The SJ Mercury News has a detailed write-up of the history and current use of the Lomo camera. The small Russian camera, designed for the Soviet mass market, has developed a cult following. Two college students from Vienna sparked this phenomenon after buying a Lomo in a Czechoslovakian junk shop. They displayed the unusual results in large collages and friends demanded their own Lomos. A smuggling operation began. Now legitimized, the two former students have sold thousands of cameras. “Lomographers”, from professional photographers to celebrities, are participating in an art photography subculture where spontaneity and uniquely quirky results are treasured. Lomo embassies and ambassadors spread the word, though they recognize that part of the appeal of Lomo culture is its underground status.