visual spectrum: Holga 120 CFN
Since almost everyone already knows about the Holga — a medium-format camera that was first produced in Hong Kong in 1982 as an inexpensive camera for aspiring art photographers — I won’t write much except to say that the Holga is nothing less than a miniature dream factory. All the wise kids may be shooting with the Hipstomatic these days, but there’s still something extra, an ineffable surplus, to throwing film into a plastic can that pretends it has adjustments and then adding color flash or multiple exposure and letting it all rot until a month or two later you bring the film down to be developed and all those dicey chances you’ve invested in finally make themselves known. Sometimes it’s a blowout, a complete return of nothingness, and other times it’s precious cargo in the hold.
My Holga is a bright dull green, the precise color of cheap toy soldiers.
Other Holga reveries can be found here, here, here, and here.
Filed under: photography | 2 Comments
Tags: colorflash, double exposure, dreamlike, Holga, Holga 120CFN, long exposure, medium format, multiple exposure, plastic lens, toy camera
I’ve been doing something pretty radical with my Holga recently. I’ve been shooting 16 frames with the mask. :)
I’ve picked one up again after a year – the old one fell down a concrete staircase, and then I got into my Mamiyas. I have to say though, I think I get a better hit rate with a Holga than any other camera.