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yes I'd heartily recommend Holga (the Michael Kenna book). I think it's very possible to get good images out of a Holga, and like everything else it takes practice, a few rolls, and being familiar with the camera and its idiosyncrasies.

-edit-

Actually, IIRC that Holga book was responsible for my 4 or 5 (and counting) Holgas. I went through a B&W panorama phase for a bit after getting a copy of Koudelka's Chaos a few years ago, obviously books have an effect on me :D
 
Daire Quinlan said:
yes I'd heartily recommend Holga (the Michael Kenna book). I think it's very possible to get good images out of a Holga, and like everything else it takes practice, a few rolls, and being familiar with the camera and its idiosyncrasies.

-edit-

Actually, IIRC that Holga book was responsible for my 4 or 5 (and counting) Holgas. I went through a B&W panorama phase for a bit after getting a copy of Koudelka's Chaos a few years ago, obviously books have an effect on me :D
Click to expand...

Yes, I really like Michael Kenna. Excellent minimalist work. Will take a look at his holga works.
 
There's nothing inherently bad about a plastic lens. If it has the correct curvatures for its refractive index, it can do every bit as well as glass (ask your optician how many glass lenses they dispense for eyeglasses -- most likely, 99% or more are plastic, and all contact lenses are plastic of one sort or another). Most plastic lenses are simple meniscus, meaning they'll have some uncorrected aberrations -- the exact same ones you'd find in the glass lenses of 1890 to 1920 vintage Brownie cameras. But there are a lot of cameras with plastic lenses we don't immediately think of as giving poor images -- the ever-popular Brownie Hawkeye was actually one of the first plastic lens cameras. I've owned three of them (still have two), all have been quite capable within their limitations (fixed focus, fixed exposure plus B, no tripod socket). If you pay attention and know how the camera works (best focus about ten feet, designed to overexpose about one stop in bright sun in order to still give enough light in cloudy bright), plus have a reasonably steady grip, you can get excellent results. Definitely good enough to be worth respooling to 620, if you have one that requires that.
 
Daire Quinlan said:
yes I'd heartily recommend Holga (the Michael Kenna book). I think it's very possible to get good images out of a Holga, and like everything else it takes practice, a few rolls, and being familiar with the camera and its idiosyncrasies.

-edit-

Actually, IIRC that Holga book was responsible for my 4 or 5 (and counting) Holgas. I went through a B&W panorama phase for a bit after getting a copy of Koudelka's Chaos a few years ago, obviously books have an effect on me :D
Click to expand...

Agreed. In general I like all of Kenna's work, but that book is great.

Jeremy
 
Another shot from last weekend. This was a 20-second exposure with my Holga 120 Pan.

Jeremy
50162337287_2360f4965c_k.jpg
 
Daire Quinlan said:
yes I'd heartily recommend Holga (the Michael Kenna book).
Click to expand...

Very recommended book for those who want to change their mind about lo-fi cameras.
 
MattKing said:
My example was, of course, from a pinhole camera, not from a Holga, but as far as I've seen some Holgas are capable of great results, for as long as the Holga actually stays in working condition.
If you want some excellent Holga examples I would refer you to both this thread and Michelle Bates: http://www.michellebates.net/index.php
Michael Kenna would be another good place to look: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-c...ChMI8Jaa8pzu6gIVKRitBh3sjgCjEAYYAiABEgLHBvD_B
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I don't own a Holga/Diana, but the one book that has made me even consider trying one is Nancy Rexroth's "Iowa". No doubt everyone in this thread is familiar with it, but just in case...

https://www.nancyrexroth.com/
 
Few from the Holga WPC of Knocknarea (mountain in Sligo, west of Ireland)










Funny story, I had another roll entirely full of what I thought were going to be amazing atmospheric shots of what's known locally as "the glen" which is a really weird natural microvalley on the slopes of knocknarea. Measured about 30 second exposure time. Now, I've READ about reciprocity failure, but I've never really read PROPERLY about it, so I happily added 10 seconds to the exposure thinking it would do the job. Then checked afterward (when the negs were almost completely blank :-D ) to discover that the suggested exp for tri-x given a measured 30 second exposure time is actually 3 minutes. Still and all, it's all a learning experience, right :smile:
 
Daire Quinlan said:
Measured about 30 second exposure time. Now, I've READ about reciprocity failure, but I've never really read PROPERLY about it, so I happily added 10 seconds to the exposure thinking it would do the job. Then checked afterward (when the negs were almost completely blank :-D ) to discover that the suggested exp for tri-x given a measured 30 second exposure time is actually 3 minutes. Still and all, it's all a learning experience, right :smile:
Click to expand...

And Tri-X isn't at all the worst for this. Fomapan 100 would have needed more than double that exposure; it needs 4 minutes for a metered 15 seconds -- and with two stops lower speed, it would have metered at two minutes in your light, so needed about 33 1/2 minutes.
 
Daire Quinlan said:
Few from the Holga WPC of Knocknarea (mountain in Sligo, west of Ireland)










Funny story, I had another roll entirely full of what I thought were going to be amazing atmospheric shots of what's known locally as "the glen" which is a really weird natural microvalley on the slopes of knocknarea. Measured about 30 second exposure time. Now, I've READ about reciprocity failure, but I've never really read PROPERLY about it, so I happily added 10 seconds to the exposure thinking it would do the job. Then checked afterward (when the negs were almost completely blank :-D ) to discover that the suggested exp for tri-x given a measured 30 second exposure time is actually 3 minutes. Still and all, it's all a learning experience, right :smile:
Click to expand...

Those are great! I'm really digging your work with the WPC.

I know reciprocity failure all too well - I am constantly using a great app on my Android phone called "Reciprocity". It has most of the films I use in there and its simple to use. Just pick the film, plug in the metered time, and it gives you calculated time that includes reciprocity.

I'm typically shooting films that I know it by heart - like ACROS and Ektar. Where it gets tricky is when I shoot rare films that have no reciprocity data out there to reference, like the SVEMA MZ-3. I had to work that one out by shooting a few rolls and doing some trial and error. Thank goodness for my habit of keeping a log book.

Jeremy
 
Another example from my Holga 120 Pan, on Ektar film.

50162345537_3f0eadd836_k.jpg
 
One more to add to keep this thread going.

I started a photo project last month about the town I grew up in. The town was next to an Air Force Base, and during the 80's when I went to school there it was a vibrant town with a good mix of people due to the base.

Over the years the town began to lose business and residents. A large mall was built one town over, so businesses started to move toward that sprawl. Military and civilian personnel began to buy homes in other surrounding towns, so neighborhoods started to dry up. As all of this happened school levies weren't being passed, so the schools suffered as well. Today a lot of the town is gone, and or abandoned. There has been some resurgence and growth in certain areas, but most of the places I frequented are gone.

Here's an image from last month of the only thing left of the local drive-in theater; the sign.

Holga 120 Pinhole camera on Ilford Ortho Plus film. 16 seconds on "sunny" with bulb setting. Semi-stand developed for 60 minutes in Rodinal 100:1. Scanned on an Epson V600.

Jeremy
50205594991_b0a8322382_k.jpg
 
6x12 WPC in Bushy Park





I'm increasingly becoming convinced that the Holga WPC is a good 6x9 pinhole, but 6x12 is that extra 30mm too far :smile: Too wide, too much falloff. I just wish I hadn't butchered my 6x9 mask to make the 6x12 one :-D

Jeremy, lovely work on that holga pinhole, I look forward to seeing more of the series.
 
Daire Quinlan said:
Few from the Holga WPC of Knocknarea (mountain in Sligo, west of Ireland)










Funny story, I had another roll entirely full of what I thought were going to be amazing atmospheric shots of what's known locally as "the glen" which is a really weird natural microvalley on the slopes of knocknarea. Measured about 30 second exposure time. Now, I've READ about reciprocity failure, but I've never really read PROPERLY about it, so I happily added 10 seconds to the exposure thinking it would do the job. Then checked afterward (when the negs were almost completely blank :-D ) to discover that the suggested exp for tri-x given a measured 30 second exposure time is actually 3 minutes. Still and all, it's all a learning experience, right :smile:
Click to expand...

Nice shots around Strandhill, Sligo. (my neck of the woods) I hope you enjoyed your visit.
 
Nice work both of you!

Here's one from Saturday - Dayton Ohio at the convergence of the Mad River and Miami River. Holga 120N on Fuji ACROS (1). Semi-Stand developed in Rodinal 1:100.

Jeremy
50231722958_1ca854e4e3_k.jpg
 
Nice shot!

I'll add one today. I call this "Bridge to Nowhere". This is the pedestrian bridge at Riverscape in Dayton, Ohio that's been closed for a while due to structural integrity issues. The spray from the nearby giant fountains created rust/structural problems. I shot this image with the Holga's lens poking thru the chainlink fence.

Holga 120N on Fuji Acros (1) film. Semi-stand developed in Rodinal 1:100 @ 20C, 60 minutes.

Jeremy

50233975196_312c02fb6f_k.jpg
 
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