The Diana Camera
Artist's Statement
The Diana is a favorite camera of mine. Often given away in the '50s and '60s as a boardwalk prize, the Diana is simplicity embodied in plastic with few controls. This appeals greatly to me because it frees me to live in the moment and photograph what presents itself to me without preconceptions or labels of what I am supposed to see.
The deceptive simpleness of the Diana allows exploration of the world we live in. When I trip the shutter, it is so delightfully insignificant sounding, that I can hardly believe I have taken a picture. Light passes through the plastic lens imparting opposing qualities of clarity and obscurity. The transformation of the world through the Diana's plastic lens is magic.
Un-Technical Info
I shoot with a basic Diana camera and the modern equivalent, the Holga camera.
Kai in Seville, 2004
photo by Virginia Yamada.