationed in one corner of the venue for those who wanted their lomo-love branded on their skin to show their loyalty to a camera they love. A Lomo graffiti wall waited, inviting, as the guests tucked into the lunch buffet. After we felt like we couldn’t possibly eat anymore, we attacked the wall: sticking self-portraits photos, and other favorite LC-A shots, onto the wall. Sharpie-wielding guests added doodles, drawings, graffiti-like scribbles and birthday greetings to the wall too, all dedicated to our favorite camera.
The cake, when it came out, was received with much excitement. It was huge and very chocolatey, and in the shape of the Lomo LC-A! We all sang Happy Birthday as special LC-A commemorative candles in the shape of a two and five were lit. We blew them out and someone popped confetti over all of us. It felt a little silly, but it was great fun.
Included with the LC-A party package from Lomography Society International were beautiful paper plates printed with lomo images. They were passed around and the cake was served. But, I swear, some people slipped some of the pretty plates into their bags.
Everyone was definitely in a festive mood at this point: pieces of confetti in our hair and clothes, and more prizes and surprises on the agenda. More commemorative items like pins and shot glasses, even LC-A umbrellas were raffled off, and everyone got something. Cameras clicked left and right, colored flashes went off, and you knew at that point that a few days after the party, Lomohomes, Facebook, Flickr and other networking websites would be teeming with photos from the party. There’d be grinning lomographers with their loot, the demolished LC-A cake, and a bunch of people raising film canisters of vodka to toast the 25th birthday of a camera. Cheers to the Lomo LC-A! Happy 25th anniversary!
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Many thanks to Lomomanila for supporting the event, to family and friends who helped out so much and to the sponsors — PNKYTravelCafé, Lomography Society International and The Philippine Star. :) A video of the party made by my brother, Luis Magsino, is now up and running: www.youtube.com/luisandthepolice. For more photos, check out www.flickr.com/groups/lc-abirthdaybaguio/