I might be getting the hang of JOMO
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE INSIDE FOUR WALLS, AN IDEA THAT FEELS CREATIVE?
You might have heard of FOMO - the Fear Of Missing Out. And now, because we're always looking for something else, may I present, JOMO - the Joy Of Missing Out.
FOMO is about being present online and always staying up-to-date with the latest events. JOMO however, is about enjoying the previously boring bits of our everyday lives. It's about 'Slow Living' and a desire to spend more time with your family and friends, just doing what you love without hurrying anywhere. Sounds pretty spot on for these locked down times.
But there is a limit to boring, and I'm quite a fidgety sort of person. Fidgeting my way through boring started to drive me up the wall, and then I read about JOMO and started to wonder - could JOMO be translated through photography?
I've always loved Pinhole Photography, I even teach it at a local school, but how about getting back to my 35mm film camera. Hmmm, it's definitely far away from the instant world, and I love the challenge of thinking in black and white. Then there's processing the films, perhaps a stage too far right now with all the faff needed to black out a room, but there's always Harman's lab (previously Ilford). I could enjoy that sweet, slow anticipation waiting for the film and prints to be returned. Hmmmm, nice and slow, and in it's funny own way, all the more exciting!
Back to fidgeting though, and to all my fellow fidgeters who might be looking for different ideas to get creative:
- - Make some black and white wall art
- - Digitise your photos and post them on Instagram
- - Apply film filters to your smartphone images. For instance, the app 8mm is easy to use and is fitting to help give your Instagram photos that old film look
- - Share your photos with me - I'd love to see how you're getting on!
Get creative and have some lockdown, slow, mono JOMO fun.
