Snowing in Seattle

It's been snowing like crazy for the past few days here in Seattle.

These photos were taken with a Jamcam III, which is a low res digital camera.

Night Photography with Holga.

It's been a long while since I've done a night shoot. The lights on a wall going up as part of the new Beacon Hill light rail station was cool, and I knew if I didn't get out there, the image would disappear as the construction progresses.

I was out a little after 11 PM, and I was surprised by how much foot traffic passed by. I have always found it interesting that during the day, when there are tons of people out and about, no one will bother you or approach you if you've set up a tripod and camera. During the night, you'll always find at someone who will suddenly veer in your direction to see what you are doing.

Image will be posted when the film is processed.

Out of the box: Holga 135BC

I am a little behind on the blog here. I've posted the out of the box video for the Holga 135BC.

It can also be seen on my youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/kaituba

Holga 135BC

I just received my Holga 135BC. I will have an out of the box video posted very soon.

A quick look at the Holga 135BC. This is a 35mm camera, built around the plastic lens from your basic Holga 120. It has almost all the same features.

Zone focussing with 4 symbols

2 shutter settings, N and B-setting (1/100 sec and B setting will hold shutter open for as long as you depress the shutter)

2 aperture settings, which amusingly enough, is EXACTLY like the Holga 120 cameras, which means there is really only one setting. Flipping the aperture setting only flips a large square opening behind the fixed aperture, so there is no change

Tripod Socket

Shutter Release Cable Socket in the Shutter release button

Hot shoe for flash

Book Review: The Diana Camera - A Pictorial History by Alan Detrich

With all the interest in the recently released Diana+ and Diana F+ by Lomography, the original Diana camera sometimes gets forgotten as the original progenitor of the whole plastic or toy camera movement.

Alan Detrich first started using the Diana camera when he was a student at the Ohio Institute of Photography in 1982. Soon after, he started collecting the various incarnations of the Diana camera and it’s clones. The collection grew and grew and is probably the most complete collection of Diana cameras in the world.

This book shows all the cameras from Acme to Zodiac. I paged through the entire book, and I was fascinated by the multitude of cameras. When you thumb through the pages, you get a sense of the huge number of cameras, all the same or similar, with so many different nameplates. I have a fair number of vintage Dianas and clones, but nothing like this.

I’m glad I took the time to look at each page, because also nestled amongst the many photographs, is a letter from a woman who worked for Sino Trading Company, the importer of a Diana clone called the Sinomax. The story, while not exactly about the camera itself, lends a look into one of the many companies that chose the Diana camera to import under their own name.

The book also contains the story (or at least, one of the stories) of the origins of the Diana camera.

After the last photo of the Zodiac, there are essays on the Diana camera. Jonathan Bailey, Chris Crawford and Sean Duggan are the three photographers whose words and photos grace these pages.

This book is a must have for the avid Diana and clone collector and will be eye opening for the newer breed of plastic and toy camera photographers who use Holgas and Diana+ cameras and have no idea of the history behind them.

The Diana Camera - A Pictorial History will be a fine addition to my bookshelf, where it will sit in good company with my other Diana memorabilia, between the Diana Show catalog, and a 1971 issue of Popular Photography magazine, that has an article that discussed the use of $1 toy camera being used to teach photography at the Ohio University.