“Lomography fascinates me with its emotional world,” says Lithuania-based photographer Tokia Pėlėda, who goes by the sobriquet Ragaina. She fell in love with the classic Diana F+ camera her father used during her childhood. Putting aside the rules of photography, she prefers to enjoy the process of making images more than anything else.

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Editors Note: For the longest time I saw Lomography as a tangible object; a camera or film roll. However, it seems that over the years it’s become a movement and an art form in itself. So when Ragaina describes herself as “doing Lomography,” we’ve made the decision to keep it that way.

Do the rules of photography really matter if you’re having fun while producing good images? Would someone really criticize a beautiful picture if it weren’t framed according to the rule of thirds? When an image evokes emotion, why do some of us worry whether the photographer follows the same rules we do? Ragaina isn’t a rule breaker when it comes to photography, but would rather immerse herself in the process of making an aesthetically pleasing image than be caught up in the technicalities of it. Lomography cameras give her the creative freedom to be herself. And despite the existing unpredictability of double exposure photography, she adds a further degree of complication by often choosing to use expired film.

The Essential Photo Gear Used by Ragaina

Ragaina told us:

Diana F +

Diana Multi Pinhole Operator

Canon AE-1

I carry Diana with me everywhere because it’s extremely lightweight and I don’t need to focus on the lens (my eyesight is pretty bad and I don’t wear glasses, so I’ve always said this camera is just perfect for me). Diana F + helps me to lomographically convey fragments of the city and portraits of friends, to bring more magic into everyday life. And that plastic lens doesn’t bother me at all – it’s what gives me that dreaminess I’m aiming for.

The Phoblographer: Please tell us about yourself and how you got into photography.

Ragaina: Ragaina, in Lithuanian mythology, means Goddess of the Forest. I feel somehow close to this creature, which is why I chose to use it as a nickname. I was born in Lithuania, and I still live here – I am currently completing my bachelor’s degree in ceramics at the Vilnius Academy of Fine Arts, so I do not only [use] Lomography but also ceramics and occasional painting – I like to explore and test different areas. The newest area I touched has now become cyanotype – I have tried it not only on paper, but I am also trying to combine it with ceramics and textiles. I am also very pleased that I have learned and tried a technique at the academy that allows me to conjoin ceramics with my lomographic photos, which I think will be my area in the future.

I came to photography through my dad (probably as it usually is ). Once I saw pictures he took with Diana F + and immediately became fascinated with them, I fell in love with that playful, cosy, dreamy aesthetic, so I asked my dad to lend me Diana F +. I’ve never let it out of my hands since then. Although I used to try to get into photography with Canon Ae-1 in my teenage years, but it somehow didn’t attract much interest. So it just happened that I came to photography through Diana F +. Although I don’t really consider myself a serious photographer. I haven’t learned photography anywhere, and I don’t know all the technical or composition rules. So it’s just an activity that makes me happy.

The Phoblographer: A lot of people are doing double exposures these days. What do you do to set your images apart from everyone else’s?

Ragaina: Somehow, I’m not really focused on how my photos could stand out from others. I think it would spoil all the naturalness and enjoyment of the process, so I just create what I like. Although it might be possible to say that these photos stand out by their vivid colors, the brightness that occu...