I’ve noticed that a lot of new Holga users are puzzled by the fact that their Holga photographs seem to be coming out ‘wobbly.’ Don’t worry, there is a very simple explanation for this that can be solved by just flicking a switch.
Sorry I have not posted much lately. It is mainly because I don’t actually have the access to a digital camera at the moment so I can’t make any hacks or modification tutorials! (I know how ironic!)
I plan to write some in time for next week, when my parents come back off holiday with the camera.
I would also like to announce that soon, you will be able to buy customized Holga cameras through this site that I am going to be painting and decorating myself! I’ve been doing some experimentation with my own holga, and they have come out really well! Its a very exciting time for Go Holga!
Here are some examples of portrait work that I have done with my Holga. I found this film when looking through my archives and realised that I’ve never scanned it in before.
In this first picture there is definitely something spooky going on. Check out the zip! I think everything else worked well though. The focus is good and its a well balanced composition.
Here are some shots that I recently got back and scanned in. I was a little disappointed with the quality but I think this could be down to how intense the sunlight was.
The composition of some of the shots hasn’t worked very well either. I still think they are pretty fun though.
I found these three pictures lying around on my other computer so I thought I would share them. This was a night that we all decided to dress up as Santa. Yes that’s right, all 23 of us!
So you just have your Holga, directly from Hong Kong no doubt, but your a little nervous because you don’t know how to use it, or your worried about things going wrong.
I thought I would take the time to write out some of the problems that beginner holga users encounter, and offer solutions or tips.
I also ask you to leave yours in a comment below! The more help we give to the beginners the more creative photography we will see in the near future.
1. Learn to Load and unload Your Holga safely
Probably the main thing that beginners trip up on is loading the 120 film that you have never seen before. Well don’t worry, there are hundreds of places on the net where you can learn.
Below are two videos of how to load your film and unload your film safely. If this is a little fast, you can check out my post on How to Load Holga Film
Load:
Unload:
2. Advance Window Trickery!
Many people have the problem of not knowing which number to point the arrow at in the advance window. Well its quite straight forward
For 12 exposures Point arrow AT 12
For 16 exposures Points arrow AT 16
make sure you have the right mask inside your Holga before you do this. The two that come with the camera are marked with 12 and 16 at the top right hand corner.
3. The Holga Lens
The Holga lens has a number of different focusing measurements. One problem that i had when i got my Holga was that I could never remember how much each one was.
The symbols help, but here are the measurements. You could print this off and attach it to the back of your Holga for reference:
4. The Viewfinder
The viewfinder is basically useless on a Holga. You may notice that its to the left of the lens, meaning that what you see through it is slightly left of what is actually taken.
This viewfinder does not go through the lens like an SLR camera. It is simply there as i guide. I rarely use it and suggest learning not to if you want to become a good street photographer!
5. The aperture Your Holga camera has two stops in the lens. Many say that they don’t make that much difference, but I think they must do because they increase the stop by quite a lot.
The stops are controlled using the little switch on top of your lens. Make sure the sun symbol is showing if its sunny and the flash symbol if its a little dark, or you are using a flash!
6. Ditch those Metal clips now!
Those clips on your Holga holding the back on are a waste of time, and will fall off if you carry your holga around in a bag. Take my advise and get yourself some black duct tape and start taping the thing up!
7. What film To Buy and Use
Film is tricky when you know nothing about it. The Holga can take colour, Black and white, slide and more. I suggest sticking to these three for now.
Color and Black and White are easy to get hold of and are the cheapest. Slide is a little more expensive but you can get some vivid colours with it.
On sunny days the best film speed to get is 100 or 125, no more than 200 or you’ll start getting some over exposures.
Keep 400 and above handy for low light situations, such as night shots or overcast days.Kodak, Fuji and ilford all make good film. I use ilford the most.
8. Getting Shakey photographs? Look underneath your lens. You will find another little switch. This controls whether or not you are using the bulb setting or the standard 1/125th of a second shutter speed. When looking at the Holga from behind, the switch should be over to the left unless you want a long exposure and are using a tripod. (The bulb setting is a setting where the shutter stays open as long as you hold the shutter button down)
The lomography range are practically built for street photography. Most of the cameras (well excluding the 120 cameras) are small and can be slipped in to your pocket or bag with ease.
Because of this great advantage I decided to compile a list of things that will help you to advance your street photography and help you to capture that perfect moment!
1. Always Carry Your Camera.
Imagine seeing that perfect moment in time, that perfect composition and then realising that you forgot your camera? Tough break right? Well not if you get into the habit of taking your camera EVERYWHERE with you. And I mean everywhere. Consider all the opportunities that could arise at Parties, the pub, collage, in town, on the bus or in the local market. You really can’t afford not to take your camera anywhere if you want to advance your street photography, and capture those classic moments. Learn to put it in your pocket or bag before you leave the house. I take my Holga out everywhere now.
I often see people asking others where to buy holga and Lomography cameras from on forums and groups. I decided to make a list of the best places to get hold of them and why.
Not technically a Holga, but still a member of the Lomography family, the Lubitel 166b offered up some very interesting leaks and images.
This is the first film I’ve ever done with this camera after owning it for almost two years. I was really please with how sharp they are but I was also a little disappointed at the light leaks. I wasn’t expecting them from this camera but apparently its pretty common.
Please leave a comment to tell me what you think of the results!
I would love to shoot more with this camera and its something i plan to do in the near future. Next though I would love to apply that hack for using 35mm film in a Holga to this camera to see what results I can get!
Ever thought about sprucing your Holga camera up a little to save you from the boredom of the black plastic? I know I certainly have from time to time, and will be making a post on how to soon.
Fuzzy Eye Balls have a number of excellent examples of customized Holga cameras, that may give you just the inspiration you need.
Today I collected my scanned holga images and made them into a nice little page on the internet. Its called The Holga Wall, and I will be adding to it for as long as I take pictures with my camera.
Please stumble or digg the gallery if you find it interesting.
I’ve often though about building cameras out of lego, because it just seems like such a cool idea. I came across this Holga recently and though I would share the find.
(Click to view the flickr page of the creator!)
It looks like its been covered with lego pieces rather than actually built out of them, but it adds a great personal touch. I’m not sure i would want my Holga taking up any more space than it already does in my bag though, but thats the only criticism that I can find.
What I find interesting about this particular camera is still usable. In fact its more than that. It has several design features that actually enhance the Holga . The viewfinder has a flip up cover for protection and the shutter button has been made so that it is ‘non-slip.’
What an excellent piece of customization to make your Holga even more lovable!
If you are the owner of a Holga 120cfn, (Colour flash) then you may be interesting in knowing that your flash can be used to increase contrast in your black and white photographs.
What the flash essentially does, when using black and white film, is to project coloured light in front of the lens, basically acting like a filter. This can be applied to both night and daytime images.
With your CFN, there are a few different colours that you can use. These different colours are produced by placing a gel in front of the flash bulb and it is the knob on the top that controls this feature. Lomography provided this information about the flash:
A little wheel sits around the powerful built-in electronic flash and allows you to choose a red, yellow, or green filter.
So the next time you are out in the daytime and think that that flash is unnessisary, maybe you should think again!
All three colours will help to boost contrast and make your photogaphs that little bit more interesting!
