Bad Holga

I loaded my untrusty Holga with a roll of Arista EDU Ultra 100 film and took it on a hike up Mount Philo and then on a photo walk in Plattsburgh, NY. I developed the roll the other day at which time it dawned on me that Holga cameras are optimized for 400-speed films. This roll being at ISO 100 was not nearly light-sensitive enough, and so the result was a dozen underexposed and thoroughly-underwhelming photos. So today I put on four Bowie records (Diamond Dogs, Heroes, Aladdin Sane and Ziggy Stardust… not because of any particular creative process, it’s just what I felt like listening to today) while scanning and creatively editing the photos in an attempt to salvage something from them.

Also I’ve been home sick much of the week, so any opportunity to do something interesting was a welcome relief.

We were planning to do a second photo walk through Plattsburgh this month, when we can spend a bit more time with it, and while it’s possible I might bring the Holga and try again with some Arista EDU Ultra 400 film this time, I’ll probably just load my Mamiya M645 into the bag instead, because Holgas are dreadful. Wonderful but still dreadful.