Lomography


Offer someone a camera and they will probably hold it at eye level with both hands, taking care to line everything up perfectly. Most people think photos require a logical symmetry. However, lomographists subscribe to a different philosophy. The 10th golden rule of Lomography is, “Don’t worry about any rules.”

Lomography is a freestyle form of photography where anything goes. Typically, photographers use cameras such as the Diana F+, the Holga and the Fisheye, because they’re user-friendly and their low-cost designs produce unique shots.

Photo courtesy of Lomography Gallery Store, L.A.

Patrons of the Los Angeles Lomography Gallery Store know this to be a proven fact, and on Sunday night they gathered to attend the closing party for the Diana World Tour in celebration of the Diana camera.

Last February, the branch in Los Angeles opened its doors as the second Lomography store in the United States, and since then it has become the largest Lomography store in the world.

The style originated in the underground scene of Vienna, and has since inspired an international community of both artists and amateurs alike. Ten Golden Rules of Lomography do exist, but instead of constraining photographers, they serve to release Lomographers from the camera’s restriction, encouraging experimentation and shooting from the hip.

For the past month, the L.A. Lomography Gallery Store has hosted the Diana World Tour as well as the photo exhibition, “Vignettes from the City of Angels and the Custom Clones Collection.”

The tour started in Hong Kong in 2008 and has since traveled around the world, visiting cities such as New York, Lisbon, Paris and Berlin. Lindsay Hutchens, the gallery’s assistant manager, said the tour’s last residence was in Riga, Latvia and its next destination will be Sydney.

The main attraction is the Dietrich Collection, an assortment of more than 100 vintage Diana cameras from the 1950s-60s. Curated by Allan Dietrich, the collection showcases a visual history of the quintessential vintage camera — the Diana produces the kind of photos one would expect to find buried in an old family album.

The Diana’s plastic lens creates a soft focus, and coupled with its trademark saturation, an authentically old-school aesthetic is achieved. The rising popularity of 35mm film and instant cameras led to a decrease in the use of Dianas during the mid-1970s.

Fortunately, the Austrian company Lomographische AG revived the unique camera and incorporated them into the lomography scene.

Hutchens was quick to point out the dedication needed for analog cameras like the Diana.

“There are things you come to rely on and take for granted with digital cameras, whereas one like the Diana requires manual control and more experimentation,” she said.

The gallery itself was humming with artistic fervor, exemplified by the massive collage called the “LomoWall,” made of handpicked photos displaying Los Angeles through the eyes of the store’s “Lomo Amigos,” as the patrons and contributors call themselves.

Every table was covered with variously colored Diana specimens, some with bulky flash attachments and others pocket-sized for the impulsive photographer. The gallery had a retro atmosphere one would expect to find in a 1960s nightclub, vibrant yet simple and sophisticated.

As everyone discussed their favorite camera filters, DJ Jack Hughes played an eclectic mix of Bossa Nova, brassy jazz and a beat-infused Russian ballet. The Dietrich Collection was a blast from the past, since many of the film-spewing dinosaurs still had their original packaging. These cameras possessed a classic style, as if they were used to capture the smile of an Old Hollywood celebrity strutting across the red carpet.

Manager Michelle McIlroy said the intent of the L.A. gallery is to provide a “one stop shop for everything photography and Lomography.”

But McIlroy emphasized that the gallery was not meant to be strictly a retail venue.

“[The store is meant to be] a place where the local community can meet and share their passion,” she said.

Further reflecting this sense of community, photography workshops are offered weekly, as well as neighborhood LomoJourneys that include a rented camera and the chance to capture L.A. by film.

Another way the gallery stays connected to its supporters is through the tour’s charity-based “Vignettes from the City of Angels and the Custom Clones Collection.” A silent auction was held for each piece of the collection, with proceeds going to a charity of the artist’s choice.

Avid Lomo Amigos could submit vignettes expressing the way they view their city, making for an excellent showcase of the Diana’s trademark appeal.

In addition, famous Lomo Amigos such as Seth Rogen and Amanda Palmer sent in various Diana clones. Each clone was altered to become an extension of the artist; the Viper Room transformed its Diana into a musician’s microphone while other cameras became robots or were splashed in neon paint.

“Local artists were given carte blanche to do whatever they want,” Hutchens said.

That attitude expertly sums up the Diana camera and its vintage charm. Lomography allows people to express themselves without rules, using a medium that’s both unfiltered and conducive to the individual’s personality.

Most importantly, remember the motto of every Diana and its Lomographic cousins: “Don’t think, just shoot.”