(Say it!)
After shooting digital for two years, I’d quite forgotten the exquisite agony of waiting to get prints back from the camera shop. I got a reminder this morning when I handed the lady at Apertures a roll of 400-speed T-max containing my new Holga’s first images. Waiting for five o’clock (the time my prints would be ready), I felt like a little kid waiting for Christmas.
They’re not the best images I ever got, but considering the fact that I hadn’t shot black-and-white film in over two years and was breaking in a plastic, fixed-focus camera on a cloudy day, I think they turned out pretty well.
For the Holga’s maiden journey, I took her out on Route 66 to get some images of familiar places, including the bridge above, which is on an old alignment of the Mother Road in Chelsea.
I love my Rebel, but it felt good to shoot film again. Below are a few more of the pictures I shot with the Holga, which I have since christened “Joy.” (First person who can correctly identify the source of the name will win a fabulous prize.)
Swinney’s Hardware, located on an early alignment of Route 66 in Tulsa.
Roadside park on Route 66 in Catoosa.
Bridge on an old alignment of Route 66 in Chelsea.
Incidentally, this was the first time I’d used Apertures for processing, but it definitely won’t be the last. They were very helpful and friendly, the price was very reasonable ($5.50 for processing and 69 cents each for 5×5 prints), and the turnaround time was impressive: just under eight hours for black-and-white, medium-format film.
For my next performance, I’ll find out how the Holga does with color film on a sunny day….
Emily
Red Fork Hippie 
You might also like the Diana. They yield a similar effect, though I’m not sure Dianas are very available anymore.
Nice pictures. When you were at Sweeney’s, you were probably only a half-mile from my house.
Ok Emily, the only reference I can find which combines Holga and “joy” is a photo entitled Holga Joy by Derek Powazek. http://www.ephemera.org/archives/844.html
Otherwise, I’m mystified by the connection. And I was so hoping for a valuable prize (I can use a new washing machine….) Laurel
That’s “fabulous,” not “valuable.” But keep thinking. I’ll post a hint this evening. Looking up “Holga” and “joy” probably won’t get you there.
Joy Avery?
I forgot to post the hint last night. Here it is: I considered naming my Holga “Flannery” instead.
Apertures is definitely the place to go with you Holga film. MANY years ago…gosh, it had to be ’98 or ’99…I took my first roll of Holga film there. When I went to pick it up, the guy acted a little funny and said…”Uhhh…you might need to get your camera looked at. You’ve got a lot of light leaks…”. I then explained that that it was *supposed* to look crappy! LOL
The Diana of course is the inspiration for the Holga. Local photographer Scott Raffe (www.raffephoto.com) uses a Diana. There’s a toy camera section on his website.
Your Holga photography is really nice – you should enter the Krappy Kamera photo competition: http://www.sohophoto.com/downloads/kk10_prospectus.pdf
I have some Holga shots on my flickr too: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tulsamini/sets/72157594161474295/
OK. I’ll stop now. 🙂
Y’know, I could have picked you out of the crowd as a Holga owner. 😉
I like your shot on the porch at Mamie’s. I’m planning to head over to Stroud with the Holga at my earliest convenience (probably a couple of weeks from now) and get some good shots of the road between here and there.
Did you nudge the vignetting up in Photoshop, or is your Holga just more generous with the shadows than mine? I’ve gotten a few bits around the corners, but nothing super-dramatic.
Apertures has obviously gotten comfortable with Holgas since your first visit. They said they used to offer a class in how to modify your Holga to get better pictures. If I could put my hands on a vintage Diana, I’d buy it in a minute. I’m trying to figure out whether I’ve still got my old Magimatic lying around here someplace. If I do, I’m going to see about ordering a little 126 film online and playing around with that.