This week I have created a new page on my site so I have somewhere to put the pictures that I take with my new Diana Mini camera. Click on ‘Photographs’ on the above menu to check them out. As you know, I’m no photographer but my aim with taking these pictures is to try to mirror the atmosphere that I aim to create through some of my music. I will leave it up to you to decide what this atmosphere is but I do hope you see some parity between my different bits of work. If not then I need to try harder… With ‘branching out’ like this, I hope to add clarity to my musical thoughts as well as progress my ideas by taking influence from something very different from what I am used to.
The Diana Mini camera is designed to be a quick-fire analogue camera that encourages the user to take pictures of anything and everything and also to experiment. There are many pictures you can see on the Lomography website (the manufacturer) and I have uploaded my own to be a part of this. Click here to check out my page.
As an introduction to what Lomography is all about here are a set of rules that they encourage your photography to live by….
1. Take your camera everywhere you go.
2. Use it any time – day and night.
3. Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it.
4. Try the shot from the hip.
5. Approach the objects of your Lomographic desire as close as possible.
6. Don’t think.
7. Be fast.
8 You don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film.
9 Afterwards either.
10 Don’t worry about any rules.
This last rule is a particular favourite of mine as it’s one rule I try to make music by. Of course, being 100% devoid of a rule is not a good thing and I find hippy excess pretty deplorable and childish if I’m honest. So as ever, a little thought goes a long way! ……In a general sense, I’d like to add ‘…but don’t be an idiot’ to that last rule…. (I’m sure the Lomographic Society would agree!)
A quote from their website:
“Don’t listen to others; remain true to yourself, follow your inner Lomographic voice and never forget that not all that glitters is a golden rule. Discover your own Lomography, forget about your education, socialisation, indoctrination, knowledge and everything you’ve learned and not learned about photography. Set free your innermost desires, never stop moving, never stop Lomographing; believe in yourself, focus on the important and not so important things, enjoy life in all its variations, forget about the camera in your hand and shoot ’til your eyes are glowing!”
The idea of what the camera could do was what initially caught my eye, but to find out that the values the maufacturer promotes have already appeared to me in the concept of Derek Bailey‘s music was quite interesting…(I talked about Derek Bailey’s band a little in a previous blog post here). I think there are some great concepts among all this for being creative in general and much art and music does run parallel to this. After being restrained in various ways during my life and unproductive as a result I also think these ideas are good for life…so maybe take them on-board a little but yeah, don’t be an idiot about it….