PROJECT GUIDE

PROJECT
Film Rewind Handle
Shutter
Release Button
Film Rewind Knob
Frame Counter
Viewfinder
Top Case
Aperture Switch
Focus Ring
Body
Lens
GUIDE

The bond between camera and photographer is the first rule of photography. Good images happen
everywhere, all the time. You may be surprised at how much more you look at the world around you
when you venture out with a camera in your hand.

You don’t have to be a
pro to take pictures.
We hope to expose you
to photography and
help develop your eye.
Have fun. Let things
develop. The light leaks
and black corners
will add character to
anything you see.
Photography is a fix.
It’s an individual mode
of expression and
voice. What do you
have to say?

A Holga stretches our brains. Using a Holga adds a new and exciting level to
the way we look at the world. We notice more about the things around us, we
capture what we see, and the Holga helps us visually describe our world to
others in a new and exciting way.
A Holga is an educator. A Holga is a rule breaker.

Designed and engineered in a factory in China, the Holga was initially introduced to the
Chinese public in 1981. Soon this special all-plastic camera had spread west, and its
popularity was growing.
By 2001, the Holga’s 20th anniversary, over half a million cameras had been sold worldwide.
Since then, photographers have purchased tens of thousands more. Today, the array
of cameras and accessories available from Holga reflects its continued popularity among
photographers of all ages.

Symbol of a Group
33 ft. or Less
Focus Ring
Symbol of a Group
20 ft. or Less
Symbol of Family
6.5 ft. or Less
Lens
Symbol of Person
3.25 ft. or Less

Aperture Switch
Mode One: Sunny
Mode Two: Cloudy,
Fluorescent Light

Shutter Mode
Selector
Bulb Setting:
Use this for long
exposures in low
light situations
Use this setting
for all “Normal”
light situations.

In this project we have included for you one roll of B&W and one roll of Color 400 ISO film but any type
of film can be used, as long as it’s 35mm.

The lens on a Holga is plastic, after all, and tends to lose detail in the shadow areas. For B&W
negative film, the rule of thumb is to expose for the shadows and develop for the highlights.
Even color negative film can benefit from the habit of over exposing slightly.

Place the spool of film into the left
side of the camera with the leading
edge pointing to the right.

With your left thumb resting lightly on
the film, pull out the paper film leader
until you can insert the tapered edge
into the take-up spool.

Spool the film with a couple of turns
of the take-up knob. Keep your thumb
lightly on the film to prevent slack.

Press the film windup button.
Take up the windup crank and turn
in clockwise rotation as shown. Once
the crank is no longer taut, your film
is completely wound back into its
canister. Only then should you pull
the crank lever to open the camera
and remove your film.

Besides the creative door this opens, a key technical benefit is that you
can build up exposures in low light situations.

Long exposures are easily achieved when using the bulb setting built into
your cameras. Simply set the exposure switch to the “B” position. Push
down the shutter release button and keep it down as long as desired. Then,
release the button to close the shutter to complete the picture taking cycle.

Holga’s sheer simplicity is our key to power. Think of it not as a camera, but as paintbrush, liberally
splashing your photographic canvas with exactly the scenes that you choose to take pictures of.

Holgas look oversized, kind of clumsy, a little toy-like, and
definitely not intimidating. So relax, have fun, and try to get
people to open up for your lens. Natural is best.

Did you know that the best photos come out of spontaneous, impulsive situations
and that many are therefore never taken, simply due to the lack of a camera?

What happens down below and up above our fields of vision, from a dog, cat, baby,
bug, slug, bird and insect perspective? Don’t always feel the need to look through
the viewfinder, enjoy the surprise!

Photography is a surprising diversion and will enlighten you with true, simple and
wonderful revelations.

Photos always emerge from a plethora of different and unexpected
situations, ideas, views and intentions. It’s always up to you. Your subtle
play with the outside world and its related coincidences make the choice:
to photograph or not to photograph?

There are a few ways of doing this nifty little trick but this is perhaps the best
way of doing it reliably and it doesn’t require anything more than your existing
ability to count to 20.
Begin at the LEFT side of the subject/scene/victim you wish to capture. Press
the shutter. Wind-on for 20 clicks and ignore the numbers on the back of the
film. They’re nice enough, have their place but not required for this so just
forget about them better still black – tape over the window completely. Outta
sight, outta mind.
Move the Holga to the right, shoot. Wind-on. Move to the right. Frame. Shoot.
Click and Wind. Move to the right. Frame. Shoot. Click and Wind. Repeat.

If your Holga has a flash unit built in, why not try use the flash in the bright outdoors?
This technique produces a nice fill light and works best when facing the sun
or bright light.

The Holga viewfinder is a little restricting. Try looking over or to the side of your
camera instead. This way you can see much more around you, and as you take
the photo you can see what is being captured.

Playing with themes is a great way to spice up your photography. Take ten
minutes to brainstorm some ideas. Write them down.
Ok I got vans and windows.
Now you could shoot out of a van window, through a van window or even into
a van window. See the potential of combining themes?

Look up, look down, look all around. You miss hundreds of things each day
because you rarely move your head up and down. Try concentrating on looking up
and down. (Try not to bump into anyone though!) You’ll begin to notice a whole
new world of interesting photographic opportunity!

If you have been shooting color for a while, go black and white. The same applies
if you are using black and white a lot too! Changing around film makes you think
differently about photography and obviously gives you much different results.

– Kit Frost, Professional Photographer

– Joe Ostraff, Professor, BYU

– Lesley Krane, educator at California State University, Northridge

– Sandy Carrion, Coordinator of the Krappy Kamera Competition.

– Julia Dean, founder of the Julia Dean Photographic Workshops.

– Randy Thomas, Founder,

This is
PHOTO SERIES TITLE
, my photography project!
Sick, right? Yes, it’s true and I couldn’t be more
EMOTION
about it. This project has been my
ADJECTIVE
experience
with photography
.
My personal vision could be described as being
EMOTION OR CHARACTERISTIC
and I’m inspired by
ANYTHING GOES HERE
.
My favorite things about this project have been
ANYTHING GOES HERE
,
and
ANYTHING GOES HERE
.
Thanks for looking!
PERSONAL CLOSING
P.S.
! !! !!!