Shooting Film in the Sahara: An Experimental Lomography Journey by Adi Tarkay

Today, we’re featuring an amazing photo essay from Adi Tarkay. Scroll below to view the images and read more from Adi about capturing the Sahara Desert using experimental film techniques…

Analog cameras and films used: Lomography Lomo LC-A 120 (Find on Amazon) | Kodak Portra 400 (Find on Amazon), Kodak Ektar 100 (Find on Amazon)

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Shooting Film in the Sahara: An Experimental Lomography Journey

by Adi Tarkay

Several years ago, I embarked on a journey to Morocco with one clear goal in mind: to immerse myself in the vast, untouched expanses of the Sahara Desert. I wasn’t just looking for dramatic landscapes or picturesque dunes—I wanted to experience absolute stillness, a place free from any kind of pollution. No air pollution, no digital noise, no light pollution, and no auditory distractions. Just the purity of the desert in its rawest form.

Knowing that I wanted to capture the experience in multiple ways, I packed two cameras. For this particular series, I shot with a plastic LOMO LC-A 120 (6×6)—a quirky, unpredictable camera that embraces imperfection. To complement its unique character, I brought along several rolls of Kodak Ektar 100 and Kodak Portra 400, two different film stocks: one known for its rich colors and fine grain, and the other for its excellent dynamic range.

This simple camera allowed me to abandon the pursuit of technical perfection. Instead, I embraced the unexpected: double exposures, triple exposures, and experimental lighting conditions. Some of the “mistakes” in these images were intentional; others were happy accidents. The beauty of film, especially with a camera like this, is its ability to surprise you.

The Sahara is a place of extremes—blinding sunlight during the day, piercing cold at night, and an ever-changing landscape sculpted by the wind. Shooting in these conditions forced me to work instinctively. The plastic lens of the LC-A 120 created a dreamlike softness, and when paired with the vivid saturation of Ektar 100, the desert’s golden sands and deep blue skies took on an almost surreal quality. Meanwhile, Portra 400 rendered the softer hues of dawn and dusk with a gentle, painterly tone.

But beyond color, what fascinated me most was the density of the desert—the way it absorbs and reflects light differently than any other place I’ve been. The dunes stretched endlessly, the texture of the sand shifting from sharp contrast to smooth gradients depending on the time of day. Shooting without a meter, relying purely on my eye and experience, added to the spontaneity of the process.

Some of my favorite frames from this trip came from experiments that, in digital photography, might be considered “mistakes.” Double exposures layered shifting dunes over a deep desert sky, creating an abstract sense of motion. Triple exposures blurred the boundaries between land and sky. Light leaks, lens flare, and unexpected color shifts only added to the mystery of each frame.

Shooting carelessly in such an intentional way was liberating. There was no immediate feedback, no screen to check if I got the shot. Every frame carried an element of surprise, and only when I developed the rolls did I truly see what I had captured.

Looking back, this trip was more than just a photographic endeavor. It was a chance to disconnect from the modern world and fully immerse myself in a landscape that felt untouched by time. The Sahara demanded patience—both in traveling through it and in the way it revealed itself through film. Shooting with a camera that embraced imperfection mirrored the unpredictability of the desert itself.

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