How to load a Holga

I love the track feature of Twitter. Because of it, I found this video of how to load a Holga. I simply sent ‘track holga’ to Twitter and it lets me know when anyone talks about holgas.

Found via @spenceke on Twitter who linked to this page in a tweet. That site also has lots of other great Holga related tips and tricks….and videos.

First Holga prints

Just finished scanning the results of the first roll of film I put through the new Holga camera I recently picked up. I was pretty convinced that I had either loaded the film incorrectly or that I didn’t handle it properly and all the shots I took would be exposed. Unlike 35mm film, medium-format film comes on rolls without a shell or cover. This means that the film spools from one spindle inside the camera onto another. You also don’t ‘rewind’ the film like a 35mm camera either.
Fortunately, I managed not to screw it up and got some great first results considering the roll of film that the Holga comes with is 100ASA which means it basically needs a ton of light to be exposed.

I seemed to get the best shots when using the red flash.

Although the clear flash didn’t make Duane’s nachos look any less awesome.

Check out the rest of the shots from the roll on Flickr.

Now to get some higher speed medium-format film and have some more fun with this camera.

New Toy: Holga medium format film camera

You’d think it was Christmas or something. Been treating myself to a few little things lately…the kind of stuff nobody would ever buy for me so it’s all good.

While on another iPhone gathering expedition with a friend in Seattle (which also included picking up a droid and a Rock Band), I stumbled across this beauty at Urban Outfitters:

After getting a Fisheye camera earlier this year (which I must get back from Miss604), I’ve been interested in playing with a Holga camera for awhile now. Both are made by Lomography and I had seen them in Urban Outfitters a few times while down south but it was always the black kit which I waffled on buying more than a few times. When I stumbled across this army green one, it was a done deal – I had to buy it.

The kit came with all kinds of goodies that I’m still going through including the camera itself (which has a wheel for changing the color of the onboard flash), a roll of 100ASA medium format film, a poster, a neck strap, a couple of different manuals, an awesome book of photos taken with the Holga (The World Through a Plastic Lens) and the funniest thing: a roll of black electrical tape! I knew that people had light leak issues with the camera and had seen some taped up but I didn’t realize it was a feature fully acknowledged in the manual.

So I’ve got it loaded up and ready to go – will have to bring it to some holiday parties and see what it can do. More to come once I get the film processed.