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The Great Wall Plastics Factory of Hong Kong created a cheap plastic 120 roll film camera called the Diana which cost about one to two dollars. There were many Diana clones with names such as Banner, Candy, Debonair, Debutant, and Windsor. The vignetting, the unpredictable flare, the blurring, and the low contrast produced soft and dreamy images. The Diana had a simple shutter with 3 aperture choices; some were equiped with a simple flash unit. In 2007 the Lomographic Society purchased the Detrich Collection consisting of at least 48 plastic Diana clones (www.lomography.com/diana). The Lomography Society rebuilt the Diana (the Diana+ and the Diana F+) duplicating the original with added features such as pinhole and panoramic features.

In 1978 I was introduced to the Diana camera in a studio course at the Ohio State University with Ardine Nelson. At the same time the photography department exhibited Nancy Rexroth's portfolio of Diana images entitled Iowa (Copyright ©1977 by Nancy Rexroth). The photographs were taken during the previous five years; mostly in small Ohio towns such as Albany, Nelsonville, and Pomeroy. According to Mark Power's article "Iowa In Ohio" from the book Iowa , "Nancy Rexroth's work is about her childhood past ...Iowa is a memory from the times the Rexroth family would leave their Virginia home to periodically visit their Midwestern relatives."

I have been making Diana images since 1978. For me the images also are of places remembered; they also represent quick glances which are never forgotten. Above is a sampling of my Diana image making.