Sunday June 28, 2009
Her name is Holga. She does beautiful things to people. Unashamedly cheap and easy to handle. A bit clunky around the edges and with no intention to hang around forever. Most importantly, the lady won’t say no too a little duct tape. She’s my plastic, french, fire engine red lomography camera and my current infatuation.
For the un-acquainted Lomography, is a type of analogue photography that recognizes the short comings of the medium and turns them into strengths. The holga, a flagship model for lomography, was designed in China to be a cheap, toy like camera that american photography students could use to get acquainted with medium format film. The end result was a truly terrible plastic lens camera, with limited features, that somehow captured a whole new spectrum of exciting imagery.
It’s not a hobby for everyone. Expensive materials, with inconsistent results and a strong stylistic look. Not to mention, luck being just as important as skill. Though, it is a great way to understand the basics of photography, and alot of teachers promote it as a way of seeding ideologies about how to approach your shots.
Fundamentally, I just love how this product steps aside of the standard consumers expectations like expensive SLRs, megapixels and Photoshop and offers something so confidently different, refreshing and unique. I mean, we are talking polar opposites here- it’s cheaper to make the camera, than it is to buy and process the film you use in it.
So, as you may of guessed, Lomography is just absolutely fascinating to me. I’d love to see if a product or push could happen in the ravaged music industry which could drag avid listeners in a new and refreshing direction, abandoning or evaluating all the old expectations and hindrances, as Lomography has done for Photography.
Anyway, I’ve got my first few rolls of film that I’m waiting to get developed. Lets see how my love affair goes then. Somehow, regardless of the results though- I can see my Holga stringing me along for quite sometime. Such is lomo love. http://www.lomography.com/
Words by Joshua
Talking about "My Holga"
daz. reckons...
thats not a Holga.
this is a Holga.
http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/client_images/kanyewest/3106_9adaa5dbcb7f8f90ee3a8e37a7d4a388.jpg
Joshua reckons...
Hey, that is an awesome idea! Haven’t used my flickr account in forever. Please do post some up!
Joshua reckons...
I see you’ve played knifey spoony before.
That is a Holga. Sir, I am Ashamed.
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So much love for my Holga. Always on me.
She’s a harsh mistress but the dud frames and money spent is all worth it when you set your eyes on a beautiful mistake that’s all yours.
Will ready some frames to post up later. Plus we should make a The Groop flickr group for groopsters and followers to post their holga adventures.