Thursday
Sep252008
The Diana Camera Origins: Where did it all begin?
Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 3:05AM
The Diana and clone cameras were made and sold in the 1960s and 70s. Made in China, and imported primarily as the Diana, it was also shipped under many different labels and nameplates. The cheap plastic cameras were often given away as gas station premiums or boardwalk prizes.
The story of the Diana camera as an artist's tool, begins in the 1970s, when the photography department at Ohio University started teaching their students with cheap toy cameras.
The earliest documentation I have been able to find on this subject, is a Popular Photography article published in 1971 on the subject. The article was titled: $1 toy teaches photography
by Elizabeth Truxell, the Chairman of the Dept. of Photography at Ohio University in Athens.
In the article, Truxell outlines the program where students were able to purchase a Diana camera for use in class for $1.83, film for 15 cents a roll. The intent was to loosen up the students by having them shoot lots of film.
Nancy Rexroth of "Iowa" fame, was a graduate student working in the program, and is mentioned in the article and also is one of the photographers whose photo was used to illustrate the article.
From these humble beginnings, the magical images these simple plastic cameras produced became more widely known, becoming the phenomena we know today.
As demand for the scarce Diana cameras grew in the 1980s and 1990s, the Chinese made Holga became an able substitute and has grown to have quite it's own following of loyal enthusiasts.
Some 35 to 40 years later, the humble Diana camera has been reincarnated as the slightly improved Diana+. Although it resembles the original, the workings have been modernized and improved.
The Lomography Diana+ is nothing less than a camera system, complete with interchangeable lenses and accessories.
The story of the Diana camera as an artist's tool, begins in the 1970s, when the photography department at Ohio University started teaching their students with cheap toy cameras.
The earliest documentation I have been able to find on this subject, is a Popular Photography article published in 1971 on the subject. The article was titled: $1 toy teaches photography
by Elizabeth Truxell, the Chairman of the Dept. of Photography at Ohio University in Athens.
In the article, Truxell outlines the program where students were able to purchase a Diana camera for use in class for $1.83, film for 15 cents a roll. The intent was to loosen up the students by having them shoot lots of film.
Nancy Rexroth of "Iowa" fame, was a graduate student working in the program, and is mentioned in the article and also is one of the photographers whose photo was used to illustrate the article.
From these humble beginnings, the magical images these simple plastic cameras produced became more widely known, becoming the phenomena we know today.
As demand for the scarce Diana cameras grew in the 1980s and 1990s, the Chinese made Holga became an able substitute and has grown to have quite it's own following of loyal enthusiasts.
Some 35 to 40 years later, the humble Diana camera has been reincarnated as the slightly improved Diana+. Although it resembles the original, the workings have been modernized and improved.
The Lomography Diana+ is nothing less than a camera system, complete with interchangeable lenses and accessories.
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