Experiments (My New Toy)

For my birthday, Chris got me a diana lens for my digital SLR. This might seem like a weird idea, getting an incredibly low tech toy camera lens for a high tech digital camera. It might be, but it is so fun. It is freeing to slap on a lens that makes everything, um, impressionistic (to be polite). It lets me think about framing, color and mood, without being too obsessed with getting the focus detail just right. Plus, the diana only works in full manual mode, which pushes me to pay more attention to what I am doing as I take pictures, instead of leaving things at one aperture whether or not it is appropriate to the light and situation. 

early cherry blossoms

I took a bunch of pictures of Ada using a variety of settings, and even this one is clearly "too dark" I love the look - it reminds me of a fairy tale, with the heroine entering the deep, dark forest. I can't wait to show it to Ada.

Laurelhurst park pond

I also own a (film-using) Holga, which I love, but I am so in love with being able to review my pictures at the end of the day that the Holga gets a bit neglected. In fact, I have a roll of film taken with the Holga (mumble-mumble) months ago that is STILL waiting to get developed. I'll get right on that, I promise. In the mean time, I am having a great time playing with my low tech lens without losing my high tech ability to See It Now! Right Now!