enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

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I have had my eye on this little camera for the past year or so. I finally bought one at my local art store with a 40% off coupon. I took a roll of film over the long weekend and waited nervously yesterday for the results. I was pleased that about 40% of them were awesome. Not film genius, that's for sure. But interesting and fun.

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First things first, this camera is a toy. It's made completely of plastic and super light. That said, it's not very easy to use. Lots of knobs to adjust how much light to let in as well as four different focusing options. I referred to the manual a lot for the first roll. And based on the number of blurry prints, I still have a lot of learning to do.

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But what's awesome is that it takes standard 35mm film which you can buy for cheap and get developed anywhere. You can take photos two ways : as square prints and as portrait style "half prints". (I have no idea what the technical terms are.)

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Both can be printed as 4×6 photos. The squares get black borders on the sides and the double prints just go two per print. My photo developer told me that it is better to shoot a whole roll one way or the other because it makes it easier for them to see where one ends and the next begins. I'll keep this in mind next time.

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You also have the ability to rewind the film one frame and make double exposures. I haven't figured that part out yet. All of my double exposures on this roll were complete accidents. I am hoping that sticking with one format and being diligant about advancing the film completely will help for the next roll.

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I took this roll with 200 ISO film which explains why my indoor photos didn't turn out well compared to the outdoor sunlight flooded ones. I'd use 400 or higher if I was going to be taking a lot of images inside.

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That last image is by far my favorite. I love the style & lighting – they seem to scream summertime right? (Of course, the palm trees help too.) And nothing beats getting actual prints. Seeing these makes me inspired to make a new mini book which hasn't been the case in awhile.

We are going to Disneyland this weekend with Paul's family and some friends and I am looking forward to bringing it up there for some fun shots.

Inothernews

Thanks so much for the excitement over our newly painted dresser and the blog design workshop. So far the dresser is holding up well. I am not going to try to seal it; I'll just repaint and touch up as needed. No big deal. And the workshop is continuing to take shape in my head. I will be keeping you posted over the next couple weeks. Tentative start date would be mid March/early April.

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23 responses to “the diana mini.”

  1. Liz Avatar
    Liz

    Really great pictures, I really like the grainy effect. I’d like to try it too!

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  2. creole wisdom Avatar

    I own the fish eye camera but have yet to develop my prints from it. I’ve also had my eye on the Diana. Did you know that they also make a model with flash and a model that has a cute floral print body? I saw all three of them at UO.
    I love the last two shots!
    Thanks for sharing these, and the dresser turned out nice.

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  3. kelly purkey Avatar

    love love the film shots! you did a great job ๐Ÿ™‚

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  4. tiffany | live happy Avatar

    As a fellow Paper Sourcer, I’ve had my eye on the mini Diana for quite a while now…it semms like it would be fun to play with a real camera instead of just my hipstamatic app.
    And you’re right, that last picture just made all your time and money totally worth it with the camera!

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  5. jessica o'brien | jessohbee Avatar

    so cool!
    i love the double exposures! esp. you over the palm tree. also, the square prints rock.
    i think you did a great job for the first try + can’t wait to see more!

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  6. Michelle E Avatar

    very cool! Good write up – you’re too convincing argh!! haha

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  7. Rachel Avatar

    I adore my Diana Mini, along with the fisheye2 it is my favourite lomography camera yet (though I have still to finish the first lot of film in my Holga).
    Nothing beats real prints and that last shot is beautiful

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  8. Linda in KS Avatar
    Linda in KS

    Did you use regular film or the lomography film? I’m so intrigued by this little camera … I may have to invest in one. The last picture is awesome.

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  9. Charisse Avatar

    This is amazing! I love the way it will print two images side by side. It’s like a photo collage – on one print – awesome. (Btw, totally obsessed with your blog lately. It was hiding in my favorites and I just “refound” it. So happy I did!)

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  10. Monica Avatar
    Monica

    I love that last picture too! Wow โค

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  11. elise blaha Avatar

    35mm – which is regular.

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  12. elise blaha Avatar

    ๐Ÿ™‚ thank you.

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  13. Cara-Mia Avatar

    I love the Diana Mini!
    Btw, to do double exposures, I don’t think you rewind. You just don’t wind it for the next picture, just take the second picture like that. If that makes sense…

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  14. elise blaha Avatar

    That totally makes sense, thanks!

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  15. Jill Avatar

    Hey Elise –
    You completely inspired me to make a impulse buy at Dick Blick tonight. . . with a 30% off coupon – so I bought a mini! Question – where did you have your developing done? A chain or a local developer? I love the one of you with the palm ๐Ÿ™‚

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  16. elise blaha Avatar

    hi Jill, I develop at Nelsons, right across the street from Dick Blick on India. They are AWESOME. Have fun!

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  17. Signe, Denmark Avatar
    Signe, Denmark

    Hi Elise, Oh what fun this mini capture seems to be! Love the “half prints” and the feel of “70ยดs light”. Thanks for sharing!

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  18. stephanie p Avatar
    stephanie p

    all of the toy cameras are tons of fun. i love not knowing exactly what you are going to get. there’s something awesome about the imperfections.
    lomography also offers 35mm film for this camera with the typical lomo tints- i think there’s red and blue maybe green- but these are fun too and are 35mm so its easy to get developed. (i found them at blick and urban outfitters.)
    have fun & i can’t wait to see what else you do with it.

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  19. elise blaha Avatar

    Very cool. I think I saw different colored lens filters too… but those might have been for the bigger Diana.

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  20. Project:Lorna Avatar

    I have had heaps of issues including some films that didn’t turn out which was pretty devastating at the time but I always have so much fun taking pictures with it. I have no idea what I should be doing to make my pictures better but that doesn’t stop me. So lovely!

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  21. Sarah Avatar

    Just wondering what local store you got it at? Wondering whether that store exists in Oregon….your photos make me want one!!

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  22. elise blaha Avatar

    its called blick art supply. but I am pretty sure urban outfitters sells them too.

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