Despite the industry I'm in, I still have an appreciation for low-tech. Why else would we own a 50 year old car? I guess the same could be said for film cameras, which some say have lost their foothold in the world. I don't believe it, since Sherry pointed out just today that vinyl albums are suddenly making a comeback and turntable sales have increase heavily. Everything goes in cycles. Digital photography is certainly the main resource now for photographers, but there are many of us out there who still shoot film. Low-tech indeed, but when faced with 15 Megapixel monsters that hog your hard drive anytime you take photos at Hal and Lulu's Anniversary Bash, film seems like a handy backup. No PC required.
For a couple years now I've been reading about Holga cameras, the cheapo plasticky abomination of media that has harnessed a cult following in the near 30 years it's been manufactured. When I say plastic, I mean it; even the camera lens is made of plastic instead of crystal or glass. Also it uses 120 film, larger than the 35mm you would use most of the time and considered "medium format. There are almost no metal pieces inside, save a spring to fling the shutter open when you press the big plastic button. The film winds manually with audible clicks, and you can tell what exposure you're on because the big red window on the back of the camera will have an upside-down number telling you what's what. The camera has the low-tech ability of doing open-shutter shots and double exposures. So why on earth would I want to plunk down $35 to pick up this weird egg of a camera as a birthday present to myself?
Because they take the craziest looking pictures ever without having to touch a computer.
The cheap plastic lens causes an unintentional vignette in the corners. Distortion is common. Sometimes light leaks into the camera and tags the film. But look on the Internet and you'll find plenty of commentary about Holga shots having a "dreamy" quality that seems other-worldly. Plus, the square 120 prints are artsy without being snotty or self-serving. They can't...they don't have the fidelity.
Omega Photo in Bellevue started selling Holgas on my birthday, so after work I ran down to buy one of the first ones in the shop (they hadn't even put out a display yet). I vowed then that I would post the first photos I took with the Holga, no matter what they looked like. The result, in my eyes, was astounding if you consider this thing isn't much more than a plastic box and a film winder. The photo quality was low but filled with character. Each Holga takes a slightly different picture; no two lenses are ever the same because of quality control. The three pictures of David I took each have a different feeling and draw. One picture taken of huge old trees gave me the feeling like it was someone's last known photo, and if contemporary vehicles hadn't been in the shot I would venture a guess that the photo had been taken 50 years ago.
So what do you think? Well see for yourself in the embedded slideshow below. If you don't see it, visit the slideshow by clicking HERE!
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