This Weeks Headlines...

Some things I saw on the web this week.

  • Holga have released some new lenses and a fish eye viewfinder. There are models for the 120 Holgas and the 135 Holgas. They are currently available in Asia but are appearing on eBay. See Holga Blog for more details.
  • Lomokev has set the date for his meet and greet in San Francisco. He will be doing a talk and book signing at The Booksmith (Haight St) on Monday October 12. Visit Kevin Meredith Photography for more info.
  • Four Corners Dark reviewed the new Lomography Diana Mini. My favorite line is 'I once called the Ikimono 110 the Mini Cooper of toy cameras, and if I had to make the same comparison, the headline would be “The Diana Mini, the Yugo of Toy Cameras”'
  • Stephen Schaub of The Figital Revolution released his new "Bare Bones Bag Stealth" which does away with the noisy velcro. I have a ton of bags because I am still trying to find the one. To further that quest, I ordered a Bare Bones Bag Stealth so once it arrives and I play with it for a while, I'll write a review.

Film Basics (A True Beginners Guide to Film Photography)

Some random bits of information for people new to film or toy camera photography based on questions seen in various Flickr groups as well as other thoughts that float into my mind as I write this.

  • You cannot get the photographs onto your computer without developing the film first. Only then can you print & scan the photograph or scan the negative/slide directly.
  • There is  no "best" film to use in "camera x". Like ice cream flavors, everyone has their own personal favorites. Try what you can get your hands on and see what you like.
  • That medium format film is not called "120mm". It is called "120". There used to also be 119 and 121 and a host of other formats. Also there is no "135mm". 35mm film is designated "135".
  • You can get the "lomo look" with it's "saturated wild colors" in a Canon, Nikon or any film camera. Just cross process the slide film as a negative.
  • But for your first roll, process it normally so you can see how your camera performs.
  • Visit your local library and find a book that explains exposure, f-stops & shutter speeds. In the long term it will be worth it to know what you are doing.
  • Processing black and white film is pretty easy and you don't even need a dark room.
  • Printing (using chemicals) does need a dark room however. But you can always scan your negatives directly on a scanner and print digitally.
  • It is OK to "post process" your photos. What do you think those people who spent hours in the dark room in ye olden times were doing?
  • Unlike a digital camera, it is normally not a good idea to change the "iso" from shot to shot on a single roll.
  • You have a limited number of images per roll - it is worth slowing down and thinking about you are doing. Don't buy into the don't think mentality or you will probably be disappointed.
  • A basic Holga plastic camera shouldn't cost more than $30.
  • Don't buy every new film camera that comes along. You won't use them all. Stick with one decent manual or semi-manual camera for now and learn how to use it well.
  • You are allowed to also use a digital camera if you want. Don't listen to anyone who says you have to pick a side.
  • If your camera doesn't have a light meter built in it might be a good idea to invest in a hand held one. (Or google "Sunny 16 rule")
  • LOMO don't make Holga's, Diana's, or Action Sampler cameras. You are confusing them with The Lomographic Society. LOMO used to make the LC-A, the Smena range and Lubitel range of cameras but are out of the camera business now. (update: I should mention that LSI do not make the Holga - this camera is made by Tokina Company Limited which is part of the Universal Electronics Groups of Hong Kong.)
  • Using the same camera as someone else it not going to automatically allow you replicate the images they have. There is a lot more variables involved including light, film type, processing, post processing, exposure and of course the person standing behind the camera.

Feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments.

A few blog posts

Fake Polaroids Continue Unabashed [updated]

A few days ago I wrote briefly about the Poladroid phenomenon sweeping the web.  Well, these fake Polaroids are turning up all over the place it would seem. MyLastPolaroid.com is a site that says

To celebrate the film’s life and mourn its passing, we’re asking Polaroid photographers around the world to post the last Polaroid they ever take to this site, creating an online archive of the final Polaroids in existence.

But in their gallery right now is a "Polaroid" that has a really suspicious square vignette.

mylast-polaroid

Update: The fake photo above has now been removed.

Also, over on JPG mag, there was a user held contest that was supposed to be a Celebration of Polaroid. While the winner of the contest does look like a legitimate Polaroid, the JPG editors picked a few others to showcase on their blog including one photo which also has that strange square vignette.

I'm now wondering does the word "polaroid" (not capitalized) for some people mean any photograph that looks like a Polaroid photograph. The same sort of thing has happened the to word "lomo". For a lot of people, this is a "look" and not a camera manufacturer.

Anyway, to keep up to date on all things fake follow @edwinland on twitter. He's fighting the good fight.

Poladroid Polaroid

For the past few months, there has been a lot of talk on the web about the application Poladroid which takes a digital photograph and turns it into a "polaroid" photo. Below are some test shots from Anne Bowerman (Flickr anniebee) which I think accurately show just how awful this program is at creating a fake Polaroids and based on other "Poladroids" I have seen, I have to assume that the people using the application are not all that familiar with the images produced by a real Polaroid instant camera. But that hasn't stopped over a million and a half people from downloading the application.

Poladroid

And this isn't the only application to try to fake the look of film based photography. The photo editing website Picnik offers "Lomo-ish" and "Holga-ish" filters. Camerabag for the iPhone has filters called "Helga" and "Lolo" (Holga and Lomo type filters) as well as it's own "Instant" look. And there are a host of Photoshop actions and filters that achieve the same thing on people's computers.

But why do this?

Perhaps all these attempts at retro-imitation indicate that people are just getting bored with the crisp, clean, clinically "perfect" images that digital cameras now produce. Or maybe these are attempts to connect with some old memories of times gone by.

Who knows for sure?

My only question is how can I get that square vignette from my Polaroid SX-70? My camera must be defective.

Photo Blog Round Up

Some things going on in other photography blogs I subscribe to.

Toy Camera Book Version 2.0 - Call For Entries

The folks over at Toycamera.com are putting together a new version of the Toy Camera book. According to the website, it will contain

a series of themed galleries through out the book along with a series of interviews with various toy camera photographers.  The interviews and galleries would be aimed at showcasing what all of you are doing today with your toys.  We hope to showcase the broad range of these cameras and how they help photographers bring a unique style to their photography.

If you are looking for more information or wish to take part, head on over to http://toycamerabook.com/

David Burnett : Our Moon

Lens Showcase : Our moon Lens has posted a very interesting set of photographs taken by David Burnett during the launch of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. According to the piece, Burnett was working for Time and

knew he had little chance to jump ahead of more experienced photographers and be assigned to shoot the lift-off. “There’s going to be a million people photographing the rocket,” he said. “Who’s going to shoot the people watching?” So he persuaded his editors to send him to photograph the onlookers.

Link: http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/showcase-19/

International Film Buying Day

Over on Flickr right now, there is a new group promoting "International Film Buying Day" which states

I ask all who enjoy shooting on film to go out on the same day, October 1, and buy a roll (or rolls or sheets for that matter!) of film. I'm sure the sudden spike in film sales would be noticed and the industry will realise there is still quite a considerable sized market for film.

I appreciate the motives for such an endeavor but I wonder how effective this will be.

No business that wants to survive is going to heed any "spike in film sales" that occurs on one single day. I don't see suppliers investing in new capital equipment or raw materials or retailers increasing their stock orders and revising their sales projections based solely on the results of 1 day.

And this assumes that a spike will even be detected. Film suppliers typically do not sell directly to the public so any "spike" will be filtered out by the staggered resupply dates of the retailers.

What is needed is a positive trend of film sales over time which requires us to buy (and shoot) film continuously, not save up all our buying for a single day, once a year. I am sure the businesses would appreciate a more predictable customer base.

Every day should be International Film Buying Day so go now and buy some film and shoot some film.

Link: http://www.flickr.com/groups/internationalfilmbuyingday/

Update 10/1/09 : Turns out I did buy film today. I bought some in anticipation of Toy Camera Day coming up in less than two weeks and actually forgot that Oct 1st was International Film Buying Day until I saw this post was read in my blog stats.

Holgapalooza Is Coming

holgapalooza From the folks that bring us toycamera.com and Lightleaks Magazine, Holgapalooza is a Holga inspired photography contest with $10,000 in cash and prizes up for grabs.

Prizes include various Holga cameras and Polaroid films and there is money off Lightleaks Magazine subscriptions for everyone who enters.

Sponsors include Holga Inspire, Freestyle Photographic Supplies, Polapremium, Photoworks San Francisco, www.dreaminplastic.com, www.holgablog.com, and www.fourcornerstore.com and the judges include Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, Steph Parke, Michelle Bates, Sandra Carrion, & Gordon Stettinius.

Link: http://www.holgapalooza.com/

Kodak Announces The End Of Kodachrome

kodachrome1 After 74 years as an iconic film, Kodak today announced that it will cease production Kodachrome slide film. The film has been used to create a lot of famous photographs over the years and Kodak have posted a slide show online showing some of these.

As a tribute to the film, Steve McCurry, who shot the famous National Geographic photo of a young Afghan girl, will shoot one of the last rolls of Kodachrome and donate the images to the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film.

Links: Kodak News Release & a Tribute.