I was recently very excited to open a present and discover this little lady nestled inside…
Diana Mini Lomo
And as a result, I was introduced to the world of lomography.
Rumour has it, it all began in the early 1990s when two students in Vienna happened across the Lomo Kompakt Automat. They had a bit of a play with it and were impressed with the results – vibrant colours, deep saturation and vignettes that framed the shot. Effects (sometimes caused by flaws in the camera, like sticky mechanisms and light leaks), all added to the artistic effect and fitted with their ‘shoot from the hip’ style. They soon negotiated worldwide distribution rights and lomography was born.
Now, apparently there are 10 Golden Rules to lomography, which we tried to follow on our first outing with Diana, which took us to Hawaii and San Francisco (and somewhat reluctantly; back to London).
Rule 1: Take your camera everywhere you go – check.
D&M Liquors, SF, Mini Diana
Rule 2. Use it any time, day and night – check
San Francisco, Diana Mini
Rule 3. Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it (even when you get back from your holiday and return to normal life) – check!
Putney, Diana Mini
Rule 4. Try the shot from the hip. What, as in actually hold my camera down by my hip and take a picture? Not even look through the viewfinder? When I’m shooting on film? I think I might be a bit risk-averse for this lomography lark. Here’s a picture of a palm tree instead!
Palm tree, Maui, Hawaii, Diana Mini
5. Approach objects of your lomographic desire as closely as possible – check, even if it frightens inanimate objects!
Carousel horse in SF, Diana Mini
6. Don’t think. (William Firebrace.) Just drink! (Design geek.)
Apple martini at i'o, Maui, Hawaii, Diana Mini
7. Be fast. (Quick, before the island disappears from view!)
Alcatraz, SF, Diana Mini
8. You don’t have to know what happened beforehand what you captured on film. I was really upset about this picture when I took it because the winding mechanism got stuck and I though it was ruined, but it turned out to be one of the best pictures we took on the trip.
SFMOMA, Diana Mini
9. Afterwards either. It took me ages to work out what this one was!
Wine glasses in Sonoma, SF, (I think!), Diana Mini
10. Don’t worry about any rules – thank goodness for that!
Overhead cables in SF, Diana Mini
I’ve had a lot of fun getting to know Diana mini and look forward to many happy outings with her in the future. I also think these rules are a great way to shake up your photography – and perhaps even your other creative endeavours. Now just got to try that shot from the hip…
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- http://everythinglomo.blogspot.com/
- http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/10/27/lomography-sprocket-rocket-is-a-micro-sized-35mm-lomo-camera/
- http://www.chinashopmag.com/2010/10/charmed-by-lomography/
- http://www.versluis.com/2010/09/the-lomography-spinner-360/
14 comments
mostlymonochrome says:
Oct 31, 2010
Lomography can be fun. I often use a LC-a myself.
fabrica says:
Oct 31, 2010
nice shots, especially like the one of the wine glasses.
deardesigners says:
Nov 1, 2010
Nice one. Sometimes it’s good to let go and just see what happens. x
Daniel Nelson says:
Nov 3, 2010
You will have to teach me some tricks Katie because I’ve never quite got around to using my Diana camera in full force. I’ll get into it more and we can compare.
design geek says:
Dec 20, 2010
Thanks so much for all the lovely comments. I definitely recommend getting into lomography – fun in itself and also good at releasing creativity that can then be applied to other things.
Ann says:
Dec 26, 2010
Lomography is FUN! Lots of awesome pics.
Iris Vank says:
Dec 27, 2010
Just started out with a Diana-camera too. It’s sooo addictive! And I am a bit jealous of the sun in your pictures. I have to wait a few months to enjoy that.
design geek says:
Dec 27, 2010
Thanks Ann. Thanks Iris. I’ll keep you posted with future Diana endeavours!
Iris Vank says:
Dec 27, 2010
I’m looking forward to that!
Daniella says:
Jan 24, 2011
Love your first few pics! Thanks for sharing… I love how the Mini gives water a nice turquoise look. I was at the beach on a really sunny day in the Summer and the water turn out almost jewel-like! http://dressdesigndecor.blogspot.com/2010/08/end-of-august.html
Thanks for stopping by my other blog the other day!
design geek says:
Jan 24, 2011
Daniella,
Thanks so much for sharing your pics – they’re gorgeous; I can almost smell the summer!
Katie x
Hannah says:
Feb 8, 2011
Hi Katie,
Just found your blog for the first time, and what a great, timely post! I’ve just been selected to take part in a lomo blog challenge – I get sent a Diana mini to use for two weeks and have blog about it. I was starting to feel a bit daunted but this has put me at ease. I love the overhead cables and martini shots!
Hannah x
design geek says:
Feb 8, 2011
Hannah,
What an exciting project – you’ll have a whale of a time! My biggest tip (and the one I struggled with the most!) would be to take risks and experiment – you never know what might happen, but it’ll be more interesting than if you play it safe! Do come back and share your pics when you’re done – it would be great to see them.
Good luck!
Katie x
Iris Vank says:
Feb 10, 2011
And if I may add: just shoot and develop quickly, so you can see the results of your experiments. I really love taking two pictures over each other (accidently or not
), that gives such nice pictures. Enjoy your challenge Hannah!