San Diego through the eyes of Ms. Holga.

An explanation. The last time I posted my Holga shots. I had questions. What's a Holga? Did you add those vignettes? I had those same questions when I was first introduced to Jonathan Canlas's photography.

I saw his Holga shots and knowing he only shoots with film, thought.. what kind of camera is he using?

The answer? The Holga. A toy camera. Seriously a plastic light little toy camera. Mine doesn't have a flash. As silly as it sounds it doesn't really have any controls, or the ability to zoom. No f-stops, no focusing. It has a little button that you click to take the pictures. Sure you have to figure out how close to stand to your subject. What kind of film you like. But once you get the hang of it. (Which really isn't too hard.) You get killer results. And I'm sorry, but when you shoot with film, it looks awesome straight out of the camera. You're not spending time in photo shop correcting. These images look like this when they're handed to me at the lab.

I get my vibrant colors from cross-processing, and always shooting in the bright sunlight. The vignettes are built into the camera. Some Holga's have light leak problems. I have been lucky with mine. Some people really like that look though. But do you want to know the best part? This camera only cost me 15 bucks. But before you run out and buy one, you should know that the film is expensive. The processing and scanning are on the expensive side. I luckily work for a photography lab and get an employee discount. But I would say a roll of film to buy, develop, and scan is around 10-15 bucks each. (I buy a more expensive slide film.) With only 12 shots on the roll, it can get a bit pricey.

So I usually only use my Holga for special occasions. Birthdays, weddings, trips. But I really can't complain, this is one of those really satisfying hobbies. This is the last of the pictures from our trip to San Diego.