It’s no secret among photographers and photography enthusiasts that film photography looks better (if done right) than digital photography. The depth and feel of film as compared to a digital file is so much more visually interesting. Most decent photographers started out by taking a photography class where film was the standard medium they learned on. They may use digital now but they at least have a working knowledge of film and how photographs are made without the use of a computer.

As I have said before on this blog, I am completely self-taught.  I loved what I was able to do with a point and shoot and decided to invest lots of time reading books and practicing to learn how to be a better photographer.  My first real SLR camera was digital.  I learned how to shoot using digital terms and a bunch of automatic settings inside my fancy digital SLR.  I have since switched to all manual and have learned much of what I need to know in order to be a “real” photographer…except that film thing.

One of my favorite wedding photographers is a guy by the name of Jose Villa.  Jose is a brilliant photographer for so many reasons but one of them is because he shoots mostly film.  Recently he wrote an article about why he shoots film.  It was intriguing.  I found myself challenged by it and wondering if I could learn to shoot film myself.  The problem is that I didn’t want to invest a bunch of money into equipment if I had no chance of ever being a great film photographer.  So I decided to figure out what my cheapest option was…and I found Holga.  To learn more about a Holga visit the link but basically it’s a cheap plastic camera that shoots medium format film, which is a step up from 35mm film.  Cameras that shoot medium format are usually hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars so it is rare that a $15 camera used it.  The  beautiful (and the reason why it so inexpensive) thing about a Holga is that they aren’t made very well.  They only have 1 shutter speed, 3 focal lengths and 1 aperture setting.  Basically it’s a toy camera.  But because you are able to shoot medium format film and because of it’s imperfections, you can get some amazing shots out of it.

All that to say, I bought my first Holga last week.  I took one roll of B&W film to see what the thing could do and now I have it back and ready to let you see.  Before you are too critical, let me say it’s my first roll of film on it, I don’t really know how to use it yet, but I am excited about what it can possibly do.

My first roll of Ilford Delta 120, 400 ASA, B&W film shot at 6x6cm:

Related posts:

1. Holga Gone WILD!
2. Holga in the City.
3. Holga the good fairy.