A toy camera is a simple, inexpensive

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

camera. Despite the name, toy cameras are fully functional and capable of taking photographs, though with

optical aberration In optics, aberration is a property of optical systems, such as lenses, that causes light to be spread out over some region of space rather than focused to a point. Aberrations cause the image formed by a lens to be blurred or distorted, with t ...

s due to the limitations of their simple

lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...

es. From the 1990s onward, there has been interest in the artistic use of such cameras or recreation of this style, both with cameras originally designed for children, and others originally intended as mass-market consumer cameras. Many professional photographers have used toy cameras and exploited the

vignetting In photography and optics, vignetting is a reduction of an image's brightness or saturation toward the periphery compared to the image center. The word '' vignette'', from the same root as ''vine'', originally referred to a decorative bord ...

, blur, light leaks, and other

distortions In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signal ...

of their inexpensive lenses for artistic effect to take award-winning pictures. Toy camera photography has been widely exhibited at many popular art shows, such as the annual "Krappy Kamera" show at the Soho Photo Gallery in the

Tribeca Tribeca (), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Stree ...

neighborhood of New York City. Various publications such as ''Popular Photography'' magazine have extolled the virtues of the Diana camera in its own right as an "art" producing image maker. Several books have also featured the work of toy cameras such as The Friends of Photography's ''The Diana Show,'' ''Iowa'' by Nancy Rexroth, and ''Angels at the Arno'' by Eric Lindbloom.

Lomography

Lomography is a photographic style which involves taking spontaneous photographs with minimal attention to technical details. Lomographic images often exploit the unpredictable, non-standard optical traits of toy cameras (such as light leaks and irregular lens alignment), and non-standard film processing techniques for aesthetic effect. Similar-looking techniques with digital photography, often involving "lomo" image filters in post-processing, may also be considered Lomographic. While cheap plastic toy cameras using film were and are produced by multiple manufacturers, Lomography is named after the

Soviet-era The history of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (USSR) reflects a period of change for both Russia and the world. Though the terms "Soviet Russia" and "Soviet Union" often are synonymous in everyday speech (either acknowledging the dominance ...

cameras produced by the Leningradskoye Optiko-Mekhanicheskoye Obyedinenie (LOMO). Lomography has been a highly social pursuit since 1992, with local and international events organised by The Lomographic Society International (Lomography, a commercial company selling analogue cameras, films and accessories). The company continues to promote the Lomographic style; however, it is not necessary to use the company's products to take Lomographic photos. "Lomography" is claimed as a commercial trademark by The Lomographic Society International, associated with a photographic image style and a film camera movement and international Lomography Community. However, it has become a genericised trademark; most

camera phone A camera phone is a mobile phone which is able to capture photographs and often record video using one or more built-in digital cameras. It can also send the resulting image wirelessly and conveniently. The first commercial phone with color ca ...

photo editor apps include a "lomo" filter.

History

The Lomography name is inspired by the formerly state-run optics manufacturer, LOMO PLC of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

that created and produced the 35 mm LOMO LC-A Compact Automat camera, now central to Lomography. This camera was loosely based upon the Cosina CX-1 introduced in the early 1980s. The LOMO LC-A produces "unique, colorful, and sometimes blurry" images. Lomo-lca sample

The Lomographic Society International was founded in 1992 by a group of

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city * Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance * ...

students interested in the LC-A, a camera created by LOMO PLC of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Lomography started as an art movement through which the students put on exhibitions of photos; the art movement then developed into the Lomographische AG, a commercial enterprise.

Lomography

Lomography is a commercial company headquartered in Vienna, Austria, which sells cameras, accessories, and film. Lomography signed an exclusive distribution agreement with LOMO PLC in 1995 — becoming the sole distributor of all LOMO LC-A cameras outside of the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. The new company reached an agreement with the deputy mayor of St Petersburg, the future Russian Prime Minister and President,

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, to receive a

tax break Tax break also known as tax preferences, tax concession, and tax relief, are a method of reduction to the tax liability of taxpayers. Government usually applies them to stimulate the economy and increase the solvency of the population. By this fi ...

in order to keep the LOMO factory in the city open. Since the introduction of the original LOMO LC-A, Lomography has produced a line of their own film cameras. In 2005, production of the original LOMO LC-A was discontinued. Its replacement, the LOMO LC-A+, was introduced in 2006. The new camera, made in China rather than Russia, featured the original Russian lens manufactured by LOMO PLC. This changed as of mid-2007 with the lens now made in China as well. In 2012 the LC-A+ camera was re-released as a special edition. It costs ten times the original secondhand value of the old LOMO LC-A. The Lomographic Society International (Lomography) has moved on to produce their own range of analogue cameras, films and accessories. Lomography has also released products catered to digital devices, such as the Smartphone Film Scanner; and several lenses such as the Daguerreotype Achromat lens collection for analogue and digital SLR cameras with Canon EF,

Nikon F The Nikon F camera, introduced in April 1959, was Nikon's first SLR camera. It was one of the most advanced cameras of its day. Although many of the concepts had already been introduced elsewhere, it was revolutionary in that it was the first ...

or Pentax K mounts, inspired by 19th century

Daguerreotype Daguerreotype (; french: daguerréotype) was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre a ...

photography. In 2013, together with Zenit, Lomography produced a new version of the Petzval Lens designed to work with Canon EF and Nikon F mount SLR cameras. Some have questioned the pricing of Lomography's plastic "toy" cameras, which run from $100 to $400 US.

Models

Cameras that have been marketed by Lomography: * LOMO LC-A+ * LC-A 120 * Lomo LC-Wide * Diana F+ * Diana Mini – a 35 mm version of the Diana F+ * Diana Baby - a 110 format version of the Diana F+ * Diana Multi Pinhole Operator * Diana Instant Square * Spinner 360° - a 360° panoramic camera * Sprocket Rocket * ActionSampler - a four-lensed miniature 35 mm camera * Pop-9 * Oktomat * Fisheye One * Fisheye No.2 * Fisheye Baby - a 110 format version of the Fisheye No.2 * Colorsplash * Colorsplash Flash * SuperSampler * La Sardina * LomoKino – a 35 mm analog movie camera * Konstruktor – a build-it-yourself 35 mm SLR camera * HydroChrome Sutton’s Panoramic Belair Camera * LomoMod No.1 – a flat-packed DIY cardboard medium format camera * Fritz the Blitz Flash * LomoApparat * Lomo'Instant * Lomo'Instant Automat * Lomo'Instant Automat Glass * Lomo'Instant Wide

Film

The company produces 35 mm, 120 and 110 film in color negative, black and white as well as redscale. Lomography also produces its own range of experimental color-shifting film called LomoChrome.

Photo gallery

File:Fisheye2 0709.jpg, A Fisheye 2 with a fisheye viewfinder File:LOMOLCA.jpg, A 1988 LOMO LC-A camera File:Wakayama-jo-Lomo.jpg, Fisheye-lens photo of Wakayama Castle File:Lomography Supersampler (5237253103).jpg, Lomography Supersampler File:Lomography Action Sampler Fixed Focus 4-Lens 35mm (8397933892).jpg, Lomography Action Sampler File:Lomography Oktomat photo.jpg, Photo taken with a Lomography Oktomat with 8 sequentially-firing shutters Photography by genre Trademarks

References

External links

Lomography and the ‘Analogue Future’
Time, 2012 {{Photography Cameras by type

Lomography

History

Lomography

Models

Film

Photo gallery

See also

References

External links