Join our Amigo Nic Tse — from Hong Kong to his recent US Road Trip!

Not quite the Kindergarten Cop but more like the Dark Knight. Hong Kong’s latest LC-Wide LomoAmigo Nic Tse is a Kindergarten teacher by day, and Tattoo artist by night. He’s a jack-of-all trades in that he’s skilled in everything from running a guesthouse to making music. After the jump, let this man of mystery whisk you away to the US which stunning photos from his latest journey!

Full Name: Nic Tse
Location: Hong Kong
LomoHome:nostalgic

1. Please tell us about yourself. What do you do for a living?What are your interests?
In terms of making a living, I’m a kindergarten teacher in the day, and a tattooer at night. I also run a small guesthouse which helps out with the bills. In addition, my interests include travel photography, playing in bands, and backpacking to less developed regions of the world.

2. How long have you been a Lomographer and how did you find out about the Community?
I picked up my first LC-A in 2000, wow it’s crazy to think it’s already been 12 years! At that time, I was shooting primarily with manual SLRs. I had a couple of friends who were hardcore Lomographers, and they encouraged me to give it a go.

3. How did you like shooting with the Lomo LC-Wide, any funny or strange encounters you’ve had with it?
It definitely took a little getting used to, because I’ve been so used to the LC-A, so my habits of ‘shooting from the hip’ definitely needed a bit of readjusting because of the dramatic difference in focal length. I was also fearful of the fact that I couldn’t control the distance, and was certain that I’d get lots of out of focus images. Fortunately that wasn’t the case. After a couple of test rolls, I was able to see what worked and what didn’t, and thus adjust my shooting style accordingly.

4. Can you describe the Lomo LC-Wide in five words?
Shoot as close as possible

5. Who or what influences your unique Music // Tattoo Art?
I grew up listening to a lot of American punk/hardcore music, which was thanks to all the great bands I heard whilst watching skateboarding videos. I think the ‘do it yourself’ ethics of punk rock has probably been the biggest influence in how I approach music, or art in general. I’m a pretty independent person for the most part, and perhaps a bit of a ‘control freak’, so I feel most at ease when I’m involved in every step of the creative process, which is hard to do when you move away from the DIY ethic.

The same has been said of my approach to tattooing… I’m self-taught for the most part, and I feel more comfortable with learning on my own, although it’s a long and frustrating journey. Tattoo-wise, I am influenced by countless artists all over the world. With tattooing becoming more and more common place, there are incredible tattooers appearing everywhere, which will hopefully raise the standard, and help the general public understand that it should be accepted as fine art.

6. If you have the power now to teleport yourself anywhere in the world with your camera and a bag full of films, where would you go and why?
India. I’ve spent a couple of long trips there and I can never get enough of the country. You see vibrant colours in every direction, and there’s always something interesting happening that would make me immediately grab for my camera. It’s also one of those countries where people aren’t cautious and cynical of cameras, so to a great extent you’re still able to find plenty of people who are more than happy to be photographed.

7. Any future plans with your Lomo LC-Wide?
So far I’ve used it primarily in the US, which involved a lot of open space and empty streets. I’d like to take the camera to a spiraling urban landscape and try making the most of the wide lens in tight spaces. I think it’ll also be interesting to use it to take lots of horizontal shots of skyscrapers.

8. Any advice you can give to LC-Wide users?
For me it seems to work best when shooting in close proximity to the subject. I’ve found that because of the wide focal length, it works great when there are long diagonal lines within your composition.

Thank you Nic, for sharing your lovely LC-Wide shots with us! For more about Nic and his works, visit his Facebook

The Lomo LC-Wide boasts the newly-developed 17mm Minigon Ultra-Wide Angle lens. This 35mm camera wonder is the perfect companion for your photo expeditions. It produces eye-catching splashes of colour with astonishing saturation and contrasts with the added versatility of 3 different formats. Open up to a new photographic experience with the LC-Wide, available in our Shop.

written by edwinchau on 2012-08-22 #people #classic #tattoo #hong-kong #vintage #wide #amigo #asia #landscapes #cross-processing #hk #hongkong #analogue-cameras #color-negatives #lomoamigo #lc-wide #35mm-films #color-slides #vingnetting # #nic-tse