Sunday, June 24, 2007

THE HOLGA

THE MOST FAMOUS TOY CAMERA

made in china, this totally plastic (including the lens) camera shoots using 120 film. You can choose between 16 rectangular shots or 12 squares, but you cannot choose your aperture because on most models the sliding switch is completly bogus. The shutter speed is set at 1/100th of a second - directions can be found at holgamods.com for adding a bulb mode to allow for longer exposures (you can also buy a variety of upgrades there.) The Holga is most famous for it's quirky vignetting & lightleaks, which sound cool but sometimes look ridiculously regimented; you can use adhesive velcro to control these.

Friday, June 22, 2007

HOLGA HAYBALES WITH LIGHT LEAKS

SPLIT IMAGE HOLGA

PLEASE TRY THIS AT HOME (or, according to my friend Gillian, just buy one at Urban Outfitters)

I've made a mask out of torn cardboard, and taped it in place over 1/2 of the film plane. After shooting the whole roll, I rewind the film in a light-tight bag. I then re-tape the mask over the other 1/2 of the filmplane, re-load and re-shoot. I've simply exposed the top and the bottom of the film separately, allowing for 2 different subjects on each frame that hopefully make one cohesive image.

SPLIT IMAGE COWFEEDERS/WATERLILY

PINHOLGA

THE CURE FOR A BROKEN HOLGA

I made this camera quickly and easily by following directions on the internet. The advantage of this design over that of your standard oatmeal box, is that you can shoot a whole roll of film in it, bracketing the exposures and easing your development needs. You can take the roll to a lab, or at least store it and develop in a tank instead of needing a darkroom & trays.

PINHOLGA CLEMENTINES, DEVELOPED IN COFFEE & BORAX

ANSCO SPEEDEX

I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHERE THIS CAMERA CAME FROM

I found it when I was cleaning my darkroom, and brought it to LeZot to have it cleaned & repaired. These were put out in the 40's, and they're formatted like a Holga, but come complete with shutter, aperture, and focus settings for the control that I crave. I especially like the rounded corners of the negative frame.

PENSACOLA DUNES, SPEEDEX SHOT

BROWNIE BULLSEYE 620 CAMERA (FLEA MARKET FIND)