On Our Radar: LuLo Studios

INTERVIEWED BY Malibongwe Tyilo IMAGES courtesy of LuLo Studios

It was the moody texture and diverse subject matter that initially caught our eye in photography duo Lutho Somdyala and Louwrens Potgieter’s images.

They are in the process of building their practice, LuLo Studios, a “creative photography and video concept studio”. We caught up with the pair, who simply go by the monikers Lu and Lo, to find out what makes them tick.

Firstly, how did you get into photography?

Lu: I studied film and media production, so I’ve always had an interest in images. When I worked as a model I became more interested in crafting the images instead of just standing across from a flashing camera.

Lo: I studied art and have always loved beautiful images. I’ve been clicking most of my life, but started seriously practicing photography when I met Lu and bought a Nikon D3100 in order to capture the frames and stories I’ve been seeing all along.

What kinds of subjects interest you most?

Lu: Individuals – people who have a distinct flair and are not bothered with being normal or perfect. Those who let it all hang. I always say it doesn’t matter what your particular ‘brand’ of you is, just as long as you have one and can make clear choices with a fearless spirit. I dislike indecision and people who are always on the fence.

Lo: Definitely people. We have enough wildlife and landscape photography in South Africa, and people are anyway by far the most interesting subjects. I love people watching, I love sociology and anthropology, and photographing all the various ways of being human is a natural extension of that.

Lu mentioned that he started taking pictures more regularly while travelling through Asia. Have you both travelled? Please tell us more about your travels.

Lu: After making the decision to move to Asia I found myself stuck in a small Korean village with nothing but rice fields and my imagination. I loved the way people dressed, with a clear attempt to be stylish. They weren’t just throwing things on and using comfort as a scapegoat. I also loved the city of Seoul, a buzzing mass of people constantly on the go.

Lo: I travelled to Mississippi naively thinking as a 20-year-old that all of America is Hollywood. What I found was less The Great Gatsby and more The Help. The university town I was in was small and poor and and centered around a railway line and the campus. It had a seventies/Texas Chainsaw Massacre feel to it. It was just begging to be photographed.

Who are some of your favourite photographers?

Lu: David Goldblatt and Mario Testino.

Lo: Pieter Hugo, David Goldblatt, Sally Shorkend and Alf Kumalo are some of my favourite local photographers. Steve McQueen, Mario Testino and Annie Leibovitz are some of my international favourites.

When you are not working on your photography, what do you get up to?

Lu: I write, watch documentaries, pretend to be Naomi Campbell at castings, learn how to drive, fight bad service in stores, finish books I start, pray for an internet service provider to deliver us from Telkom and hold endless debates with Lo over bottomless glasses of wine. And obsess over Beyoncé, naturally.

Lo: I manage a bookstore during the day and in my off time I love reading, drawing people, translating children’s books, taking drives to interesting places and having inspired and inspiring discussions with Lu over all sorts of fascinating subjects like the arts, race issues in South Africa and the world, people, celebrities and pop culture.

What are you working on at the moment?

Aside from building our creative studio from the ground up and learning as we go, we’ve been shortlisted for the PPC IMAGINARIUM film category for our short, The Walls, a 1950s South African love story with a twist, so we are currently scrambling to make our first film.

To view more of LuLo Studio’s work, visit lulostudiosfame.tumblr.com or contact lutho.somdyala@gmail.com for more information.