Check out the tutorials & research below that I will use to explore LOMOGRAPHY with my new HOLGA cameras...
http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/an-introduction-to-holga-photography--photo-9697
The Holga is a camera, first manufactured in China in 1981, made almost entirely of plastic, some even have plastic lenses. It was an invention intended for the Chinese consumer as a low-budget, everyday kind of camera for capturing family photos and portraits, but has since gathered a cult following.
The earliest models of the Holga camera used a 120 medium format film (a popular film format back then). It shot in 6x4.5 cm or 6x6 cm aspect ratios. They come with a different masks to shoot the different formats.
The earliest models of the Holga camera used a 120 medium format film (a popular film format back then). It shot in 6x4.5 cm or 6x6 cm aspect ratios. They come with a different masks to shoot the different formats.
This is a simple, cheap camera with a plastic low-contrast lens that produced soft (often blurry) images with edge vignetting and uncontrollable light leaks. These were the very same aesthetics that sky-rocketed this camera's popularity.
Most Holga cameras use a 60mm lens with two aperture settings (f/8 and f/11, the first identified as a sunny setting and the second as a cloudy setting), a switch to choose between the two, a fixed 1/100 shutter speed (approximately!).
The limited Holga settings, in comparison with today's cameras, put much of the flexibility and control in the film itself. By using different film speeds, you will be able to shoot in various conditions from sunny outdoors, to cloudy weather, to poor indoor lighting.
The limited Holga settings, in comparison with today's cameras, put much of the flexibility and control in the film itself. By using different film speeds, you will be able to shoot in various conditions from sunny outdoors, to cloudy weather, to poor indoor lighting.
Holga with 35mm film Using 35mm film with your 120 film Holga camera allows you to create interesting pictures where the image fills the entire film area including the sprocket holes, and occupies a wider horizontal length than is possible with regular 35mm film cameras.
To adjust a regular Holga for 35mm film you will need to fit and secure a 35mm roll where a 120 one usually goes. First, take out the camera back. Next, cut two square pieces of foam to be placed above and below the 35mm film roll canister, then place the film canister in the middle between the two where the 120 roll would normally go. This is to secure the film in place and make sure it stays centered while traveling across to the take-up spool.
Cut two pieces of black opaque tape and cover the red film counter window on the camera back from both sides, inside and outside. This is to protect the film from unwanted exposure because unlike 120 film, 35mm film does not have opaque backing paper protecting it.
Now pull the 35mm film leader across the film plane to the 120mm take-up spool and insert it inside like you normally would. Tape the film section directly to the take-up spool.
Cut a third thin rectangular piece of foam insert the length of a 120mm roll and place it over the 35mm film roll to make sure it stays in place. Replace the camera back and lock it in place.
Obviously with 35mm film there is no way for you to determine how much to advance to get to the next frame, so you will need to count the clicks. There are 24 clicks to each turn of the winder. As you wind the film, if you are using the 6x6 mask that comes with the camera, you need to count 34 clicks for the first frame advance. Then, for approximately every three exposures, you can reduce the click count by 1.
When your film is all exposed you will need to take it out in complete darkness and rewind back in manually using the knob on top of the canister itself.
As an alternative you could just buy a Holga 35mm conversion kit, which you will unpack and install following the instructions that come with it. However, with the conversion kit you will lose the special wide and long effect to your photos, as it will make the camera shoot a standard 35mm frame.
Cut two pieces of black opaque tape and cover the red film counter window on the camera back from both sides, inside and outside. This is to protect the film from unwanted exposure because unlike 120 film, 35mm film does not have opaque backing paper protecting it.
Now pull the 35mm film leader across the film plane to the 120mm take-up spool and insert it inside like you normally would. Tape the film section directly to the take-up spool.
Cut a third thin rectangular piece of foam insert the length of a 120mm roll and place it over the 35mm film roll to make sure it stays in place. Replace the camera back and lock it in place.
Obviously with 35mm film there is no way for you to determine how much to advance to get to the next frame, so you will need to count the clicks. There are 24 clicks to each turn of the winder. As you wind the film, if you are using the 6x6 mask that comes with the camera, you need to count 34 clicks for the first frame advance. Then, for approximately every three exposures, you can reduce the click count by 1.
When your film is all exposed you will need to take it out in complete darkness and rewind back in manually using the knob on top of the canister itself.
As an alternative you could just buy a Holga 35mm conversion kit, which you will unpack and install following the instructions that come with it. However, with the conversion kit you will lose the special wide and long effect to your photos, as it will make the camera shoot a standard 35mm frame.
Holga Light Leaks Simply put, a Holga leaks light from all over. The film counter window, the metal clamps that hold the back, the camera edges, and even the inside of the camera is a shiny black finish causing unwanted light to bounce back all over the place.
If you like light leaks, you are in for a treat. If, however, you prefer to cut down this effect you will need to tape the camera along the edges, the metal clamps, the film counter window. If you are not using the 6x4.5 mask (in which case two holes above the lens will be revealed) you need to place black tape over there as well. As for the camera inside, many paint the interior matte black to cut down on light bouncing around and reflecting.
If you like light leaks, you are in for a treat. If, however, you prefer to cut down this effect you will need to tape the camera along the edges, the metal clamps, the film counter window. If you are not using the 6x4.5 mask (in which case two holes above the lens will be revealed) you need to place black tape over there as well. As for the camera inside, many paint the interior matte black to cut down on light bouncing around and reflecting.
http://blog.shootq.com/2009/11/27/holga-101-tips-and-tricks-sarah-hodzic/
Film choice – stick with higher ISOs, 400 and up!! The Holga is not a fan of low light unless you decide to shoot with black and white film and then that’s a different story. But for color film what I have found is that 400 is a wonderful ISO for all times of day. I have found that film with higher contrast such as Kodak VC will give me a large range of saturated color that is a lot of fun to work with in Light Room. It’s imperative to make sure that if you are going to use a finer grain film such as 160 or lower; that you make sure you are shooting on a bright sunny day with minimal cloud cover. The Holga’s lens is notorious for blocking out light. Since the lens is plastic, light doesn’t penetrate as crisply as it does with glass, which is not a bad thing provided that you have a higher speed film for uncontrolled light situations.
You will, however, get light leaking in from all sorts of other places if you don’t mummify your Holga. Light leaks, in many cases are very coveted and a unique trademark of the Holga. In those cases you are creating, to quote the great Bob Ross, “happy little accidents.”
Keeping track of exposures – Now it’s time to go way back… remember those early days when you were shooting your first few rolls of film and that little notebook you use to carry with you? That little notebook was the Holy Grail in may cases, it had all the important info, a frame-by-frame replay of your most amazing photographs right? Ok, well now go find that little spiral notebook (I know you all have that first one somewhere) and get to work shooting and recording.
I believe the best advice I got was to shoot my first (full) roll of film using only one of the three Holga “focal” lengths, and repeat with a new roll of film and the next focal length. Now if I had been smart I would have followed this advice, but it’s not in my nature to, er, follow rules.
So instead of shooting one roll of film per focal length (because frankly that can be an expensive way to experiment), get out that notebook and record what you do with every frame of that first roll of film. This will get you acquainted with your Holga’s special quirks much, much faster. Make sure to include whether or not your Holga was taped up, where it was taped up and how much you taped it up. You will thank me later.
Last but not least… make sure you PLAY!
Play with multiple exposures, play with not advancing the film all the way, play with old or warped film, play with long exposures and flash, turn your Holga upside down and sideways, throw it down that flight of stairs, do a camera toss, just play, play, play.
You will, however, get light leaking in from all sorts of other places if you don’t mummify your Holga. Light leaks, in many cases are very coveted and a unique trademark of the Holga. In those cases you are creating, to quote the great Bob Ross, “happy little accidents.”
Keeping track of exposures – Now it’s time to go way back… remember those early days when you were shooting your first few rolls of film and that little notebook you use to carry with you? That little notebook was the Holy Grail in may cases, it had all the important info, a frame-by-frame replay of your most amazing photographs right? Ok, well now go find that little spiral notebook (I know you all have that first one somewhere) and get to work shooting and recording.
I believe the best advice I got was to shoot my first (full) roll of film using only one of the three Holga “focal” lengths, and repeat with a new roll of film and the next focal length. Now if I had been smart I would have followed this advice, but it’s not in my nature to, er, follow rules.
So instead of shooting one roll of film per focal length (because frankly that can be an expensive way to experiment), get out that notebook and record what you do with every frame of that first roll of film. This will get you acquainted with your Holga’s special quirks much, much faster. Make sure to include whether or not your Holga was taped up, where it was taped up and how much you taped it up. You will thank me later.
Last but not least… make sure you PLAY!
Play with multiple exposures, play with not advancing the film all the way, play with old or warped film, play with long exposures and flash, turn your Holga upside down and sideways, throw it down that flight of stairs, do a camera toss, just play, play, play.
http://www.lomography.com/magazine/tipster/2012/01/31/double-exposures-with-trees-and-twigs
You’ll need:
- a camera that does double exposures
- a film (135 or 120, depending your camera)
- a tree, tree twigs (go out)
- a person’s body, face, hands (or your own hands, body, face, if someone can take your picture, of course)
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/holga-manual
What is Holga? HOLGA [hohl-guh] © Dave Handler - Holga 120PC
–verb (without an object)
1. to play"I'm gonna holga around with it."
2. to innovate"I'll holga a way to use this film in that camera."
3. to artistically capture images"I can holga everything I think is beautiful." –verb (with an object)
4. to modify"I totally holga-ed my car's bumper with some duct tape."
5. to make something one's own interpretation"It is a normal dishwasher until I holga it into a clam steamer." –noun
6. a plastic, toy camera"I used a Holga to shoot my friend's wedding."
7. a person that uses their own sense of style and artistry to interpret their surroundings."He’s such a Holga, always trying crazy new things." -adjective
8. modified/personalized"Wow, your bedroom is definitely Holga!"
9. quirky/hip/cool"These new Silly Bands are Holga!" HELLO HOLGA! In a world where technology changes and advances every day, it's refreshing that a chunky utilitarian camera made almost entirely of plastic has reawakened and is enlightening the analog world of photography. A Holga goes back to the bare necessities of photography and forces users to stop relying thinking on the bells and whistles and simply shoot.
© Sherry Lee - Holga 135 with Rollei Nightbird Film
Holga is for those who want to create truly unique images - for those who appreciate light leaks, enjoy slight soft focus and welcome retro vignetting. Due to its simple and inexpensive design, Holga is categorized as a toy camera. The very features that personify the Holga would be considered defects in any other camera. Holga's lo-fi attributes create distinctive images not created with any other conventional camera. These are the reasons the Holga camera has gained a huge cult following.
Teachers have employed Holga as a tool to educate students in the fundamentals of photography while exploring unpredictable and unexpected photos created by this camera. Professionals carry Holga for their fine-art appeal. Holga gives all photographers the ability to dip their toes into the otherwise very expensive world of medium format photography.
HOLGA-ISMS
–verb (without an object)
1. to play"I'm gonna holga around with it."
2. to innovate"I'll holga a way to use this film in that camera."
3. to artistically capture images"I can holga everything I think is beautiful." –verb (with an object)
4. to modify"I totally holga-ed my car's bumper with some duct tape."
5. to make something one's own interpretation"It is a normal dishwasher until I holga it into a clam steamer." –noun
6. a plastic, toy camera"I used a Holga to shoot my friend's wedding."
7. a person that uses their own sense of style and artistry to interpret their surroundings."He’s such a Holga, always trying crazy new things." -adjective
8. modified/personalized"Wow, your bedroom is definitely Holga!"
9. quirky/hip/cool"These new Silly Bands are Holga!" HELLO HOLGA! In a world where technology changes and advances every day, it's refreshing that a chunky utilitarian camera made almost entirely of plastic has reawakened and is enlightening the analog world of photography. A Holga goes back to the bare necessities of photography and forces users to stop relying thinking on the bells and whistles and simply shoot.
© Sherry Lee - Holga 135 with Rollei Nightbird Film
Holga is for those who want to create truly unique images - for those who appreciate light leaks, enjoy slight soft focus and welcome retro vignetting. Due to its simple and inexpensive design, Holga is categorized as a toy camera. The very features that personify the Holga would be considered defects in any other camera. Holga's lo-fi attributes create distinctive images not created with any other conventional camera. These are the reasons the Holga camera has gained a huge cult following.
Teachers have employed Holga as a tool to educate students in the fundamentals of photography while exploring unpredictable and unexpected photos created by this camera. Professionals carry Holga for their fine-art appeal. Holga gives all photographers the ability to dip their toes into the otherwise very expensive world of medium format photography.
HOLGA-ISMS
- Holga is a study in plastic imperfection. To use it is an exercise in breaking free from the dependence on technology.
- Holga is a contender. Holga challenges our visual perception. Using a Holga introduces us to an unfamiliar view of the world. We notice more things, different things, unusual things; which then take on new meaning and significance.
- Holga is a mentor; taking us under its wing and showing us a new way to see and portray our world.
- Holga is a rebel, a rule breaker. To use Holga is to utterly change the point of reference most people use to interpret photography.
- Holga is an artists' assistant. Its retro image aesthetic in combination with the photographer’s creative choices yields an unexpected work of art.
Ready for my next photography adventure to begin...