The Film Photography Project Reviews the Diana Baby 110

Last year, the 110 film format celebrated a glorious comeback with the Diana Baby, the Fisheye Baby and various films. The resurrection of the discontinued format took the analogue photography world by storm. One of the people excited by the cameras and film format is Michael Raso, producer and host of the Film Photography Podcast. Read on for his thoughts on the Diana Baby and a video review!

Last year, Lomography resurrected the pocket film format of 110 film. Right now, there are four types of film and two 110 cameras available, the Diana Baby and the Fisheye Baby. Many people were surprised by the comeback of 110 film. One of these people was Michael Raso, owner of The Film Photography Project and producer/host of the long-running The Film Photography Podcast (FPP) – the internet radio show for people who love to shoot film. This week, he released a video review of the Diana Baby (see below). Reason enough for us to ask him some questions on 110 film, the Diana Baby and his projects.

What was your initial reaction when you heard of the comeback of 110 pocket film?

When I heard that Lomography was bringing back 110 pocket film I literally jumped out of my seat and shouted “YES!” I immediately called Lomography New York to find out as much info as possible – the hows, the whys and whens! A fantastic day indeed! I was actually at Lomography, London for a FPP Meet-Up the month that the first batch of 110 BW Orca was released. Little did I know that three additional 110 films were to be released in 2012!

How would you describe the characteristics of 110 film to someone who has never used it?

110 film has its roots in the early 1970s and was designed by Kodak to replace the existing 126 cartridge format. The much smaller 110 cartridges yield a smaller negative and therefore will usually produce a grainier, grindier looking image. In many cases, the 110 images look vintage due to the fact that no other film format produces such a look. Certainly a very different look in an age of clean, crisp, video. Everyone shooting film should return or try 110 film!

What was your experience with the Diana Baby like? Are there any characteristics you’d especially like to point out?

The Baby Diana is an excellent addition to the existing lines of 110 cameras and perhaps the first 110 camera to produce a square image! The beauty of the Baby Diana is the interchangeable lenses and the fact that it has a PC port that allows you to attach a flash. Brilliant! My Baby Diana is always in my pocket!

The Film Photography Project includes its website, podcast, Youtube channel, Facebook and Twitter outlets. How did the project get started?

One weekend in late 2008, I cleaned out a closet in my home to discover all of my 35mm film gear. Unused for 10 years, I was anxious to get out and shoot but soon realized that the world had gone digital and film was hard to come by in a local brick and mortar store. Upon doing a Google search, I discovered Flickr.com and found a film-frenzied online community of devoted film-only photographers. My background is in film and audio production so, just for fun, I started producing a monthly show called The Film Photography Podcast – an Internet radio show about the love and discovery of shooting film. I inducted pals John Fedele and Mat Marrash to co-host and before long I had a small gang of volunteers!

What was the weirdest or funniest encounter or story you can tell us about that resulted from the project being started?

It’s both weird and funny that this little radio show soon became my entire life! I had no idea back in ’08 that there was such a large, world-wide audience who were interested in listening to guys from Jersey discuss their love of film. What made and still makes the podcast exciting is that we do not broadcast “to” our audience – we are talking “with” them. Even though we’re not a live show, so many of our listeners feel like they’re “in the room” or “part of the conversation” during any one of our podcasts.Listener letters and feedback are a huge part on the show.

The show has also been a great source of discovery for both me and the audience listening. When I started the podcast I had only shot 35mm and Instamatic film formats. Since podcasting began, both me and the audience have ventured into instant photography, medium format and upwards to large format film photography. Perhaps the greatest thing that has happened is the in-person meet-ups with listeners. Both our New York and London meet-ups have taken place at Lomography stores with the awesome help of all the kind folks at lomography. In 2013, the podcast and website are going strong! I encourage everyone reading this to come and check out the world of The Film Photography Podcast!

With 110 film having been resurrected, what other technologies of film photography do you see as being in jeopardy or would like to enjoy a comeback? Why so?

Clearly, the next format deserving a comeback is the 126-cartridge film format. Introduced by Kodak in 1963, there are millions of existing cameras in the world with no available film. The 126 film format is the same size as 35mm but produces a square image. If anyone can do it, Lomography can!

written by bohlera on 2013-03-06 #gear #videos #test #art #film #video #review #camera #110 #accessories #analogue-photography #diana #pocket-film #sample #analogue-cameras #35mm-films #120-films #film-photography-project #diana-baby