Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Our Favorite Things: Taking Photos of your Dog with a Diana F+ Mini Camera

 Much like our previous post, our pooches have moved beyond being a way to "use up film" to becoming front and center of our photo attempts. Much of our time is spent walking around the city, and we're always looking for new ways to photograph our travels. We wrote before about the Lomography Fisheye Number 2 Camera, and now we're working with another Lomography camera: The DianaF+ Mini.
This is another "toy camera" which is cute and lightweight, but intentionally uses poor construction and light leaks to create serendipitous photos. We like the vintage look, imagining how our pooches may have looked in the '70's.
 And the surprises we get with fading and light leaks:
We're especially excited to take it on an upcoming trip, as the photos give an ethereal view of the scenery. Like this trip to Navy Pier which looks a bit circa '78 :
And the fact that you can take photos on photos, where I was able to magically move the Ferris Wheel over the the city skyline:
The photos work best on sunny days. I also need to remember to focus up, as the image through the viewfinder is different than the lens, and some of my photos are coming out a bit "low". There is also the old school anticipation of waiting for the roll to finish, before you can actually see your photos. This has actually been a lot of fun for us, and we'll continue to post as we take pictures.

P.S. Today is also a special day because it is E's birthday! I wish everyone knew how smart, funny, generous, and kind he is. The other day he not only did all the grocery shopping but he picked up ALL these flowers. Just because:
E also works hard to make our lives easier. He always takes the cold shift to walk the dogs. He surprises me by making my lunch for the week (the thing I absolutely hate about Sundays!). He buys me fancy electronics I never knew I needed, but now can't live without. And he makes up songs for Miss M and Mr. B.
Happy Birthday to E! We're so glad you were born!

29 comments:

Unknown said...

That's a really cool camera!!

Happy birthday E! You're a pretty awesome guy! Hope you have a very special day and that the pooches give you lots of loving...A too! :)

Chris M said...

I like those pictures! It sounds like everyone is pretty lucky to have E and A and Ms. M and Mr. B around, what a wonderful family you guys make up! Happy birthday E!

The Heartbeats said...

Love the camera- very artistic! And what a sweet post about E!

Mamma Heartbeat

Maisie's Mom said...

happy birthday E! you seem to be a lucky guy with a lucky wife (not to mention two great dogs, of course)!

Sightless said...

pret-ty cool camera.

Happy Birthday E!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday E! Maybe as a special birthday present, Mr B and Miss M should take you for a nice long walk to all your favorite places.

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday, E, and thanks for being born!
Not surprisingly, you are a lot like my B. He also takes the cold shift to walk the dogs. He also does the dreaded Sunday night tupperware duty. He also buys me fancy electronics I never knew I needed, but now can't live without. And he loves to write songs about our Mr. Chick!

Brenda said...

Happy Birthday E! E+A+M+B sounds like a match made in heaven. Thanks for sharing bits of your lives with all of us. Great shot of the ferris wheel, by the way!

Anonymous said...

Such neat looking photos!

Sounds like E is definitely a keeper :) That's so sweet that he does all those things (especially taking the cold shift with the dogs - haha). Happy Birthday E - hope it's a wonderful day for you!

Kari in Alaska said...

There is a big store in our neighborhood dedicated to Lomography and we go in all the time to look at the photos and cameras.

Happy Birthday!

Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com

Mack and Mia said...

That flashy thing is pretty pawsome!

Happy Happy birthday E!! Those flowers look scrumptious...Hey, I'm just sayin...

Wags and Woofs,
Mack and Mia

The Daily Pip said...

Happy Birthday E!!!

Thanks for your good wishes about our move. Yes, probably out of the city. We have both lived here over 20 years (I also lived in New York for awhile before Chicago)and are ready for a change. My parents still live in Chicago so we will get our city fix through the grandparents AND of course, your blog!

Kristin (Pip's mom)

Kitty+Coco said...

Love the camera pics, and love that E is a great husband. Funny how doing the least desirable chores means more than a fancy gift most of the time. Good job, and happy birthday to E!

Kitty and Coco

Kate said...

Very cool camera!

Happy Birthday E! Last weekend I saw a dog that looked exactly like Mr. B and the person who was holding him could have been E. I didn't see A or Ms. M anywhere around though so I stopped myself from going over to them. Faux Mr. B sure was cute!

Heather said...

Happy birthday E! A and the pooches sounds like they are very lucky to have you! :)

Unknown said...

First of all Happy Birthday E! And second yay for a full shot of your fantastic gallery wall!

brooke said...

Happy birthday E!!!! Hope you have a great birthday!

love the camera effects. I dont think I could go back to film... Im too used to taking 50 shots of the same thing hoping to get one good one that I'd go through rolls of film!

Two French Bulldogs said...

What a great post, Happee Birthday
Benny & Lily

houndstooth said...

Happy Birthday, E!

I remember doing that double exposure trick on an old camera of my dad's. I love all the vintage looking shots!

jet said...

Happy birthday!!

Wyatt said...

Happy Birthday Mr. E!! Our dad sings songs about us too...he's funny that way :)
He just had a birthday last week, hmmm...coincidence...

Wyatt and Stanzie

Unknown said...

Happy belated birthday E!!

Neat photos!

Luci's Mama said...

Happy Birthday E!

Love the pictures...reading your blog always brightens my day :)

Road Dog Tales said...

Happy Birthday E!!! We can tell that you're a pretty special guy and A and Ms. M and Mr. B are super lucky to have you. Sounds like they know it, too!

Hope Ms. M and Mr. B shared their treats with you on your special day!

Mary said...

Oh, what a sweet birthday tribute! Happy birthday to E! You sound like an awesome guy, husband, and dog dad. I hope Ms. M and Mr. B were extra sweet and loving on your birthday.

Anonymous said...

Where do you get your film developed? It was hard finding someone who could develop 120 film, also cross-processing too. Any recommendations in Chicago?

Two Pitties in the City said...

Darwindapug--We go to Phoenix studio to get our 120 film developed. They're near Grand and Western. We have the Diana Dreamer also, but the film processing can get a bit step. We're happy to practice on our Diana mini which takes regular 35mm film that we can just drop off at Walgreens and have it scanned onto a disc. Once we get better at taking the photos--I still shot everything so low--I'm going to try the 120 film in the Diana Dreamer.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the info. I used to take pictures with a Holga, then I bought a russian camera from Lomography and I haven't used both for several yrs. Perhaps it's easier to take similar photos via IPhone apps, but it's not the same quality and I love taking multiple exposures and seeing how the photos turned out. Your photos are pretty cool! I'm thinking about going back to using my cameras after your post.

BTW, the cloud collar is amazing if your dogs don't do well the cone. Darwin can eat, sleep and play with it on. It also does not budge since there's a second collar. We got it through our vet but you can find a better price at Pet Smart.

Susan Campisi said...

Happy belated birthday, E! Love all the 70s pics and the final one with the two pitties surrounded by flowers in your place. The four of you make such a wonderful family!

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