Quick tip to avoid wasting film frames

Posted on by Durkin

This tip really helped me as a beginner to stop wasting frames on my film; something which is really required because film is damn expensive where I live.

Ever had that moment where you take a photo and realise the lens cap was still on? You probably felt you wasted the frame so went ahead and advanced to the next frame and took the shot again. That’s where you need to stop!

If you have taken a picture with the lens cap on, guess how much light actually hit the film…none! Therefore its fine to leave the Holga how it is, take the lens cap off and re-take the shot. The frame will still be blank and ready to use.

Use Gaffer Tape Not Electrical Tape

Posted on by Durkin

gaffer-tape-holgaMany of us will use tape to hold the back of the Holga on to the main camera body, but a common mistake is that most people opt for electrical tape.

This is one of the worst choices out there. It leaves a sticky residue that’s almost impossible to clean off, and eventually it ends up all over your Holga.

Our simple solution? There are various velcro hacks out there that allow you to keep the back of your Holga on safely, but even simpler than that is to use Gaffer Tape instead of electrical tape.

Gaffer tape is designed so that it doesn’t leave the mess that electrical tape does, and peels off easily after use.

This is a great tip that saves you alot of time scraping off sticky crap from your Holga, and makes using it much more enjoyable!

Giant Holga Camera

Posted on by Durkin

This is a post I covered a few months back on the old site and thought it was definitely worth posting again.

Someone had the idea of creating a massively scaled up model of the Holga camera, and its awesome!

Check it out:

Giant Holga

Giant Holga

Giant Holga

For more information on the build visit the website here.

3 ways to rapidly improve your Holga Photography

Posted on by Durkin

We’re all out to become the best photographers we can right? I love the Holga because if you really slow down, take your time and make the appropriate hacks, you can get some wonderful clean shots.

Here are three top tips on improving your results:

1. Always Pack your Holga

Absolute golden rule – always take your Holga camera with you, everywhere you go. Inspirational Moments always spring up when you least expect them so its best to be ready and waiting, rather than wishing you had prepared.

2. Don’t be afraid of your Holga

The Holga is a tool that can be used in so many ways to catch a fragment of time, but you must feel comfortable with it to get the best shots. By this I mean knowing how much light is too much, and how much isn’t enough, how quickly you can whip it out of your bag, etc etc you get the idea hopefully.

This may take a bit of time, but you really have to overcome all obstacles the camera will present you with in order to become the master of it.

3. Experiment Heaps with your Holga

Experiment with your Holga as much as you can to get the best possible results. If you get too comfortable, you’ll never push yourself on to better things. Change your film now and again or play around with some filters, there is no limit, only your own creativity.

If you have any more killer tips, leave them below for everyone else to read!

Thanks

How to get Holga inspired using the internet

Posted on by Durkin

Fed up of opening the cupboard only to see your Holga staring back at you? have you lost all interest in using it for the foreseeable future?

Fear not photography lover! we’re going to help you get back on track by showing you a few ways of getting completely inspired to start using it again.

1. Browse Flickr for Holga photos by using this link here.

2. Browse Google Images for the term “Holga” followed by a category of photography. Here are a few good ones to get you started (make sure you use the quotes):

3. Check out our Tumblr blog where you can submit photos. Its a growing gallery full of inspiring work – http://we-are-holga.tumblr.com

4. View the images our Facebook followers have uploaded to the Facebook page by clicking this link here.

As usual, if you have any suggestions we’d love to hear them. Leave a comment below and let us know how you use the internet to inspire yourself to shoot Holga.

4 practical reasons for keeping your Holga lens cap

Posted on by Durkin

Many of us think that the first thing to do when you get a Holga out of the box is to throw away the lens cap.

Let me help you change your mind, because the lens cap can actually be useful. Here’s what for:

1. The lens cap can help transform your Holga into a pinhole camera by making a small hole in the center and placing it on the lens when taking a picture.

2. You can cut strange shapes out of the lens cap and they’ll be burnt onto your images. Get creative with this – cut out stars, triangles, squares and more! You’ll need a sharp exacto-knife of craft knife to do this.

3. Lens caps can be transformed into filters with a little creativity – After all, it already fits perfectly onto your lens barrel so why not take advantage of this?

4. Half Frame is easily possible using the Holga lens cap. Simply cut half of the plastic out of the cap, take a photo, DON’T ADVANCE, turn it round 180 degrees and  take another photo and there we have it! Two half frame shots on one frame of 120 film – a good way to get more images on your expensive 120 rolls!

If you have any other suggestions we’d love to hear about them. Please leave a comment below and share your ideas!

Top Tripod Alternatives – For when you forget to take yours

Posted on by Durkin

Did you leave the house and forget your tripod? It’s not the end of the World you know.

There are literally thousands of different things you can use as a tripod to keep your Holga steady when you are shooting with a custom shutter speed.

Here are just a few you can take advantage of:

  • Walls
  • Benches
  • The pavement or road
  • Tree branches
  • Window Frames
  • Wooden posts
  • Books
  • Car Roof

You can also pull down hard on your straps to give the camera some rigidity.

If you have any more suggestions, please leave them in a comment below!