Holga AKA the original hipstamatic

Boston, MA - Boston Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis signs autographs before a game at Fenway Park.  Photo by Matthew Healey

The medium format TLR that I usually keep in my car has temporarily bitten the dust, so I have been shooting with my Holga again AKA 'the original hipstamatic'.  I've talked about it on here before.

The Holga is made of plastic and has a set apeture of 'around' f13 and a shutter speed of around 1/100th of second.  So the only way to adjust the exposure is to use different film, or try and modify the aperture hole.  I usually load it with 400 iso black and white color process film and try not to shoot when it is too bright out to avoid overexposing. 

There are moments when I am using the holga, usually after I get a roll developed, that I question why I should even bother.  Especially when I can shoot an unlimited number of photos that look almost the same for free by using my cell phone.  I think I still like to use film because it brings back that old feeling I used to get before I had a digital camera.  The anticipation.  I know what I shot, I know what to expect, but there is always a surprise thrown in there.  Which I guess is the beauty of the camera.  Forgot to wind the film after you shot something?  Oh well you just made a double exposure (see below).  Pointed the camera into the sun, yeah welcome to lens flare city (same).  Shot from the hip while walking back to your car, actually, that wasn't too bad. 

I learned pretty quickly that the dreamy effect that the camera gives to your photos can only get you so far.  The old rules of content and composition still apply.  A boring photo, even one that looks like it was shot through vaseline, is still a boring photo.  I should know, I have a lot of them.  But every now and then I get one or two that I think are worth scanning.

Boston, MA - A young Boston Bruins fan poses for a photo before a Stanley Cup game against the Vancouver Canucks at TD Garden.  Photo by Matthew Healey

Boston, MA - A young Boston Bruins fan poses for a photo before a Stanley Cup game against the Vancouver Canucks at TD Garden.  Photo by Matthew Healey

Boston, MA - An Occupy Boston participant speaks before the group marches on Dewey Square.  Photo by Matthew Healey

Boston, MA - An Occupy Boston participants march through the Financial District.  Photo by Matthew Healey

Boston, MA - An Occupy Boston participant poses for a photo on Dewey Square.  Photo by Matthew Healey

Boston, MA - A Occupy Boston tents on Dewey Square.  Photo by Matthew Healey

Boston, MA - A man smokes a cigarette in a doorway.  Photo by Matthew Healey

Foxboro, MA - New England Patriots double exposure.  Photo by Matthew Healey

Foxboro, MA - New England Patriots.  Photo by Matthew Healey

The bottom line is, the Holga is fun, and gets me to slow my shooting down, if only for a little while.

A note on scanning: I don't have a medium format film scanner so I have been laying the negatives on a light box and then taking a photo of them with my digital camera.  I then invert the images in photoshop and tone them properly.  Results aren't too bad but the cropping makes the images a bit softer than they are.