Earlier this year I got a Holga 120N camera. Some of the first cameras I used (other than P&S 35mm cameras as a child) were Lomography cameras, like the Lomo Fisheye, the Lubitel 166U and the Smena 35, but I never had a Holga before moving on to bigger, more expensive cameras with sharper lenses. The pursuit of sharpness and 'image quality' is of course very important in my commercial and cultural heritage work. Recently, for some reason, I started enjoying lo-fi photography more than I had done previously.
I had a foray into pinhole photography a few years ago, but it was short-lived, mainly because the 5x4" camera I used (Ilford Obscura) was quite impractical for the kind of photographic process I enjoy. The Holga is much better suited to it; it's lightweight, very simple in design, quick and easy to use. The results have a beautiful analogue softness; they are the products of my vision, but they have just enough unpredictability to be surprising when I first digitise the negatives. Which is part of the joy of using this camera. Not everything can be controlled. It's almost like the pictures are a collaboration between yourself, the photographer, and everything else that can't be named or known. And what comes out of it, to me at least, might be more interesting than something I had full control over.
Anyway, here is a selection of photos from 2 rolls of Kodak Gold that went through my Holga on that recent trip to Arran. I'll definitely use this camera again soon...
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