Diana Love

My discovery of Lomography came after I purchased a Holga 135 camera on ebay and realized that there was a large following and a big community of love surrounding toy cameras. I became engrossed in all that these other film photographers were doing in an age when supposedly film photography was ‘dead.’ The enormity of Lomography surprised me and I could not fathom how it had passed unseen for so long.

One of my favorite blogs, Gala Darling, included images of a few adorable cameras. One of which was neon pink and black. I spent hours delving on the internet to hunt down this pink picture taker and discovered it was a Mr. Pink Diana clone produced by Lomography. I had to have one. At the time Lomography was temporarily out of stock and so I took to eBay where I found one in mint condition for sale. I wanted it with my heart of hearts and after bidding and crossing my fingers, I won it!

The packaging was impressive, and the camera was certainly an attention getter. Pink with black accents and an insane flash. The Reservoir Dogs reference was an added bonus. It was my first experience using medium format film, but I caught on quickly and loved that I was embracing something new to me. I took my camera to my friend Rikki’s birthday party. My friends hardly recognized me, but everyone loved the camera. The photo at the start of this post is a shot of a lamp that was hanging above the bar at the party that I found really interesting. It is one of the few shots I really like from that first roll of film.

The Mr. Pink Diana camera not only came with frames, a flash, flash gels and an instruction booklet, but also a hard cover pocket history of the Diana. In which I learned about the history of the Diana camera, the various versions (or clones) that had been produced and that, despite never using it, Andy Warhol had owned one. I then searched around local camera shops to no avail to find a vintage Diana, an original. When I came up empty handed I went back to eBay and found a brand new–never used–still in it’s original box Diana camera circa 1964 (The strap still had the tape on it!!). I was in love. My hands shook when the camera arrived and I held it for the first time. I was about to put film in it for the first time. Since it had been molded and packaged in 1964 no one else had taken photos with it! The history of this camera! Where had it been all this time?!! How could this be! I shot 2 rolls of film with it and try to save it for special outings.

Shortly thereafter I discovered the instant back for Diana F+ cameras by Lomography. I saved up for one and started using Mr. Pink as my 365 project camera, exclusively shooting Fuji instax mini pictures everyday for all of 2013. You can learn a lot by shooting a camera for an entire year. At times the simplicity frustrated me, capturing a sunset seemed impossible, but soon all of that fell away. I kept trying, I used a lot of film, I learned to find beauty in “mistakes” and the timing became innate. Sunsets were a breeze, the layering of double exposures, flash gels, and subjects became an art form. The camera holds endless possibilities once ego is out of the way. It’s just you and the camera.

I found myself longing to use the Diana for every outing. Only having the one camera and using it for the 365 project made it impossible for me to shoot a roll of film and then shoot pack film again, too much to remove and put back in order to do so. I needed a second Diana.

My friend Natasha announced that she was moving from the desert to the East Coast and was selling all of her awesome stuff to get there. I messaged her to ask if there would be cameras, she obliged. She sold me her mint green confection, the Diana Dreamer. I fell in love instantly. The Dreamer came with me on day trips to Jerome, AZ, she came with me to parties, she went hiking with me, she came home to Rhode Island for Christmas with me and got to shoot snow for the first time. Everywhere I went I had 2 Dianas–Mr. Pink and The Dreamer.

Flash forward to February 13th, the day before Valentines Day. My boyfriend–who does not believe in and does not celebrate Valentine’s Day–came home with a box, for me. He smiled and said to me “Not for Valentine’s Day, but because I love you,” and handed me a Love Letters Diana F+ camera. It was love at first sight. All over again. The fabric inlay feels comfortable in my hands, the snappy red lens cover and flash compliment the xoxo’s motif. I’ve already loaded her up with Kodak Tri-X 400 black and white film and shot a romantic picture of the full moon last night through the branches of a tree. I can’t wait to see what adventures we’ll go on together.

Four cameras in and I think this means I’m becoming a Diana collector. In that time frame I’ve also gifted 2 friends with Diana cameras and have converted another as a Diana lover! If you have never shot with a Diana camera, I recommend you do!