Holga film photos 烽火音樂莭 Yangzhou Fire Music Festival

 

 

I shoot two roles of film at the 烽火音樂莭 Yangzhou Fire Music Festival when I had some free time, and these are some of the photos that worked. Shooting the holga means that not every shoot you take will be good or work out, but you do get to have some fun trying to guest what will work during the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Holga with its plastic lens will never deliver sharp photos, and trying to guess focus makes it doubly difficult as well. There are no focus indicators, and the lens only has some sharpness in the center, so when shooting with a Holga, you have to expect some soft-focus shots and accept them for what they are. I love shooting with this camera because you have to forget everything you know about photography to use it. Forget composition rules, because everything has to be in the center of the frame to have a chance of being a little sharp. Forget about freezing action, as you only have one slow shutter speed. Forget about getting bokeh because you are shooting at f/8 or f/11, and any bokeh you get is just parts of the image that are out of focus. These flaws of the camera are what make it so appealing to me. How to take a good photo when handicapped like this—that is the secret to the fun with this camera. I encourage all photographers to buy a Holga and try it out. See the results and keep playing with it. Something will work out sooner or later, and when it finally clicks with you, you will understand why so many people love shooting with the camera that I have affectionately called a “plastic piece of shit” many times in my life.

I have another festival coming up in about a week’s time, and I will absolutely be taking my Holga with me to that festival again.

Shaun.