Holga

[ChrisA]

I wonder how you guessed that I am a highschool student. You guessed right on the dot which is amazing. I didn't think that most people could tell that. You are like some pschyic mind reader person.

This is way off topic but I just had to say it.

That was just suprising that you could guess that most highschool students dont have to much money. If any.

It is easy to bound the age between brackets
Anyone much older then you would not have to ask about film. They would have grown up with it. Also if you are worried about the cost of a $2 roll of film that says a lot about where you are along your "career path" If you were much younger than maybe 8th grade you wouldn't have much interest in photography at all. Colage/University photo students would know all this backwards and forwards from theior "photo-101" class. There is only about a four year window

Look at Freestyle in Hollywood CA. They've got everything you need and cheap too. Just call them up and say "I have no money. What do you have that's cheap?".

 

[seenew]

http://www.jpgmag.com/stories/2697

enjoy folks!

Not to be rude, but what's the point? A Holga lens on a digital camera might as well just be a cheap, soft glass lens. The photos all just look soft.

I always thought the Holga appeal came just as much from the body of the camera as the lens, if not more so. The light leaks, accidental double/half exposures, bent film... It makes me sad! ):

 

[M@lew]

Agreed. Isn't the point of the holga to get whacky results from light leaks and vignetting? Both which are done in camera.

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

Not to be rude, but what's the point? A Holga lens on a digital camera might as well just be a cheap, soft glass lens. The photos all just look soft.

I always thought the Holga appeal came just as much from the body of the camera as the lens, if not more so. The light leaks, accidental double/half exposures, bent film... It makes me sad! ):

Yeah - everything is just out of focus, and not in any good way. No point considering you could just set any ol' DX lens to manual to get those results.

 

[HomeingPigeon]

The point of a holga is to get artsy pictures. Look at flickr and search for holga pictures. They are really artsy with the light leaks and other such differences.

 

[princealfie]

Not to be rude, but what's the point? A Holga lens on a digital camera might as well just be a cheap, soft glass lens. The photos all just look soft.

I always thought the Holga appeal came just as much from the body of the camera as the lens, if not more so. The light leaks, accidental double/half exposures, bent film... It makes me sad! ):

cool beans, it has the holga lens signature and for me that's good enough!

 

[Unspeaked]

Holga: Entertaining Trendy Hipsters Since 2006™

 

[art gardiner]

There are lots of sites dedicated to modifying a standard Holga. Part of the fun is in finding out how your particular Holga responds to it's unique design flaws. As the company has very little quality control (which is to be expected given the nature of the camera), each unit will produce a different footprint. Some are not bad right out of the box, while others have huge problems with light leaks, film tension, and shutter timing/focus.

I have four:
- one Holgaroid, though I'm not too sure what I'm going to do with it when I run out of film.
- one w/ a modified "bulb" setting - depress once to open the shutter, and a second time to close it.
- another w/ a modified "time" setting - depress and hold, activated via cable release.
* Both with tripod mounts, tension control via Polaroid foam inserts & plastic tabs, and velcro backs.
- and the last one is not modified, other than tension controls.

(Of course, I purchased mine quite a while ago - I think they were around $9 - $12 at the time, so it wasn't as much of an investment as it might be now.)

Here are a couple of links to sites that will help you in modifying your Holga should you find that you don't like the way it comes from the factory.

http://www.argonauta.com/html/holga_cameras.htm

http://shop.lomography.com/holga/modifications/

http://www.holgamods.com/mods/order/tips/tips.html

http://www.geocities.com/markhahn2000/holga_mods.html

There are a bunch of accessories that are sold on the market, and most can be made with just a little ingenuity, and elbow grease. The thing to remember is not to be afraid to experiment around - both in physically modifying the camera, and in your photographic endeavors.

As for developing the film? Many areas have a County Adult Education Center, or facility. I know that here in Northern Virginia there are at least three different Adult Continuing Ed Campuses that offer basic darkroom classes. Chances are that your area will have one as well. They are an excellent way to get into black and white photography, and along with teaching you how to develop and print your own negatives - they should teach you the basics of composition, an introduction into the zone system, as well as learning to capture the moment, vs. the spray & pray method.

HTH's,

Art

 

[pulsewidth947]

Wow - nice to see people interested in Holgas outside of Flickr! You may, or may not, be interested to know I run a Holga website. It's dedicated to all things Holga and has tips, tricks, hacks, and links. Have a look see:

squarefrog.co.uk

Also, if you are quick you can enter my self-portrait competition. The competition closes on 1st March, and the prize is a 1 year Flickr Pro account. All you have to do to enter is post an image of yourself taken with a Holga!
http://flickr.com/groups/squarefrography/discuss/72157603687589750/

 

[HomeingPigeon]

Wow - nice to see people interested in Holgas outside of Flickr! You may, or may not, be interested to know I run a Holga website. It's dedicated to all things Holga and has tips, tricks, hacks, and links. Have a look see:

squarefrog.co.uk

Also, if you are quick you can enter my self-portrait competition. The competition closes on 1st March, and the prize is a 1 year Flickr Pro account. All you have to do to enter is post an image of yourself taken with a Holga!
http://flickr.com/groups/squarefrography/discuss/72157603687589750/

Nice website.

 

[seenew]

Holga: Entertaining Trendy Hipsters Since 2006™

this is true, but not the reason I started shooting Holga. I was forced into it, actually. One of my professors thought that crippling our ability to produce a good negative would force my classmates and I to beef up our printing skills. It worked. The Holga would hardly ever give me a decent neg, but in the end, probably 90% of my prints were great.

It's like exercising with extra weights strapped to your limbs.

 

[HomeingPigeon]

Would a film camera also help when you shot digital?

 

[Plymouthbreezer]

Would a film camera also help when you shot digital?

You can get "digital backs" for various film SLRs... If that's what you were asking?

 

[termina3]

Would a film camera also help when you shot digital?

Regardless, you'll be working on your composition and general non-technical photography skills. In fact, it could be argued that film stresses composition more because you pay more per negative.

You can get "digital backs" for various film SLRs... If that's what you were asking?

See above; I think he's talking about skills in general, not the physical side.

 

[seenew]

Regardless, you'll be working on your composition and general non-technical photography skills. In fact, it could be argued that film stresses composition more because you pay more per negative.

this, and the fact that most auto settings on digital camera won't give you the best results, so learning how to use shutter speeds and apertures correctly, as well as manual focusing is essential. Learning on a fully manual film body is the best foundation for any photography student.

 

[HomeingPigeon]

I have most of the manual stuff down already. I can do apertures and shutter speeds. I just want to get better. Since I am only 14 there is definitely a lot of time left for getting better.