LomoWalls & LOVE

During a walk around downtown Manhattan with my aunt, we went to the MoMA Design Store on Spring Street.  They have a lomography display with four large 'walls' made up of a mosaic of lomographic shots.  These are the 'LomoWalls.'  There is also a variety of cameras, lenses, accessories, and books for sale.  I had my Fisheye No.2 and managed to take two or three photos before the guard looked at me and I put the camera back in my bag.  After we were done looking around the store and were about to leave, I decided I wanted another few shots of the LomoWalls.  I took the Fisheye out as I walked to the display but there were no other people around like before, and the guard saw the camera and said I wasn't allowed to take photos.  I really wish I had it prepared to shoot in my hands so I could snap a quick one of him walking towards me, that would have been perfect!  I should have been following the lomography 'golden rules.'

LomoWalls are on display at three different MoMA locations around New York until February 4th.  I'd like to check out the LomoWalls in Midtown if I get a chance.  A LomoWall is created from a flood of authentic, colorful, crazy, dazzling analog snapshots.  Lomography enthusiasts from around the world - Lomographers, as they are known - shoot the photos using analog Lomographic cameras.  The LomoWalls on display around New York were built from approximately 16,300 individual Lomographs.  These photos were chosen from many submissions around the world.  Once I improve my lomography skills, I'd like to submit my photos and possibly have one on exhibit!

There's a new Lomography Gallery Store opening on January 26 on W. 8th Street.  This is New York City's first Lomography store and features a 35,000- image LomoWall, 7 special edition Diana F+ cameras, over 50 types of film and lots of other fun stuff.  I'm sure I'll love it!  The LomoWall runs throughout the store, including the staircase where the viewer is surrounded by 360-degrees of lomographs!  I definitely need to check it out soon.  I've decided I want to have a collection of cameras and the next cameras on my list are the Oktomat and the SuperSampler.  The Oktomat splits the photo into 8 (2x4) parts and the SuperSampler divides it into 4 long rectangles and has a ripcord pull for a trigger!  They both seem so cool and so much fun, I can't wait to use them!

Down the block is LOVE, a club on Macdougal Street that I went to with David and Rich last Saturday to see Hugmode, Pink Skull, and Romanthony.  Hugmode is our friend Mike, Pink Skull is a electronic duo with the Savant Guard, and Romanthony is the voice on Daft Punk's "One More Time."  There was music, dancing, and all that good stuff.

LOVE has a cavernous feel with stone walls and red lights in the main bar area.  There's a big waterfall and you can see through it into a small side room with weird curvy couches and more red lights.  As you walk to the back, there's an all- black room with a few couches, and then the dance area!  There was another very small bar but with two bartenders and it never got as crowded as the front bar.  The DJ booth was long and open onto the dance floor, and they had green lasers, two disco ball halves, black lights and other colorful and crazy lights.

I had my Fisheye No.2 then too and I took photos of myself, David, and Rich as well as the all the lights.  I tried a few long exposure shots with the lights and I hope it comes out well.  I haven't finished that roll yet but I'm excited to see it.  I'm going to put all my negatives onto CDs so I'll finally have my lomography on the computer and include it in blogs!

*

MoMA Design Store, SoHo  [ 81 Spring Street ]

MoMA Design Store  [ 44 W. 53rd Street ]

MoMA Design and Book Store  [ 11 W. 53rd Street ]

Lomography Gallery Store  [ 41 W. 8th Street ]

LOVE  [ 179 Macdougal Street ]

2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

... to the start of a great new year!

Diana

This is the Diana.

Back in the 1960's, a small firm in Hong Kong - the Great Wall Plastics Factory - created a dirt-cheap 120 camera called the "Diana."  Crafted entirely of plastic, each camera cost about a dollar.  As a mainstream product, the Diana was pretty much a failure and was discontinued in the 1970's.

But like any superstar cut down in their prime, the Diana's posthumous appeal skyrocketed. As a cult artistic tool of avant-garde and lo-fi photographers, it was a rousing success!  They loved its soft & dreamy images, super-saturated colors, unpredictable blurring, and random contrast.

Diana shots are raw & gritty, with a character all their own. They simply cannot be duplicated by any other camera on Earth!  In short order, the Diana rose to prominence as one of the most treasured and sought-after cult analog cameras from the late 70's onward.

I recently bought my own Diana F+ camera, and although I haven't gotten to experiment enough yet, it's pretty great!  I love its black and blue outfit, the front trigger shutter release, and the old-school square flash kicks out quite an intense burst of light! With the addition of the color gel filters, what's not to love?

I'm hoping to get the 35mm back and Splitzer for Christmas so I can try some of the cool techniques in these photos. (Got that, Santa?)  The 35mm back has four frame options, two which expose the entire width of the film.  I just love the look of the sprocket holes!  The Splitzer takes the fun of multiple exposures to the next level!  Yeah!!

*Photos & Information from LSI

[lomography.com]

I [heart] NY

I love New York!  I was born in Manhattan and raised in Brooklyn so it only seemed fitting that the first blog be dedicated to the city.  These are a few of my photos taken in NY a few years ago.  The first is one of my favorites.

[ brooklyn heights promenade ]

[ prince & mercer ]

[ brooklyn bridge ]

[ brooklyn heights promenade ]

[ junior's restaurant ]