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Lo-fi lens: exploring toy cameras with Bob Kubiak at Silver Eye Center for Photography

Not all blurry photos are mistakes!

During this new workshop at Silver Eye Center for Photography, you'll discover the oft-magical effects created by cameras like the Diana and the Holga. Popularized during the 1960s and 1970s, these lo-fi image makers are now enjoying a creative comeback and are championed by artists and amateurs alike.

Photographer Bob Kubiak will guide participants through the strange optical effects generated by novelty box cameras of decades gone by. A local fine art photographer who uses pinhole, zoneplate and Diana toy cameras, Kubiak’s work has recently been exhibited in Krappy Kamera X in New York, Toy Stories: Hi-brow Photos From Lo-Fi Cameras in New Orleans and Unrefined Light in St. Louis.

Learn about the Holga, an inexpensive, medium format 120 film toy camera invented in China, as well as its successor The Diana, which was produced in the 1960s in Hong Kong. Dubbed the "plastic fantastic wonder," the Holga is revered for its saturated colors, dreamlike perspectives and square prints. Cheaply constructed with plastic bodies and simple lenses, the cameras often produce pictures with light streaks, blurriness and distorted imagery.

Dianas and Holgas have laid the foundation for today’s loyal Lomography (a.k.a. "Lomo") movement, which has produced a variety of colorful plastic cameras, including the four lens model.

The workshop takes place on April 2 at 7:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Reservations are recommended. The cost for students and Silver Eye members is $15.00; the non-member fee is $20.00.