A Soviet-era machine is revitalising the art of taking photographs and challenging people's perceptions of what a photograph should be. Once considered obsolete, the Lomo Kompakt Automat (LC-A), which was first manufactured in an optical factory in the Soviet Union in 1982, is fast becoming the darling of photographers looking to recapture the spontaneity of life - without the restraint of conventional setup procedures like focusing and light measuring. When the LC-A camera was first produced, millions were initially sold but its popularity waned when Asian-manufactured cameras flooded the market. Then in 1991, two Viennese art students, Matthias Fiegl and Wolfgang Stranzinger, found a dusty old LC-A in an old-school camera shop in Prague. They experimented with the mini lomo camera by taking snapshots from crazy angles, often not even looking through the viewfinder. Back home, they displayed thousands of their random lomo snapshots, both focused and unfocused. Viewers were fascinated by the stunning, abstract images. The two students then founded the Lomographic Society with the aim of spreading the fun of lomography throughout the world. The lomographic craze has spread to Hong Kong. The headquarters of the Lomographic Society Asia was established in Hong Kong in 2001. The society now consists of over ten thousand lomographers around Asia. 'Lomography is a platform for cultural exchange because images speak louder than words. Lomo images capture the daily life of Hong Kong people. You can take a lomo snapshot in a washroom or while having breakfast in a cha chan teng. The images capture real life - they are totally different from the typical press images of the Tourism Board,' said Pan Chan, Creative Director of the Lomographic Society Asia. According to Chan, the functions of lomo cameras are more or less the same as ordinary cameras. 'The uniqueness of lomography lies in the attitude of the photographer rather than the camera's functions. Lomo cameras are just like toys. You don't have to be serious. Lomography is just for fun' he said. 'Some people, especially traditional photographers and artists, are quite sceptical about the 'Don't think, just shoot' philosophy that lomographers believe in. But it's very popular among young people. They see it as a way of self expression.' The price of these small, funky cameras ranges from $290 to $1400, relatively affordable for teenagers when compared to digital cameras, which usually cost more than $2000. With a user-friendly lomo camera anyone can be a photographer. Jeff Hahn, 15, became obsessed with lomography last year. 'The whole philosophy of lomography is to capture the moment as it is. With normal or professional photographs you have to prepare the settings and people are expected to smile, which looks fake.' Unpredictability is another fun factor of lomography. 'It's very exciting. You never know what's going to happen. You press the button and you take the film to be processed. Then you wait for the result. But with digital cameras you can see the image (on the screen) before it comes out,' said Vivian Ngan Chi-kwan, 13. Vanessa Fong Wai-shan, 17, President of the Lomography Club of the German Swiss International School, suggested that lomo lovers from other schools also form clubs so that they can share their works with like-minded teenagers. Roxy Yuen Kwan-san, 17, agreed and said, 'When you look at lomo photos you realise there are so many ways of looking at things. Lomography is innovative because, in standard photography, you don't think of taking pictures of things from unusual angles. Mistakes often come out well because the images are abstract and surprising.' But Liz Poon Ho-yee, 17, has a word of advice: 'Make sure that photo shops process all your film because sometimes they think the photos are mistakes. They might think the images were not composed properly or the lighting was wrong.'