First infrared attempt!
Ilford SFX 200 on Holgamod 120N
(self-dev: Ilford Ilfotec DDX, 1:4, 10mins)
Behold, my first infrared attempt! I’ve had my Hoya R72 IR filter lying around for so long but for some reason I never managed to pick it up and stuff it onto my Holga. Heheh.
It was hot but seeing the overcast sky I thought I should expose the film longer than the recommended 4-8 seconds so I bracketed the shots at 10-12. You can see that they look a tad bit overexposed, and yes, this is Malaysia after all where the sun is almost always blazing hot!
Overall I’m quite pleased with the outcome and rest assured, CGSF will definitely be posting more IR shots this year!
-delusiana
Film Soup : Color Neg + Saltwater
Mitsubishi MX 100 on Holga 120N w/ 35mm back
The color shifts do not compare to what you get on slide film when soaked in detergent (like this!), but if you like mild and subtle effects, try soaking your film in some saltwater. Most of the shots on this roll were taken under very bright light but still they turned out a tad underexposed. Need to use Bulb mode next time.
Film Soup Recipe
- 300ml hot water
- 2 teaspoons salt
*film roll left in film soup for exactly 48 hours, dried, exposed, and developed.
-eleanorrigby236
Velvia 50 is still a difficult film to shoot!
Fujichrome Velvia 50 on Holgamods Holga 120N
As you probably know when cross processed, the Velvia 50 yields deep blue tones and tends to be underexposed, even when shot under bright sunlight. The best bet is to use a camera with a proper light meter and to rate it at 40 or 45ISO. But again, I’m using a Holga so what I did was just using the biggest possible aperture (f8 - yes, this is the Holgamod Deluxe by Randy Smith so it’s a working aperture). I could also attempt a long exposure to properly expose the film but that would serve no purpose since my aim was to catch the moment when those people were suspended in thin air.
Well, try again I guess…
-delusiana
Shanghai GP3 Negative 100 (self-developed)
Holgamods Holga 120N
Another reason to love the Shanghai! This time, using my not-so-newly purchased Holga 120N fr Holgamods, I guess now I truly believe why people were raving about Randy Smith’s modified cams. They’re truly awesome! What’s the difference you ask? Well, besides having 2 truly working apertures of f8 & f11, the mask was modified to produce a more intense vignette compared to the original, fresh-out-of-the-factory Holgas. Do check out the site for more details, you can customize your own 120Ns according to your whims!
-delusiana
Lost In Reverie by Suzi Livingstone (Kodak Tri-X 400)
Holga 120 w/ homemade plastic lens
So we received this submission and of course I was blown away by the lens effect, and when I found out it was shot on a homemade lens, I had to pry. Once you are done here, you must go check out Suzi’s stunning portfolio here!! Thanks for sharing Suzi ;)
-eleanorrigby236
1) How and why did you start making your own lenses?
Suzi: I’ve been shooting with Holgas and other plastic cameras for a long time now and have also built up a large collection of vintage medium format cameras. I’ve been experimenting with adding my own lenses to vintage cameras & Holga bodies for a while, I use toy magnifying lenses and loupes. The tinkering began when the shutter broke on my first Holga 120S and I started removing bits from it to use on other Holga’s. Once I started tinkering I couldn’t stop! The images that emerged from these creations conveyed the visual direction I had wanted my work to go in for a while, but couldn’t really achieve with a basic holga.
2) Do you prefer shooting in B&W over color, and if so why?
Suzi: I like both but in the past couple of years I’ve hardly shot any colour, I’ve just been more drawn to B&W for some reason.. it wasn’t a conscious decision but at the moment B&W seems to suit my artistic mood.
3) Any tips for others interested in modifying their plastic cameras?
Suzi: It’s fun to experiment and so easy to get different effects with plastic cameras just by tinkering with a few things, whether it’s adding a new lens or taping up light leaks. Taking apart plastic cameras is also a great way of finding out the working basics of cameras if you want to start making your own from scratch.
4) What other cameras do you shoot with?
Suzi: I have a large collection of vintage medium format cameras (a Great Wall, various Brownies, pinholes and box cameras). The only medium I haven’t really experimented with is polaroid - I want to but I know once I start I will probably be hooked and the expense of polaroid film will probably bankrupt me!
I’m posting this on behalf of eleanorrigby236, heheh. This double exposure was taken at around 11 am with Fujicolor Pro 400H on a Holga 120N. Amazing isn’t it? I fell in love with it the moment I saw it freshly developed at the photo lab. You rock eleanorrigby236!!
-delusiana
Lomography Black & White Negative 100
Holga 120N
The very visible black and rough grain you see is part of a scanning defect. I could go in to Photoshop and remove them, OR I could rescan the film but…not now. These images were shot at the Waterfront in Kuching on my trip to Sarawak last month. A very nice place to go for a pretty splendid view of the Sarawak River and the Margherita Fort, a 300-year old fort from the colonial era of Sir James Brooke, the English businessman who almost became King! Oh wait, he actually did become a White Rajah! Suffice to say, Kuching is full of historical and very much abandoned urban sites which I itch to explore. I’m going back there one day, for sure.
[edit] @mistercakesphotoadventures I wish Tumblr allowed replies to replies!! Anyway, I just realized that the last image is a triple exposure and not a double!! LOL. You can see the boat coming in, at a standstill (well in photo at least) and then moving on ;)
-eleanorrigby236
PS: This is the 236th post on our blog!! And that is a very significant number to me.
Fujicolor Pro 400H (Photos by Angela Marlaud)
Holga 120N
I thought I should share with you guys some of my favorite Holga shots from flickr, which I had aspired to emulate (but not really successful so far!) by a very talented photographer Angela Marlaud hailing from California. I love love love her pictures, so sublime & fairytale-like.
None of my color negative results have been really satisfying, especially ones taken on my Holga but looking at her pictures helped me strengthen my resolve to never give up and keep on shooting! Thanks for allowing me to feature your shots Angie!
And don’t forget to visit her flickr and let her know how beautiful her photos are! :D
-delusiana
Kodak Ektacolor Pro 160
Holga 120N
I just recently got this basic Holga camera after having tons of fun shooting on the GCFN that is fitted with a glass lens. I was a little surprised when my shots came back very sharp despite the plastic lens on the 120N. The biggest difference between the 120N and the GCFN is the fact that the sharpness on the 120N is almost equally spread out in the overall picture, as opposed to the GCFN where pictures are extremely sharp in the center and gradually softens to the corners, as you can see in the photo below. It is a subtle difference, but you definitely get a more tilt-shift like effect on the GCFN.
*B&W photo shot on Holga GCFN w/ Kodak Tri-X 400
The images from the 120N were shot as I was hiking up Mount Gading on my little excursion in Borneo, in search of the Rafflesia, the world’s largest flower, that I was told was in bloom. I found it alright, just not exactly in the state I had hoped for. But that is another story to share through another post, so stay tuned!
-eleanorrigby236
