August 5 marked the first (annual? biannual? quarterly?) #DianaDay on Twitter. Founded by Denise, #DianaDay is a celebration of all things Diana: “No winners, no prizes. Just a celebration of a fun toycam. Shoot Aug5 & post with the tag #DianaDay anytime after til the 31st!”
My only Diana camera, at present, is the Diana Mini, so I had the daunting task of shooting through a whole roll, either half frame or square, in one day… I made it, but only just.
I got started early.
Getting started early for #dianaday with some @fujifilmprofilm Superior XTRA 400 and the #DianaMini. Going for half frame. Will I make it? pic.twitter.com/lb8tKPvvSz
— James Cockroft (@jam_esc) August 5, 2017
Luckily, I had a plan to drive to Tyler, TX for a project, and so I figured that would take care of most of the ~50 frames, even though I went out with no plan at all.
I shot some on the way to Tyler.
There was some great spots of low fog out in the country, but 1) I wasn’t quick enough to capture it at 75mph and 2) I neglected to set or even check the focus. Oh how I love zone focus cameras… and my inability to attend to things.
I need to work on that.
Anyway, I went to Tyler and shot what I needed to for the project I’m working on, then took the Diana Mini on a brief walk around downtown Tyler. It was quiet, and bright out, and getting hotter by the minute, so I didn’t stay too long, but managed to shoot through about half of the roll.
I had some chores to do back in DFW, so I headed home after that. This big American flag caught my eye on my way out of town, but I didn’t stop for a closer look.
I stopped at the rest area in Canton, TX, and ended up playing with the focus… There’s not a huge difference, really, between infinity focus (on the left) and .6m (on the right):
If I can remember to, I might just set it to 2.4 meters and assume everything will be sharp enough, rather than trusting myself to check focus before shooting.
After I got back to DFW, I did some chores, napped, and wiled away the afternoon. I kept thinking I should go for a walk or something, but I never did. I went out to fetch some dinner from the halal Chinese place around the corner. (Probably the last time: my darling, adorable wife’s cooking is so delicious and so (relatively) healthy, that I’ve gotten spoiled and have developed something of an intolerance to “outside food,” especially relatively cheap stuff like the Chinese place, the fried chicken place, the burger place… pretty much all of our usuals. Alhamdulillah. Allahu Akbar.)
In addition to forgetting about focus, I forgot about the B/N switch a couple of times too… I like how this one turned out; most of the rest were completely blown.
In the end, I ended up finishing the roll while sitting on the sofa watching a movie or something with my darling, adorable wife. I don’t remember what we watched… must’ve been good. Here are our feets:
I like how those came out.
So that was #DianaDay, for me. Looking back, I think this camera should be treated something like the LC-Anstax: use it for events, parties, fun stuff; stick a flash on it and just play. It’s not to be taken too seriously, like much of the toy cameras from Lomography, it’s first a toy. I’m sure it’s capable of greatness: all cameras are. But I’m not that great, and so it’s maybe better left as a toy in my hands. Maybe treating it more playfully will lead to better results?
I have the flash for it, so next neighborhood party, maybe I’ll throw a roll in and just play: it could be fun!
