Can I Please be a Photographer?

I love shopping, and my favorite place for this is the world wide web. My husband says I'm always on my laptop, but it's with good reason (most of the time). Here's something I've found just recently, that I needed to have:



Warning: To anyone who's photography-savvy, I'm going to sound like a beginner here. That's because I am one.

This is not a new camera, in fact, according to my research, the Diana camera originated in the 1960s in Hong Kong. Marketed as a toy camera, the first Dianas sold for very little (I have heard costs varying from pennies to a few dollars). Though categorized as a "toy", these plastic cameras are very capable of taking artistically brilliant shots, accomplishing "surprise" effects that some attempt to immitate with photo-editing software. 

Lomography is a great resource for all things analogue. I stumbled across this site during my quest to find out all things Diana, and I discovered that they are responsible for the reproduction of this camera, including the new Diana Mini, which is what I've decided on.

Both the Diana and the Diana Mini come with high reviews, but there were a few factors that I considered before making a decision:

1. I like small things.

2. I am an amateur.

3. I am currently unemployed.

The "amateur" thing was probably the most important. The Diana Mini takes standard 35mm film, and you can still buy this. I really wasn't sure until I checked. The Diana takes 120 film which I hear is more costly to have developed. You can purchase a special attachment for the Diana that will convert it to 35mm, but this costs another $38.

Another plus for the Diana Mini is that you can take 2 different sizes of photos. If you choose to take the standard square photos, you can achieve 36 photos. OR, you can utilize the half-frame option, which will allow for 72 photos on one roll! Yeah!

I panicked a bit when I realized that I purchased the Mini without the flash. The good thing is, the standard flash for the Diana will work for the Mini. I should note too, that I bought my camera along with a 3-pack of Lomography Color-Negative 800 Film. Obviously, I was not going to take my new camera out of its package without something to immediately load it with...c'mon. I bought this film because Amazon "said" it was frequently bought with the Diana Mini. Ok. Other than that, I had no clue what the numbers meant, so I just went with it. It set me back about $13.

I should also note that I Googled some how-tos. There are a lot of tutorials on the web for new users. What I really want is a book that I can physically page through. There doesn't seem to be much of anything, however, but I did order Plastic Cameras by Michelle Bates, for my Nook. It's more Holga-oriented, but it is sufficing.

My Diana Mini is due to arrive in 3 days, and I can hardly contain myself. I'll be sure to post my first experiences, if I can tear myself away from experimenting with it!