A new year…

It’s a new year and therefore that must mean it’s time to start blogging again!

I have a few things to post that I shot last year but never got round to getting them on here, and i got some new (old) cameras so i’m sure they will make an appearance. I really plan to pull my finger out this year and set up some cool photo shoots and i have a number of personal projects to tell you about.

I plan to take more photos with my holgas and also give the Dina Mini another chance! I didn’t have much luck with her but i’m looking forward to trying again (and hopefully not waste any more film). I’m also looking forward to using my Polaroid 340 more and have a fridge full of film waiting to be used.

Another thing i’ve been wanting to do for a while is get the Polaroid back back on my Holga and get some cool Holgaroid shots.

So lots to do and lots to blog about. I aways say this but i really do hope to update this more often, especially after seeing my end of year stats. It seems people are actually visiting this blog!

Thanks to you for reading my ramblings and check back again soon for more. Here is a silly pic to be going along with…

Have a great creative year and feel free to comment or follow me on Twitter (twitter.com/swallowingflies)

Tiny Toys

Another so called ‘toy’ camera has joined my collection recently, and it’s a little cutie!

No i’m not some giant, i’m just holding the Diana Mini (note to self: put towels away when taking photo in mirror!!)

I’ve never had a Diana camera before. I’ve got Holgas and so haven’t really seen the point in getting another plastic Lomo camera that also takes 120mm film. Is there really much difference in the type of shot it takes? But having one that shoots 35mm, now that’s a different matter!

The Diana Mini shoots half frame (two shots to a 35mm frame) and square format onto 35mm film. So, if set to half frame you can get loads of shots out of a roll. Fun if you like just snapping away, frustrating if you like to take thought through arty stuff, as it will take you ages to finish the roll of film. Shooting square will give you roughly 24 or 36 shots and i love the square format so i mostly used that setting.

Like the Holga you have to remember to set the focus, but unlike the lovely chunkiness of the Holga this is much more fiddly on the Diana Mini. Also like the Holga it has fixed shutter and just two aperture settings, though we all know that the aperture setting on the Holga dont actually do anything! It seems it does work on the Diana Mini however so remembering to check that (as well as making sure it hasn’t slipped into bulb mode) is also important.

The shot above was a very sunny day, i had forgotten to set the correct focus, i didn’t check the aperture setting and i had the crappiest roll of out of date ISO200 film in the camera… still, i remembered to take the lens cap off!!

I just love the colours and feel these cameras produce and I really want to shoot more colour with this and my Holgas but the cost of developing means i mostly shoot black & white. However, having said that i think my new Diana Mini will just live in my bag with a roll of old colour film in it, ready to grab as and when the right moment comes along.

What am I shooting with?

What am i shooting with at the moment? i hear you cry!!! Well that’s a good question. I have only been and gone and got myself a Diana Mini. Yep, another lomo so called ‘toy’ camera, and it’s a little cutie. I’m not going to say too much about it now as i want to save that for when i post some of the shots i’ve been taking with it… sorry.. with her. I’ve already shot a roll of black & white (well, part of a roll (all will be explained))(love the double bracket) and got a couple of shots of colour left before i send that roll to the lab. I look forward to seeing the results and will be posting some soon.

I’ve also won myself another Polaroid 340 land camera. As you’ll know if you’ve been following my blog i already have one of these vintage beauties but have wanted to try and snap up another one in case something happens to it. I’ve also really wanted to get hold of a close up lens kit that was made for the camera but is very hard to find. The good news is, this one i’ve just won comes with that kit. At least i think it does. I’ve not picked up the camera yet! Fingers crossed. I should be picking it up sometime this week.

Anyway, check back for more on those two gorgeous cameras and here’s a photo i shot some weeks ago…

As always you can follow me on twitter or feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to know what you think.