London's Burning

I literally have been watching the rolling news on Sky / BBC for the last 48 hours. I don't know about anyone else but I am glued to my screen. I was surprised actually when I looked on my blog list and no-one had made an entry about the rioting already. I am looking at aerial footage of London right now and it looks like it is in the aftermath of a world war. I don't believe any of the people out on the street being criminals in this way have any political message or genuine motivation for this action. I appreciate it began following the shooting on Thursday evening but what is happening now is so far removed from that and I am sure Mark Duggan's family are appalled by all this. I personally have not watched the news as much as this since 11 September 2001.  For me it has led to a number of questions:-
1) Why had BBM not been shut down already? If that is the way the thugs of today are organising themselves (as reports have suggested), why don't Blackberry just stop it working for a while. 
2) Why were the army not bought in on Saturday/Sunday to deal with the problems before it got so bad? Don't get me wrong I am still a liberal hippy and not an advocate of the rubber bullet / tear gas / water cannon plans but surely the armed forces are better equipped and trained to deal with something on this scale than the Met alone. Not that the Met didn't do a great job, putting their lives at risk. 
3) What is the difference between a looter and a burglar? I thought looting happened after like a natural disaster, once shops have already been damaged anyway? Maybe I got that wrong but in my opinion these morons are just vandals, burglars and thugs. 

Hope everyone is safe in their part of the country. Fingers crossed that we wake up and this is all over.

Camera Review 7 - Diana Mini

I have had a Lomography Diana Mini for quite a long time now and I have to say it was my favourite camera of 2010. I used it far too much. I love how the huge Diana flash fits it but looks kind of too big. I think this is cute. I stopped using it a bit when  I got my LC-A, and had never particularly fancied any of the clone version of the Mini. When I saw the valentine's "Love is in the air" version in the Soho Lomography store I really wanted it. So after saving up and selling my older Diana Mini, I bought the camera below:-

I have fallen in love with this magic little camera and its funny big flash all over again. I really enjoy the half frame option as you get so many more photos on one roll of film so is good for the cheapskate in me. It is also good to make crazy combinations on one frame. The square frame is also a bit of a classic. The camera is really easy to use and gets super results with the coloured flash. Some examples of both formats can be seen below.

This is a great camera with endless possibilities. You can multiple expose to hearts content, choose from 2 formats and it is small enough to fit into a handbag so makes a great night out camera. I love it very very much again, and even more so because of the cute design.

Sprockets!!

LOMOGRAPHY PRESS RELEASE

A New Website About Sprocket Hole Photography

www.sprocket-hole-photography.com

·       A Brand New Website All About Sprocket Holes

·       Aimed at newcomers to analogue photography

·       Website designed in the style of a roll of 35mm film

·       Information on what sprocket holes are and how to expose them with Lomography Cameras

The brand new Lomography website www.sprocket-hole-photography.com is designed as an introduction to sprocket holes for analogue newcomers – The website explains what sprocket holes are and highlights the range of Lomography cameras which allow you to shoot through the sprocket holes – Oh, and the website is designed in the style of a scrolling roll of 35mm film!

What Are Sprocket Holes?

Sprocket holes are the little square holes which run along the top and bottom of a 35mm film. They play a functional role in analogue photography because they hook onto your camera’s winder when you load the film – The little teeth of a film camera hook into these holes and transport the film to the next frame. Sprocket-holes are unique to 35mm analogue photography. Neither 120 medium format films nor any digital format features sprocket-holes.

Lomography Cameras That Can Expose Sprocket Holes

Lomography Sprocket Rocket

The world’s first wide-angle camera dedicated entirely to joys of sprocket-hole photography.

Sprocket Rocket Microsite

Spinner 360˚

Capture 360° panoramas, sprocket holes and all!

Spinner 360˚ Microsite

Diana F+ with Diana F+ 35mm back

The Diana’s standard format is 120 – But use the Diana F+ 35mm back and the camera becomes a sprocket fuelled wonder.

Diana F+ Microsite

Lubitel 166+

The Lubitel 166+ has the ability to shoot lovely 120 square images or 35mm panoramic portraits which include the sprocket holes.

Lubitel 166+ Microsite