Post your recent Holga 120N shots here~!

Bill Burk · May 23, 2020

Ariston said:
These outstanding photos are confusing me. I thought the greatness of a photo was based solely on corner sharpness, dynamic range, and other technical measurements. Can someone please explain this to me?

It reminds me of the times I have heard an amazing musician pick up a beat up, old, impossible to tune guitar. It somehow always sounds better than an amateur with a $5,000 guitar.

Ariston,

Your first paragraph where you ask for an explanation must be your humorous response...a joke

Because your second paragraph gives the explanation.

I think you’re right. It’s the same as Jimi Hendrix picking up a Paper Jamz, Jeremy is an excellent photographer

Jeremy Mudd · May 23, 2020

Bill Burk said:
And funky colors, exposure errors...
Jeremy you are using expert technique which usually is not applied to you cameras. Very creative.
Are you using a light meter and do you calibrate your exposure with extensive testing?
Or do you just wing it and let God take care of the rest?

Thanks Bill!

I use a Pentax spot meter, and also know that the two Holgas that I own are both fairly close to f/8 on cloudy and f/11 on sunny.

Other than that its just a matter of good technique and discipline. I've also shot a lot of Ektar over the years so I know how that film is going to behave in most situations.

With Holgas I've found that you have to make your own luck, or as a minister friend of mine says; God helps those who help themselves.

Jeremy

Donald Qualls · May 23, 2020

Jeremy Mudd said:
With Holgas I've found that you have to make your own luck

In my experience, this is true of all cameras, from fixed-everything boxes up to auto-everything "why bother" sorts.

awty · May 23, 2020

Daire Quinlan said:
Jeremy those shots are pretty amazing. Never been a huge fan myself of shooting colour in the Holgas, here's a Tri-x shot from a week or so ago

That is a great picture, yours must have a faster shutter speed than mine.

Daire Quinlan · May 25, 2020

In Ireland at the moment we have a 5KM travel limit for essential exercise and what not. Two walks we did over the weekend, both within 5K, but diametrically opposed. If you overlapped the circles though you'd probably be able to tell almost exactly where I live :-D

MelBuckpitt · May 25, 2020

Daire Quinlan · May 25, 2020

@MelBuckpitt that is a great shot

MelBuckpitt · May 25, 2020

Daire Quinlan said:
@MelBuckpitt that is a great shot

Thanks, Daire, Point a Holga into the sun and magic happens

Jeremy Mudd · May 25, 2020

Some great shots!

Here's another from my visit to Fallsville on Friday.

Ilford Ortho Plus film @ sunny setting, with a polarizer and a 2-stop ND filter, 20 seconds.

Bill Burk · May 25, 2020

I do much want to go out and catch pictures of beach-goers. But I also want to stay healthy. Darkroom it is for today... got the KRST warmed up for last night’s prints.

Daire Quinlan · May 27, 2020

This is probably a bit off topic, but I've just finished putting this together ...

Proper shutter, nice focusing helicoid, it'll get an RF in the hotshoe. CURIOUSLY though, I was dithering around trying to get the right lens->focal plane (hahaha ,or focal 'blob', whatever applies to a holga lens :-D ) and I have discovered that the distance from said focal plane to the back of the meniscus lens, with the 'mountain' symbol lined up (i.e. nominally infinity) is 55mm, tried two different holgas, both were the same. This is weird as I thought the focal length was 60mm. Naturally the back of the lens element isn't the nodal point of the lens, but I would expect it to be further back a bit, not in front of the element, which is what this suggests. Any ideas anyone ? How does one measure the FL of a single element lens? Is there some way of calculating the nodal point of the element ?

D.

Jeremy Mudd · May 29, 2020

Daire Quinlan said:
This is probably a bit off topic, but I've just finished putting this together ...

Proper shutter, nice focusing helicoid, it'll get an RF in the hotshoe. CURIOUSLY though, I was dithering around trying to get the right lens->focal plane (hahaha ,or focal 'blob', whatever applies to a holga lens :-D ) and I have discovered that the distance from said focal plane to the back of the meniscus lens, with the 'mountain' symbol lined up (i.e. nominally infinity) is 55mm, tried two different holgas, both were the same. This is weird as I thought the focal length was 60mm. Naturally the back of the lens element isn't the nodal point of the lens, but I would expect it to be further back a bit, not in front of the element, which is what this suggests. Any ideas anyone ? How does one measure the FL of a single element lens? Is there some way of calculating the nodal point of the element ?

D.

Very nice - interested to see what you produce with that.

I can't answer your question - but I assume that like everything else Holga its not an exact science so i wouldn't be surprised that its 55 instead of 60.

Jeremy

Jeremy Mudd · May 29, 2020

One more from my trip to Fallsville with the Holga. This one is a little soft but I like the look. I brought both my RB67 ProSD and Holga with me to the falls and shot both, but for this shot I had to scramble up the slick rocks and stand in the water in a spot that was a bit sketchy - so the Holga was the weapon of choice since I didn't want to break another RB67 in the field.

Ilford Ortho Plus film, 20 second exposure. Developed in Rodinal 1:100 Semi-Stand for 60 minutes.

Jeremy

Daire Quinlan · May 29, 2020

Jeremy Mudd said:
I didn't want to break another RB67 in the field.

(emphasis mine)

Do tell

Jeremy Mudd · May 29, 2020

Daire Quinlan said:
(emphasis mine)

Do tell

LOL, well OK.

I was shooting in Hocking Hills about 3 years ago during the winter, and slipped on a patch of ice while carrying my RB67 ProS on the tripod slung over my shoulder. I was on the ground before I knew what happened, and so was my RB67.

The lens survived, but it hit the ground on the right side and pushed the cocking lever into the body, bending the lever and denting the body. It stopped working then - the lever wouldn't budge. I had 2 other bodies so that one became a parts donor.

Earlier this year I nearly broke/lost another one, this time the ProSD. We were shooting waterfalls in Indiana and I was wading thru about a foot of fast-moving water with the camera on the tripod. I felt the camera rattling around a bit on the end of the tripod and thought maybe I didn't have the clamp tightened fully on the tripod mount. I was headed to the bank anyway at that point so I checked it once I got out. The mount was tight, BUT, 3 of the 4 tiny screws that hold the factory mount plate to the body where the 1/4-20 threaded female receptor resides had fallen out, with the whole camera only attached by one tiny loose screw. The ProSD was probably only a few moments away from being in the water had I not checked that.

So the broken ProS donated some screws, and loctite was liberally used in that repair. I've never seen that happen before and hopefully won't again - those 4 screws are part of my pre-check routine before going out now.

Jeremy

Daire Quinlan · Jun 5, 2020

First roll from that bowdlerised device above ...

Both are shot at about f/4 or thereabouts, assuming the lens focal length is as advertised
Some other shots I took at normal (f/8 , f/11) came out pretty nice, except for the horrendous light leaks :-D

Sirius Glass · Jun 5, 2020

I think it is time to get my eye exam.

awty · Jun 5, 2020

Daire Quinlan said:
First roll from that bowdlerised device above ...

Both are shot at about f/4 or thereabouts, assuming the lens focal length is as advertised
Some other shots I took at normal (f/8 , f/11) came out pretty nice, except for the horrendous light leaks :-D

Interesting, but I think your focus is out quite a bit. How are you determining range focus? Are you using a ground glass?

Daire Quinlan · Jun 6, 2020

Sirius Glass said:
I think it is time to get my eye exam.

Whattt ? I have no idea what you're talking abo.... puts on astigmatism correcting glasses ... OMG

awty said:
Interesting, but I think your focus is out quite a bit. How are you determining range focus? Are you using a ground glass?

It's ... complicated I've dialled in quite a few cameras over the years, normally you rely on that moment when details kind of 'pop' on the GG to establish a good plane of focus. That's a little complicated on a crappy meniscus wide open because there's a whole lot of not-popping going on. What I ended up doing was marking focus with the lens at about F/8 or so, where it was reasonable ok, couple of shots I have at F/8 look good, like normal Holga shots. Further complication is that there's pretty significant focus shift as you open up the aperture. All told, it's more an art than a science as the saying goes. OTOH, it's a holga for crying out loud

Sirius Glass · Jun 6, 2020

Daire Quinlan said:
First roll from that bowdlerised device above ...

Both are shot at about f/4 or thereabouts, assuming the lens focal length is as advertised
Some other shots I took at normal (f/8 , f/11) came out pretty nice, except for the horrendous light leaks :-D

Sirius Glass said:
I think it is time to get my eye exam.

Daire Quinlan said:
Whattt ? I have no idea what you're talking abo.... puts on astigmatism correcting glasses ... OMG

The photos look blurry to me.

Daire Quinlan · Jun 6, 2020

Sirius Glass said:
The photos look blurry to me.

Sorry, I was being a little facetious in my initial reply. Yes they're pretty blurry, or at least really flare-y and soft. It's not entirely unexpected though, it's a simple meniscus, and I was shooting almost wide open, so it was always going to do something ... untoward

Vaughn · Jun 6, 2020

Made with a Diana Camera. Tech Pan. Carbon prints
The Boys, North Jetty, Humboldt Bay, CA
Two Boys,North Jetty, Humboldt Bay, CA

radiant · Jun 7, 2020

Sirius Glass said:
The photos look blurry to me.

This is a Holga thread, you should expect some or total blurriness here

Vaughn said:
Made with a Diana Camera. Tech Pan. Carbon prints

I like the "Two Boys" look. And carbon prints, wow!

Vaughn · Jun 7, 2020

Thanks -- and thanks to a camera that can accidentally double exposure, too.

Joseph Bell · Jun 7, 2020

Jeremy Mudd said:
Very nice.

Have you thought about shooting 35mm C200 or Gold in your Holga? I have a roll of C200 loaded in one of mine at the moment and am about halfway thru the roll. I used some gaffers tape on the viewfinder to mask part of it off so I can compose for the space the 35mm film takes up.

Also, if you want to spend $$$, have you checked out holgamods.com? The cable release is a really nice add-on.

Jeremy

Fascinating idea, I never considered putting 35mm through the camera, thank you. RE the cable release modification - yes indeed, I purchased one and it should arrive soon!

Post your recent Holga 120N shots here~!

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