All about Diana+
The Big Picture (Forget All About It)
Seriously, just put it all out of your mind. We’ll no longer “look for the big picture,” and there will be no more “getting an overview” or “stepping back to take it all in.” All of these concepts imply an abrupt halt to activity - a conscious pause of your natural drive and instincts. As we say day in and day out: Be fast. Who’s got the time to consider the implications when close to a million tremendous potential photos are streaming right past your nose? No Diana owner worth their chops would spend one iota of energy on the big picture when there are so many crucial elements to focus on.
To hold, point, and shoot a Diana camera implies a conscious decision to relinquish control. To concentrate your creative powers on capturing the moment and telling a story—rather than fiddling with a bunch of knobs and levers. A blurry-soft and dreamy-toned Diana image is more an interpretation of reality than a correct representation of it. In a way, it’s somehow more accurate to compare the Diana to an oily vintage typewriter than to a megapixel machine of today. With each click of the shutter, a moment is captured in a unique and fairly unpredictable way—and a small narrative begins to reveal itself. As the viewer, you’re invited to read into it and interpret it in your own way. On top of that, you can count yourself as an individual note in the Diana’s illustrious history - which dates back to the better part of 40 years.
The Grand History of the Diana Camera
Back in the 1960’s, a small firm in Hong Kong – the Great Wall Plastics Factory – created a dirt-cheap 120 camera called the “Diana.” Crafted entirely of plastic, each camera cost about a dollar. As a mainstream product, the Diana was pretty much a failure – and was discontinued in the 1970’s. But like any superstar cut down in their prime, the Diana’s posthumous appeal skyrocketed. As a cult artistic tool of avant-garde and lo-fi photographers, it was a rousing success! They loved its soft & dreamy images, super-saturated colors, unpredictable blurring, and random contrast. Diana shots are raw & gritty, with a character all their own. They simply cannot be duplicated by any other camera on Earth! In short order, the Diana rose to prominence as one of the most treasured and sought-after cult analog cameras from the late 70’s onward.
The Diana+ Camera
Ever look at a majestic classic car and wish that you could walk down to the dealership and pickup such a beauty brand new? That’s pretty much sums up our feelings when we came across the Diana. Who could resist the charms of its plastic body? How could you not absolutely love its lo-fi masterpiece photos? Something this beautiful, this classic, and this crucial to the world of analog photography shouldn’t have suffered such an early demise. And since we had the means, the knowledge, and the opportunity to rebuild the Diana from the ground up (with a few extras tossed in) - the Lomography Diana+ was born in 2007. The Diana’s original charms (radiant color-dripping lens, soft-focus surprises, all-plastic body, dead-simple shutter) were expertly duplicated to provide the authentic look n’ feel of the original. On top of that, brand new Pinhole & Endless Panorama features were added into the mix – thereby paving the way for an entirely new class of Diana images and techniques!
