In defence of the Holga

February 2, 2007 @ 1:40AM

In defence of the Holga

By Haje Jan Kamps

Regular followers of Photocritic know I don’t have a lot of time for the Holga, as illustrated in this post. The response to that post was ear-deafening: The blogosphere (ick I hate that word) went mental at me in the defence of the Holga.

The other day, Robin McAulay tried to be a little bit more eloquent of the Holga. He succeeded, and offers the following guest article…

Anyone buying a holga expecting hasselblad results would be foolish indeed – for many who have seen the results the urge to own and use one is the need to escape the over saturated digital market – ready made crystal clear, sharp and predictable images at a snap. Now anyone can be a technically great photographer without using so much as half an hour charging the battery for a point and shoot without any prior experience with a camera.

When two Austrian guys bought themselves a mass produced soviet lomo LCA on a break in prague, saw the strange funky results it produced and started cleverly marketing it as a modern western object of desire … no one would have guessed how popular it would become. Producing images that looked like your dad took them when you were still in nappies – blurred, light leaks from imperfect body seals and double exposed due to faulty winding mechinisms just added to the charm. It was rebellious and fun.

Another great marketing idea.. the holga crossed over into “Lomography”. The holga carries on the tradition where the LCA left. Nothing to do with the soviet union Lomo factory (made in hong kong) it was dragged in as another lomographic gimick that produces similar but heightened results, pushed on bored lomographers as the natural step further into the cult. The lomo story was a brave one if it stayed were it was – underground. It has essentially became what it balked at from the begining and become a great money spinner.

The small group of artists who seriously use the holga for the aesthetic value of the image it produces usually cringe when stumbling on lomographer sites. Using the holga based on lomography rule of thumb has become as narrow minded as the technophile DSLR world we live in today.

things reach a state of perfection people like to revert back to the meat and two potatoes they remember with glassy eyed fondness – usually never as good as the memory.. but that’s never the the point.

The photos in this article were taken by Robin McAulay, and you can see more of his work over on his Toycamera.com profile.

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Comments

Anonymous

5 years ago

I gotta say, extremely well written article! I find that having the time to play with my fiance’s Holga only comes rarely, and not because the camera is bad by any means, but because I can simulate the effects of Holga with post processing techniques. I really like the photos you have here though, excellent stuff.

Anonymous

4 years ago

Hi there,
Thanks for giving the Holga a little more consideration. Lomo’s relationship with the Holga, I think, doesn’t really do it any justice. But Holgas have become immensely popular without Lomo’s help by photographers (like myself) who appreciate them for what they provide, and the way in which they make the relationship between photographer, equipment, and subject lighter and more fun.

It’s possible that you haven’t seen some of the amazing high-quality work being done with Holgas (and other toys). If you’re interested, I suggest checking out my book, “Plastic Cameras: Toying with Creativity,” which features work by 33 photographers (and a history and lots of how-to info). They include photojournalists (like David Burnett), edititorial photogs (like James Balog), commercial photogs, and fine art work. Seeing the quality of this work may change your perspective just a bit.
Enjoy!
Michelle

Anonymous

2 years ago

Yes, holgas can be used to create very nice images, most images taken with them are pretty mundane and lame. But there are some people out there that take great pics with them. And like in the article, it’s a great departure from the digital world.

Matthew Lit

1 year ago

Shooting digital and post-processing to get Holga-like results misses the point of the Holga by a million miles.

The Holga is about simplifying, about creating images with a minimum of technology. It's not about coming back from a shoot with 52 perfect images you captured digitally, then choosing to post-process them.

It's about letting go of the immediate, the guaranteed and having fun by shooting, knowing your images may or may not turn out; of letting serendipity and a funky camera play a part in your vision.

My photography buddy, Carl Scofield, best summed up my images in a way I had been searching for. He referred to them as "glimpses of a dream" - of that fleeting visual you might wake with from a dream, only to have it vanish when you attempt to verbalize it. Thanks to Carl for that. It has been a huge influence and inspiration in my Holga Toy Camera work.

http://www.HolgaToyCamera.com and look for me on facebook.