Me and my Holga (Under the Sea)
Yes, I use a film camera and no, I'm not a Luddite. I have a deep, personal relationship with my Holga 120N. Holgas are notoriously idiosyncratic plastic cameras, cheaply manufactured with a hist of design "flaws" that tend to distort the interplay between light and film. To me these light leaks, blurs, and variety of strange effects give the pictures a more personal feel and, in my opinion, attains a closer correspondance to the human eye/mind than the crisp, hyperreal, merciless perfection of digital. I love the soft images of 120 mm film and the unknowingness of how any given roll will turn out. Plus, the lack of preview circumvents perfectionism on my part, as well as "yuk my hair!" ego trips on the part of the participant. A simple click of the camera retains the mystery and strangeness of the encounter.
When it comes to results, I win some and lose some. I may use a fish eye lens, wide angle lens, color filters, prolonged exposures, flash fills, and multiple exposures but I rarely use the cameras viewfinder. I have the pictures developed at Quick Stop Photo in SE Portland and have the photos delivered to my online account. More often than not, I tweak the images in Photoshop to make them more palatable to the screen, but generally avoid major overhauls and healing brushes. Film is difficult to manipulate digitally anyway and I am but a gentleman amateur as it is. I try to maintain the integrity of the film as much as possible.
