I’m almost afraid to say the words in public.
Remember, for years and years I’ve been (and still am) a loyal Nikon man. From my Coolpix 800 to my D70 to my current D700, as well as my Nikkormat FTn for my 35mm shots (my Kiev-19 is now resting comfortably on my shelf, enjoying a peaceful retirement), I have been a devotee to the heart of the image.
And over the years, I’ve learned to keep things like chromatic aberrations and light leaks and double exposures out of my photographs.
But over time, I’ve seen some arguably innovative photography techniques – as generated by a little Chinese toy camera. A toy camera with a plastic lens that has two settings – F/8 and F/11, and F/8 isn’t completely functional. A toy camera that takes 120 film, which you have to order special from B&H or Adorama or one of the other dedicated photography stores. A toy camera that may have light leaks, could possess a tendency to not advance the frame, and can introduce chromatic aberrations and vignetting into the final image.
As photographers, this camera represents everything we’ve been told not to do. And for some unknown reason, it’s not only being embraced, these mistakes – as directed through this camera – are being considered “happy accidents.”
That’s right.
I bought a Holga.
(covering head to avoid the bricks being thrown)
Essentially, I used my $50 Father’s Day gift card to B&H Photo (thanks, Cassaundra) to purchase something barely two levels above a disposable FunSaver camera. I also purchased a manual shutter release from Amazon; and a 35mm adapter from a Hong Kong company called Superheadz.
I can hear it now. What’s next, Chuck, you gonna hunt down an 80-year-old Beau Brownie camera? Maybe you’re going to go all “Matthew Brady” and shoot some Civil War re-enactments with a Civil War-era camera?
Of course not. I’m not ready to play with 126 film or glass plates yet… 🙂
But see, I have plans for this Holga. There’s that whole “lomography” movement, which involves taking pictures by doing everything you’re NOT supposed to do. Using expired film. Putting the film in backwards. Processing the film with the wrong processing technique. It’s the photographic equivalent of combining musique concrète,
détournement and sound collage.
Even with all that, I’m still hesitant. I’m still thinking that to get a decent shot out of a Holga, it almost seems the equivalent of getting a hole-in-one on a mini-golf course because your ball bounced off the fairway, ricocheted off a rock, bounced back on the fairway, changed course when it caromed over a twig, and fell into the cup on its last gasp of inertia. It would be like, “Hey, how did you get that way cool photo?”
With my Nikon D700, I can say, “ISO at 1600, f/stop at 2.8, aimed for the right fielder because I knew the left-handed batter had a tendency to pull toward right, fired in a burst of shots, and took the one where the outfielder leaped forward to catch the ball.”
With my Nikkormat FTn, I can say, “I positioned the camera on a tripod, used my cable shutter release, waited until nightfall, opened the lens, walked away for an hour, came back, closed the shutter, went from there.”
With this Holga, I’m probably going to say… “I don’t know… maybe the little Keebler Elves inside the camera made a pretty picture.”
But we shall see…
Chuck The Writer 
Enjoy the Holga! I have one that I like to use occasionally but I will say I’ve had a 50/50% success rate, but when you do get a good Holga photo, it’s like striking Holga-gold.
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KC – It’s a whole new experience, this lo-fi photography thing. But I’m hoping it’s going to be a great experience.
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C’mon Chuck. All the hipster kids have Holgas — only camera snobs will be tossing bricks. Don’t forget to tape around the seams.
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Rob – Once I run a test roll of Fujicolor Pro 160C in the Holga, I’ll be able to tell if my Holga has any light leaks or issues. But yeah, I realize I’m gonna have to invest in some electrical tape or gaffer’s tape at some point if I really want to use this Holga to the best of its ability.
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> All the hipster kids have Holgas —
> only camera snobs will be tossing bricks.
Yup, I’m with Rob, you are really against the grain if you do *not* buy a Holga.
Have fun though 🙂
I think the lo-fi experience is nice in that it forces you to be creative to work against the “constraints” of the machine. But in term of results, that wave of “Polaroid/Holga is so cool” makes me smile because you can digitally alter any photo to look like a vintage shot nowadays. I’ve fooled people with fake polaroids. The physical result, the Polaroid itself once it’s in your hand, *is* vintage. Once you upload it to put it online or on this blog, then all bets are off, it could be anything.
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Sebastien –
I totally understand. With all the plug-ins that can digitally convert any picture into a reasonable replication of anything from Dufaycolor to Kodachrome, you almost need to prove that you can create that magic with the tools you have.
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I’ve had my Holga for 6-ish years now, and its held together with rubber bands. =)
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I have lots of negatives I shot with my Holga, but I’m unlikely to ever do any printing in my basement anymore. I just don’t have the time.
Does anyone have an opinion on whether I’m better off having the negs scanned — or should I get a scanner to do it myself?
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I used to have a Minolta slide scanner that had a negative tray, but one of my relatives borrowed it. Barring that, you should take a couple of negatives over to a photo lab and just see what the cost would be for them to scan onto CD.
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Welcome to the Holga club! I think that the resurgence of interest in toy cameras (and film generally) has happened because technology has made photography a little *too* perfect. A toy camera is a good thing, regardless of whether it is considered “hip” or whether some people are successfully commercializing it. Have fun.
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