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I have a camera that I wanted to paint and thought "how the heck do I do that without ruining the camera?" There are many people interested in using medium-format plastic cameras to take photos these days. Translation; film cameras are back in! Using this retro type of camera, you can take "vintage" ye-olde looking photographs.
This new trend was likely started by Lomography. Lomography emphasizes casual, snapshot photography. Characteristics include over-saturated colors, off-kilter exposure, blurring, "happy accidents," and photographers are encouraged to take a lighthearted approach to their photos, and use these techniques to document everyday life. (<--oh noes Wikipedia!)
(Before you get all twitterpated; yes you could just use a digital camera and manipulate your pics, why would you use an "old clunker" blah blah. But there are people who genuinely enjoy this type of photography, so kindly don't use this as your forum to belittle those who like these cameras.)
Moving on!
I do have a Diana camera; it's a real vintage Diana. This it awesome, but I probably won't use it much, nor do I want to attempt painting a vintage camera. So I got Diana F+, a newer model made by Lomography.
However, most Dianas all look alike; black with turquoise. Sure you could fork out a lot of extra money and get a one of the ten different colors/patterns from the Lomography website, but even then; you're still getting a design someone else came up with in designs you'll probably see again with others who have a Diana camera.
This did not bode well with me. I wanted my Diana to be different! So I decided to look for a way to change the colors of my Diana camera. I decided to spraypaint my Diana in my favorite color; purple! (Heavily inspired by Patrick Ng and his choco-Diana.)
Please note that when I took these many of these instruction photos, I had already painted the camera purple once before. So don't freak out that you see pieces of the camera already painted or disassembled. Just follow the directions and yours should turn out the same. :) I had to repaint because I didn't really pay attention the first time and missed several spots. :P
Supplies:
Plastic Camera (for this I will be using a Diana, but the paint method would work for other cameras)
Spraypaint x2: one made for plastic, one a different color. (I used Krylon Fusion for Plastic in Black Satin, and Rust-Oleum’s Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover in Purple.)
Tiny screwdriver 3/32" crosshead works great. Mine are from a watch/eyeglass repair kit.
Utility (X-Acto) knife.
Tape: I used both generic Scotch tape and masking tape, but blue painters tape would be even better.
Clean surface to work on
Ventilated flat surface to spraypaint on
And here we go!
This new trend was likely started by Lomography. Lomography emphasizes casual, snapshot photography. Characteristics include over-saturated colors, off-kilter exposure, blurring, "happy accidents," and photographers are encouraged to take a lighthearted approach to their photos, and use these techniques to document everyday life. (<--oh noes Wikipedia!)
(Before you get all twitterpated; yes you could just use a digital camera and manipulate your pics, why would you use an "old clunker" blah blah. But there are people who genuinely enjoy this type of photography, so kindly don't use this as your forum to belittle those who like these cameras.)
Moving on!
I do have a Diana camera; it's a real vintage Diana. This it awesome, but I probably won't use it much, nor do I want to attempt painting a vintage camera. So I got Diana F+, a newer model made by Lomography.
However, most Dianas all look alike; black with turquoise. Sure you could fork out a lot of extra money and get a one of the ten different colors/patterns from the Lomography website, but even then; you're still getting a design someone else came up with in designs you'll probably see again with others who have a Diana camera.
This did not bode well with me. I wanted my Diana to be different! So I decided to look for a way to change the colors of my Diana camera. I decided to spraypaint my Diana in my favorite color; purple! (Heavily inspired by Patrick Ng and his choco-Diana.)
Please note that when I took these many of these instruction photos, I had already painted the camera purple once before. So don't freak out that you see pieces of the camera already painted or disassembled. Just follow the directions and yours should turn out the same. :) I had to repaint because I didn't really pay attention the first time and missed several spots. :P
Supplies:
Plastic Camera (for this I will be using a Diana, but the paint method would work for other cameras)
Spraypaint x2: one made for plastic, one a different color. (I used Krylon Fusion for Plastic in Black Satin, and Rust-Oleum’s Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover in Purple.)
Tiny screwdriver 3/32" crosshead works great. Mine are from a watch/eyeglass repair kit.
Utility (X-Acto) knife.
Tape: I used both generic Scotch tape and masking tape, but blue painters tape would be even better.
Clean surface to work on
Ventilated flat surface to spraypaint on
And here we go!
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Signing UpStep 1Disassemble your camera part 1
Step 1: disassemble your camera! This is much scarier with an expensive digital camera than it is with a plastic camera. Lucky for us, the Diana is fairly simple to take apart.
1: Remove the lens from the front of the camera. Sadly I didn't do this step first and almost scratched the lens so. Do this first. Simply unscrew the lens.
2: Tape over the shutter to ensure no paint or dust or anything makes it into the shutter.
3. Carefully slide a utility knife blade underneath the shiny metal-looking stickers on top of the camera. One is in the center that says "Diana F+". Be extra careful if you want to re-use these! I personally did not like them so I wasn't as careful removing them. :)
Figure A shows the blade pressing under the edges of the sticker. I did this to loosen the glue so it would come off easier.
Figure B shows me removing the sticker from the camera.
4. Do the same thing as above, but for the round sticker over the winding wheel.
Figure A shows the utility knife blade going all the way around the edges of the sticker.
Figure B shows me gently lifting the sticker off of the winding wheel.
5. Now you should be able to see two smaller screws on the winding wheel. Using a 3/32" crosshead screwdriver, remove the screws from the wheel. I put these screws in a tiny plastic zip bag so I wouldn't lose them.
6. Once you've removed the screws from the top of the winding wheel, gently lift up on the wheel. This will remove it from the casing. If it doesn't come all the way off yet, don't worry! The next step will help.
1: Remove the lens from the front of the camera. Sadly I didn't do this step first and almost scratched the lens so. Do this first. Simply unscrew the lens.
2: Tape over the shutter to ensure no paint or dust or anything makes it into the shutter.
3. Carefully slide a utility knife blade underneath the shiny metal-looking stickers on top of the camera. One is in the center that says "Diana F+". Be extra careful if you want to re-use these! I personally did not like them so I wasn't as careful removing them. :)
Figure A shows the blade pressing under the edges of the sticker. I did this to loosen the glue so it would come off easier.
Figure B shows me removing the sticker from the camera.
4. Do the same thing as above, but for the round sticker over the winding wheel.
Figure A shows the utility knife blade going all the way around the edges of the sticker.
Figure B shows me gently lifting the sticker off of the winding wheel.
5. Now you should be able to see two smaller screws on the winding wheel. Using a 3/32" crosshead screwdriver, remove the screws from the wheel. I put these screws in a tiny plastic zip bag so I wouldn't lose them.
6. Once you've removed the screws from the top of the winding wheel, gently lift up on the wheel. This will remove it from the casing. If it doesn't come all the way off yet, don't worry! The next step will help.
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you can see it here.. twitpic.com/9a1uo/full and twitpic.com/9a1ta/full
I only just completed doing the same for my Holga this weekend!
I have since modded that holga further, I plan to write up an instructable showing the two phase project.