Holgas are apparently a great way of starting conversations. For those of you to whom I haven't explained this yet, a Holga is a camera. It's a plastic camera with no batteries. It takes 6x6 centimeter film rather than the typical 35mm format. It has massive parallax error (what you use to sight the photograph is not anywhere near what the actual lense is seeing), only two aperture settings (one for sunny days, one for not-so-sunny days) and four focus options (One for objects three feet away, nine feet away, eighteen feet away, and anything beyond that - apparently anything beyond eighteen feet is called "infinity"). Oh, and did I mention that they're famed for their light leaks? They're a cult phenomenon, and you buy a Holga if you want a camera with personality (most likely one that will fight tooth and nail against taking technically good pictures). Now, don't get me wrong, I think Holgas take some fabulous pictures. But getting a fabulous picture from a Holga is like taming a wild cat. It takes a loooooong time for the two of you to get acquainted, and even when you learn each other's quirks, there's no guarantee the cat will let you pet it or even be around for more than a day in any given month.
I'm borderline between fabulously excited and amazingly terrified. I guess using a Holga camera will make me less of a control freak? Or cause me to spend a million dollars in film so that I can get just one good picture.
Help?
The Kenzie
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2 comments:
You can do it. I bet you'll get TWO good pictures out of it this semester. And carry a lot of gaffers tape.
Hooray for the little piece of crap camera that could! I have every faith in your ability to learn and love your camera and convince it to take lovely pictures for you. And I'll e-mail you sometime soon.
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