Tokyo Streets in 35mm 🇯🇵 Lomography Lady Grey

Bland is beautiful.

I haven’t shot Lomography Lady Grey until a few days ago, mostly because I stayed away from the packaging (which comes in a three pack and shows people partying, etc.). That’s a sorry excuse for not shooting any kind of film, so when I saw that my local shop was selling single rolls, I bought one.

I shot all over Tokyo for this roll, but what caught my attention the most was this setting. Perfect timing for light and composition. 😱 There’s no denying that’s the ghost of NYC creative director calling for me at the top of the stairs.

Lomography Lady Grey — Tokyo, Japan — photos by Jason Garcia

As you see, this film doesn’t have hard contrasts, it has medium grain, and it could look a bit more flat depending if I push developing. I DO love the light on the stainless steel railing and the rays are quite compelling. Also, those are some quality highlights. So am I sold? Maybe.

When I visit Lomography’s website for more information on this film, I get a simplified and short explanation of it. I really didn’t learn much and it’s definitely marketed to the hobbyist crowd. The information here is of no use to me. http://bit.ly/lomoladygrey

So after a bit of research, I read that it’s rebranded Fomapan 400. So I went to Fomapan’s website and found in-depth specs on this film, recommended developing times, and more.This definitely helps me. Plus I discovered that it’s almost half the price for the same stock. Their technical data sheet on the page helped me with a ton of information. Yeah, I would like to develop it at the correct time. http://bit.ly/fomapan400

Lomography Lady Grey — Tokyo, Japan — photos by Jason Garcia

Lomography Lady Grey — Tokyo, Japan — photos by Jason Garcia

There were a few locations that I liked what I saw. Lady Grey has some fun qualities, but I needed more even lighting and I could adjust from there. When I set out to find those hard shadows, the film didn’t deliver. In this shot, ⬆️ I burned the light background quite a bit.

The look of Lady Grey was unexpected to me and I’m not into the flatness of it, no matter how much I dodge & burn the images. I like a finer grain and something that has a little more depth. Regardless, it was fun to cruise around Tokyo and capture the unknown.

My advice to you? Buy it. Shoot it. Enjoy it for what it is. It’s a cheap film, and cheaper if you buy the Fomopan 400, it’s original stock.

Enjoy my video about it here, too.

Check out my Instagram which is dedicated to shooting film here in Tokyo.
https://www.instagram.com/jgarcia.35mm

See you on the Tokyo streets!
JG