Pics From the Holga

Here are the latest Holga pics.  I'm actually a little impressed with some of the landscape ones.  I didn't think a toy camera could get that sort of sharpness and detail.

I Got My Camera Back

After nearly 3 weeks, my camera is fixed and back in action.  It was quite fun and educational experimenting with film but I must say that it is nice to have a digital in my hands again, one of the biggest reasons being that I don't need to dish out $9 per roll of film.

Trying to shoot with film has definitely piqued my interest though and reminded me that I still have tons to learn about photography.  The time while my camera was getting fixed, I thought a lot about what direction I want to go in with photography.  I have a few thoughts brewing in my mind, but they are still a little too premature to say anything right now.

On a side note, I have added the Nikon F6 to my wish list.  Perhaps in a couple years...

Needless to say, I went out shooting this weekend, hoping to catch something...anything really.  And even if I didn't, man did it feel nice to be walking along the harbor with my camera and Rain.  It was a cloudy weekend, but the sky cleared up Sunday afternoon and provided a nice sunset to welcome back the return of my camera.

This was a 25 or 30 second exposure at f16 and ISO100.  Because the contrast between the sky and the foreground was so great, I increased the fill light in photoshop and then boosted the colors.  More detail in the shadow was recovered using some HDR editing.  It was my first time using this technique, and I will probably experiment with it more on future shots.

Week 2 without my camera

Rain is back to normal and now I can function again.  She is currently wagging her tail while sleeping. Probably dreaming about food.

It has been nearly two weeks, and still no word on when I'll be getting back my D7000.  So in the meantime I've continued to stumble through the world of toy cameras and film.

The Holga has been fun to use, but the results from my attempts at pinhole photography have been quite discouraging. Really the only improvement I've made is that I didn't open the camera body in the middle of a roll.  Perhaps pinhole photography isn't best suited for landscape shots.  I've only used the pinhole on a tripod because of the required shutter speeds of 2-3+ seconds, but if the camera isn't going to give me sharp shots, I'll need to change my approach.  I think I'll try it handheld and get some motion blur to see what kind of look that will give me.  I'll have to find the type of images that work with soft definition and long exposures.

Here are some shots from this past weekend.  (Square format shots are from the Holga)

Ran into this little guy at the park.  Rain accidentally stepped on him and the poor thing started crying.

Saturday afternoon hike.

One of the best views of the city.

Failed attempt at a double exposure.

About 20 minutes before sunset.

Sunset with the pinhole.

I've been worried about Rain since last night.  She's been drinking way more water and breathing a little heavier than normal.  Took her to the vet this morning and was told that if her energy levels drop or if she gets worse that we can get some blood work done, but nothing seems to be wrong with her and that perhaps it's anxiety.  

I really hope so.

This dog means the world to me.

December 2011

What The Film

Took my first shot at pinhole photography this past weekend.  I took about 20 exposures before getting to the end of a 24 exposure roll.  Out of those, only 4 were able to be developed.  A few things I learned:

1) Never open the camera to check if the film is in place before you've finished the roll.

2) Never turn the Advance knob in the opposite direction.  If you do, don't open the camera to check if the film is in place before you've finished the roll.

3) Always bring extra rolls...just in case you open the camera to check if the film is in place before you've finished the roll.

It will take some time to get used to shooting pictures like this.  The biggest difference is not having the luxury of immediate feedback via digital playback.  I found myself greatly missing my DSLR...especially when the sunset started to explode in colors after I had finished my only roll.  The photographer 50 yards down shore was recording it all with his massive lens, while I basically had a cereal box attached to a tripod.

At least the Holga was a bit easier to use.  All the square format images were taken using the Holga.

The obligatory shot of Rain.

There it is.  The cereal box.

One of the four pinhole shots that came out.  I think the exposure was probably around 15 seconds.  I didn't do a good job of documenting...too busy trying to keep Rain from running into the water.