B&W Holga (mis)adventures - part deux

[FishyFish]

Following on from my initial Holga cock-up (as described and illustrated here), I've managed to find an all-new way to FUBAR my shots.

The Holga (at least on my model) has a switch that allows the shutter speed to be changed from the standard 1/100sec (ish) to Bulb. As with the rest of the camera, this is not a precisely engineered control and so it seems it's possible to inadvertently change the camera to Bulb and then shoot three rolls of film without realising...

Imagine my "joy" at finding two rolls of badly overexposed and blurry shots when I got them back from the lab. I'm also still waiting on a colour roll that I expect to be similarly fecked. Still, after my initial rage and desire to smash the bloody camera and throw the negs in a fire, I decided to see if I could rescue anything in post processing. As it turns out, I could! While they're not what I wanted. they're not too bad - having a kind of faux-pinhole look about them. And I can always hide behind the "It's a Holga. It's the look I wanted!" excuse if pressed.

Anyway, here are three of the salvaged photos. I'll add some others as I upload them to Flickr.

1

FILM - Camera obscura by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

2

FILM - To the beach by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

3

FILM - Looking out to sea by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

4

FILM - Footpath through the dunes by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

5

FILM - Beach fence by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

6

FILM - Looking east by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

7

FILM - Something in the sky by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

 

[Kevin Allan]

I think you must have lifted your finger off the shutter fairly sharpish, as there isn't much sign of them being shot on B.

The last one in particular is very atmospheric.

I did some accidental B shooting with an Olympus OM10, which has a very fiddly dial to swap between Auto, Manual, and B.

 

[FishyFish]

I think you must have lifted your finger off the shutter fairly sharpish, as there isn't much sign of them being shot on B.

The last one in particular is very atmospheric.

I did some accidental B shooting with an Olympus OM10, which has a very fiddly dial to swap between Auto, Manual, and B.

Yeah, I think I was pretty quick (or oddly still!) with several of them. Although the negs were really dense due to overexposure, the camera shake isn't atrocious, thankfully. Some are completely without redemption though, sadly.

 

[Harlequin565]

Also really like number 3.

We need a new official "It's a Holga" smiley

 

[FishyFish]

Also really like the last one.

We need a new official "It's a Holga" smiley

I like that idea.

Maybe a "It's not a mistake, it's Lomography" smiley too.

 

[Asha]

The last one has something to offer ( the other two "play" with my eyesight too much !)

Some photos can suit grain and although I'm not 100% opposed to some, for me there is far too much in each of the three fames….Sorry!

 

[FishyFish]

The last one has something to offer ( the other two "play" with my eyesight too much !)

Some photos can suit grain and although I'm not 100% opposed to some, for me there is far too much in each of the three fames….Sorry!

Thanks Asha - the grain was a deliberate choice to try and salvage the soft focus problems. I tweaked it in Lightroom first and then ran it through Silver FX as well. I wouldn't normally touch black and white film photos with Silver FX, but it has managed to salvage something in this case compared with the original scans.

Plus, I like grain.

 

[FishyFish]

First post edited to add three more photos.

 

[Peter B]

First post edited to add three more photos.

So number 3 is the "last one" that others have mentioned above? Hopefully so, as it's my pick from the bunch. I'd also say that I had a similar issue with my Minox GT earlier this year when I failed to notice that the self timer didn't cancel after taking the photo. This means I had taken the next shots and wound on before the 10 seconds had run down.

 

[sirch]

They all have a certain charm but #5 really hits the spot for me. "Honour thy mistakes as hidden intentions"

 

[RaglanSurf]

Following on from my initial Holga cock-up (as described and illustrated here), I've managed to find an all-new way to FUBAR my shots.

The Holga (at least on my model) has a switch that allows the shutter speed to be changed from the standard 1/100sec (ish) to Bulb. As with the rest of the camera, this is not a precisely engineered control and so it seems it's possible to inadvertently change the camera to Bulb and then shoot three rolls of film without realising...

Imagine my "joy" at finding two rolls of badly overexposed and blurry shots when I got them back from the lab. I'm also still waiting on a colour roll that I expect to be similarly fecked. Still, after my initial rage and desire to smash the bloody camera and throw the negs in a fire, I decided to see if I could rescue anything in post processing. As it turns out, I could! While they're not what I wanted. they're not too bad - having a kind of faux-pinhole look about them. And I can always hide behind the "It's a Holga. It's the look I wanted!" excuse if pressed.

Anyway, here are three of the salvaged photos. I'll add some others as I upload them to Flickr.

1

FILM - Camera obscura by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

2

FILM - To the beach by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

3

FILM - Looking out to sea by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

4

FILM - Footpath through the dunes by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

5

FILM - Beach fence by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

6

FILM - Looking east by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

I really like them, I love the lo-fi look.

 

[FishyFish]

One last picture from the batch added. A bit of a strange one - the sun was behind some high-altitude cloud and there was a contrail fortuitously leading right to it. It's another that I really wish hadn't suffered from shake, but it just about still works due to the abstract nature of it, I think.

 

[FishyFish]

So number 3 is the "last one" that others have mentioned above? Hopefully so, as it's my pick from the bunch. I'd also say that I had a similar issue with my Minox GT earlier this year when I failed to notice that the self timer didn't cancel after taking the photo. This means I had taken the next shots and wound on before the 10 seconds had run down.

They all have a certain charm but #5 really hits the spot for me. "Honour thy mistakes as hidden intentions"

I really like them, I love the lo-fi look.

Thanks chaps.

 

[abdoujaparov]

I love them all, and I bet every single one of them is more memorable and better art than what the normally-exposed ones would have been.

(If I ever learn an instrument, join a band, and make a record, I'd like number 6 as my album cover, please)

 

[FishyFish]

I love them all, and I bet every single one of them is more memorable and better art than what the normally-exposed ones would have been.

(If I ever learn an instrument, join a band, and make a record, I'd like number 6 as my album cover, please)

Thanks Keith.

You have first dibs on #6. We can discuss my fees when you get your record deal.

 

[VirtualAdept]

I'm gonna go against the grain here and say I prefer number 4.I've got a real thing about leading lines at the moment, so that one ticks all the boxes for me

 

[horrocks]

Excellent, love them all, very 'dreamlike'.

 

[FishyFish]

Here are a few of the colour images I took (that befell the same fate). The first couple aren't too bad, but the third is wildly shaky in an Unintentional Cameral Movement stylee!

All from a roll of expired Fuji Pro 400H

1

FILM - Classic by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

2

FILM - Crux by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

3

FILM - Quake! by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

 

[FishyFish]

Excellent, love them all, very 'dreamlike'.

Thanks Toby.

 

[Deleted member 21335]

These are all just beautiful!

 

[FishyFish]

These are all just beautiful!

Thanks Gareth. They've turned out much better than I had any right to expect, given my cock-up with the camera.