Experiences with Holga cameras?

Cafe Society
1

My husband has gotten into digital photography in the past year. His birthday was approaching and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get him anything related to that—I’m not into photography so I don’t have a lot of knowledge about accessories, plus anything he wants he buys for himself.

After reading some stuff on the web about how fun it is to take a break from digital and return to photography’s roots, I got him a Holga and some film. Turns out he’s not really interested in photography’s simple roots.

I’m vaguely considering keeping the Holga anyway. It was dead cheap, obviously, and maybe it will be fun. But I’m also no artiste and I wonder if that would be a waste of money and effort.

So, has anyone used a Holga or similar recently? What would you tell a non-photographer about it.

2

Oooh! You can even get a fisheye lens for it! Of course, that raises the question, “How can you tell?” :wink:

I think it was in the 60s or 70s that photography teachers started requiring students to put in time behind simple cameras to teach them how to see, rather than adjust. To compose in the camera instead of the darkroom or, later, Photoshop. Using 120 film could not be less like using a digital SLR with gigabytes of image space. You cannot afford to shoot a hundred pictures while hoping that one is good. Each photo is a conscious creation, one that works around and uses the camera’s limitations. You know this because that’s why you bought it. You saw the websites and know what you are getting into, and that appeals to you. Your husband may come around but you are already on your way to becoming an artist because you have vision and a desire to have fun. Creation is fun and the Holga is funny, so have fun while learning. And show us your pictures.

BTW, I’ve never used a Holga, but a few years back I was tempted by a Diana F. I have a history of preferring shitty cameras. In college my camera of choice was a Kodak No. 2 Folding Autographic Brownie. I lost it in a flood. :frowning:

3

It’s been years since I used a Holga (120N), but they are really fun, and have a bit of an instinctive, “instant-art” type appeal to them.

The fun of the Holga is that it’s unpredicatble. Framing your photo is approximate. There are two apertures available: f/8 and f/11. So far as I can tell, that’s a lie. First, it’s only a one-stop difference, so it’s not going to make a huge difference in terms of either depth of field or exposure (unless you’re shooting slides). Second, the aperture selector doesn’t seem to actually change the aperture at all. Maybe I just had a broken Holga, but the exposures were exactly the same at f/8 and f/11 and when looking through the camera with no film, the size of aperture did not change. As far as I can tell the f/8 and f/11 markings are purely decorative.

You have one shutter speed (well, there is a "B"ulb mode, too) that is supposedly 1/100 or 1/125 sec, depending on whom you believe. Any technical specifications should be taken with a grain of salt and keeping in mind these are not engineered with great precision, so may vary from model to model.

The camera is also famous for its heavy vignetting and light leaks. This is part of the signature look of a Holga. The 120N comes with a 6x4.5 frame mask that eliminates some of the more egregious leaking and vignetting, but why would you want to do that? The fun and look of the Holga comes from those imperfections.

So, basically, you have a photographic instrument where you really only have one setting. Somewhere around 1/100-ish sec @ f/8-11ish. And with a viewfinder that only kind of sort of approximates what part of the picture might end up on film. The farther away you are from your subject the more accurate the viewfinder is (due to parallax), but you can’t count on very finely controlling what is on the edges of your frame, except with a lot of experience. Focus is similarly a shot in the dark. There’s a few markings with figures signifying “single person portrait, small group, large group, and landscapes” which are supposed to correspond with the distance you probably are at to take those pictures, but it’s all kind of approximate and takes guesswork and trial and error to get down.

Now, if you’re basically stuck with one or possible two exposures (if your version of the Holga actually does have two aperture settings that work, and disregarding the "B"ulb setting for the moment), this means you have to be very careful about what lighting conditions you shoot in and what film you use. If you’re shooting on a sunny day, go out with 100 speed film, and you will be fine. You may be overexposing by 1 stop or so, but that will print okay. If it’s overcast, you’d better be shooting 400 speed film. Maybe even 800, depending on how heavy the cloud cover is. Basically, the only way you can control exposure is with film speed, so you do have to have some sort of sense of how film speed is related to exposure.

So, to keep it simple, take 100 speed film out and shoot a roll with it on a sunny day. If it’s cloudy, try 400 or 800. See how it goes. I would stay away from indoors photos unless you are using a flash, have some idea of how to use Bulb modes and keep the camera steady. Just point it at something interesting, approximate the focus distance, trip the shutter and pray. Most of the fun, for me, is not knowing exactly what you’re going to get.

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But, to inspire you, take the look at the Holga work of David Burnett of Contact Press Images. He is a very highly regarded photojournalist who is known for his Holga picture of Al Gore (see frame #4) which won a top award in 2001 White House News Photographers’ Association Eyes of History competition. You can also read more about it here.

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Funny timing… Rayko in San Francisco is holding the 6th annual Plastic Camera Show.

http://raykophoto.com/

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Oh, he cheated! You can’t get those dramatic skies with B&W film without a yellow filter. With a Holga that would involve sticking on a hunk of yellow plastic with chewing gum.

THIS is a photograph!

7

Thanks for all the info. I did decide to keep it because…fun! Why not? It was dead cheap.

I probably should clarify that my husband wasn’t ungrateful or anything, just bemused. He is the kind of person who needs to perfect something before moving on, so right now he’s immersed in his digital world and would rather shoot 1000 pictures getting the perfect macro of an ant leg than get an OK one and then put that camera down and pick up the Holga. Maybe he will use it eventually…if I let him! :stuck_out_tongue:

I’ll be back to show pics, I promise.

8

Maybe not particularly appropriate to the discussion, but you can get apps that will essentially turn your Android or iPhone into a Holga or other retro cameras. I’ve had a lot of fun with some of those.

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You can also get a Holga lens attachment for Nikon and Canon cameras, so you can get some of the effect without the difficulty and learning curve of film. I have one, but haven’t had the time to really play with it much yet.

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Well, I’ve already started with the real thing, but maybe the apps would let me get a feel for some of the process.

The funniest thing was yesterday, when I started taking pictures with it, my son said, “Oh! Can I see [the picture I just took]?” Sure, in a few weeks you can. :cool: