The less tech and gimmicks in the camera the better it is for displaying the talents of the photographer. That is why manual cameras are often used by people who know what are doing. Holga has a special place in photography.
Good composition is hard to define but easy to recocnise, as you've clearly demonstrated. An old, but true saying: it's not what you use it's how you use it! Bill Ward Glasgow
Lovely images, Martin! I’m in the middle of a project to document my corner of the world, called ’Haninge by Holga’ (Sweden). I,m using Fomapan 100 and I stand develop the film for an hour in Kodak HC-110 with great result. Your work gives me inspiration to continue my journey with the Holga. Looking forward to more videos! Stay safe!
17:50 I believe it's the blurriness on the sides that achieves this effect of the houses looking like toys. You don't usually see it like this though. If you search for "tilt shift miniature" you'll get a lot of examples of the effect. When it's a bird's eye view, and often with colours more saturated, the exaggerated depth of field as caused by tilt shifting the lens creates a miniature toy look to the photo. I think because the blurriness in your photo is particularly noticeable on the left and right sides of the image, and not so much in the sky and in the water, it has a similar effect, where it looks like the depth of field on either side is exaggerated.
Great video Martin, I followed a similar pathway with my photography starting in my teens in the 70's. My first camera was a Fed3, then moving on to Pentax and Canon. Before moving to digital in 2003, and still using it now. But about 5-6 years ago I came back to film photography because something was missing. I bought a Holga and instantly fell in love with it, the quality is its lack of quality sometimes and them dreamy images you can produce with it.
Hi Martin, so much for the wonderful video! I have been eyeing the Holga for years but your commentary and fantastic photos have really convinced me to pull the trigger. Thanks!
Yes. I started with the digital. My first film camera was the Holga about five years ago. I later was able to obtain my grandpa's camera a Pentax K1000. It has little gremlins because of years of poor storage, but I can still take quality photos. I later collected other Diana, Lomography cameras, Holga versions, and now more 35mm film cameras. I have a digital Sony and Canon for photos I can not live without, such as important events. But everything else. I prefer film therapy. It's mindfulness at it's finest. I would like more content on the Zero pinhole. I bought this and still feel unsure about it. There is a lack of classes or workshops for beginners.
U agree with your sentiments, its a journey we all travel along, I will be posting another video next week using the Zero45, if you require any advise please do not hesitate to ask. thank you
love the pictures, the story and the music. Why didn't you've taken a shot of the drinking dino at Flamborough head? The pictures of Whitby are so awesome! Using a Holga for this kind of photography is really a great piece of artwork.
Another thoughtful video with wonderful pictures. I'm a bit jealous about the UK sceneries. Your craftsmanship in the lab certainly helps to get the most out of the Holga system. Like memories tend to fade into dreams over time, I think the Holga actually _adds_ elements and therefore meaningfulness to pictures like these, and it suits them well. As you have stated, rendering quality alone wouldn't necessarily increase their actual value. On the other hand, I don't think such an impressive photograph like "Living with Power" which I have found in your gallery would work if it was taken with such a simple camera. (By the way, a background story about this picture would be very interesting). PS: Sorry for your cap :-)
The Holga is not universal for every photograph, I agree, the Living with power was taken many years ago using a Pentax MX with one of my favorite but getting quite expensive now films Kodak Trix
@@martinhensonphotography Thank you for this info, an outstanding artwork. It left me speechless and very irresolute: If I could afford to buy it, I would certainly not put it on a wall in my apartment, because it's pretty depressing as well.
@@olafwDEThere would be no way to capture this image again, the power station was demolished two years ago, If you would like this picture contact me through my website
@@martinhensonphotography Now that's probably good news. And thank you for the opportunity, I really appreciate it. However, I should not avail myself of it since I don't have any other walls to put it on other than in my apartment. There are a lot of heavy industry locations in my hometown. Based on your inspiring work, I'll try to hunt down a similarly expressive shot. If I can't put this on my wall at home for the same reasons, I will certainly credit you with the initial inspiration. Thank you very much.
Another interesting video Martin. My pathway mirrors yours, starting with a Zenit E , progressing through 35mm and then on to digital before returning to film cameras and lastly to pinholes and the Holga. As you know I purchased a 5x4 pinhole recently and I am now about to take delivery of a Cambo/Calumet Cadet 5x4 monorail to continue along the road. I’ve been enjoying watching your back catalogue over the last week or so, thanks for sharing. All the best. Dave
You have lots of very picturesque places over there in the UK - and the Holga's rendering seems to fit perfectly. A very interesting showcase and musings about *why* you're drawn to the Holga (and pinhole). I still have to develop the one role I took with an Agfa Isola two weeks ago to see if I like the results - they should have some similarity (or not, because the Isola has two glass lens elements).
I have a large collection of vintage cameras and love the results they produce, I am sure your pictures will turn out fine given the right development process, thank you
I am so happy I cam across your channel. I just bought a Holga and will start with film photography. Your perspective and compositions are so amazing. It would be really nice to know the settings as well that you use to take these photos. I look forward to see more videos from you. Wonderful!!!
Thank you, there are no real settings using a Holga, no real control or the exposures, what I would say is pick the right type weather, you need plenty of light to get decent exposures, the other thing that will work in your favor is negative films latitude to over exposure, in other words don't be afraid of over exposure, let the film and development take care of that, as regards composition, best way to learn is by studying other peoples work and see how they compose, a great visual learning tool
Technical sharpness is fine for entries in a reference book. Digital HDR, the need for detail in both light and shadow, ends up looking unnatural. And no one looks at a painting and says, "It's not sharp!" Pinhole and "Toy" cameras are atmosphere generators. But the photographer must supply the vision.
Hi Martin, truly lovely images and I believe you have put your finger on why pin hole and the Holga feel a little magical! My Holga usually has some very dark vignetting in the corners that I didn’t see in your scans- in fact I was going to ask you if you cropped yours out. I have been trying to embrace the dark corners but have to admit your images are much cleaner and I like that.
Hi Martin, greetings from Australia. I’ve been enjoying your Holga videos & I agree that the camera produces something special. Even different films can be rendered differently. I’m still learning to use my Holga & I’m interested to know whether you use the “sunny” & “cloudy” aperture switch? thanks, Andrew
Hi Andrew, I leave it in the sunny setting all the time, my thinking is more exposure is a better option to less especially for BW negatives, in fact I have a few holgas that have the switch but nothing alters when I slide it from sunny to cloudy. Thanks
Wonderful video Martin. But with a great variety of light conditions, how to expose with a two stops camera? Using ND filters and actuating over the time exposure? Thanks
No ND used, I relied on the films latitude to over exposure and use compensating developers that exhaust in the highlight so as not to make them un -printable, the area to be careful is under exposure, I tend not to use the Holga when the lighting is dull, so over exposure is fine, under exposure is to be avoided, than you
Well I have 3 holgas, only one allows me to make the aperture smaller, the other two when I move the slider nothing happens, so I use them at the widest setting all the time on all 3, better to over expose then under and let negative films latitude take care of it, thank you
@@martinhensonphotography i have the 120GN with the glass lens not sure if the results will be as good as the plastic lens version you have. to be honest i have only used it once so not really sure of what its capable of. As a new subscriber i am enjoying catching up with your back catalog of videos ATB.
i have bought 3 holgas in month and it all martins fault nothing to do with me, i also have the zero 2000 i dont take pictures i take art i am not interested it taking normal photographs its to boring .. jeff.. holgaologist in residense ...
The less tech and gimmicks in the camera the better it is for displaying the talents of the photographer. That is why manual cameras are often used by people who know what are doing. Holga has a special place in photography.
Just incredible what you have created with such a simple camera. Amazing work!!!
You are a master in Holga
Just been using that 127 camera and made some lovely prints
All this modern high tech gear, how advanced have we become, convenience yes, photography no, love the old cameras
Good composition is hard to define but easy to recocnise, as you've clearly demonstrated.
An old, but true saying: it's not what you use it's how you use it!
Bill Ward
Glasgow
very beautiful, all the photos you showed! loved it. I have picked a Holga very recently to just focus on compositions and nothing else.
Lovely images, Martin! I’m in the middle of a project to document my corner of the world, called ’Haninge by Holga’ (Sweden). I,m using Fomapan 100 and I stand develop the film for an hour in Kodak HC-110 with great result. Your work gives me inspiration to continue my journey with the Holga. Looking forward to more videos! Stay safe!
Thank you, HC110 is a developer I use as well, one of the best
Excellent video as ever Martin. Really lovely images and inspiring as ever.
17:50 I believe it's the blurriness on the sides that achieves this effect of the houses looking like toys. You don't usually see it like this though. If you search for "tilt shift miniature" you'll get a lot of examples of the effect. When it's a bird's eye view, and often with colours more saturated, the exaggerated depth of field as caused by tilt shifting the lens creates a miniature toy look to the photo.
I think because the blurriness in your photo is particularly noticeable on the left and right sides of the image, and not so much in the sky and in the water, it has a similar effect, where it looks like the depth of field on either side is exaggerated.
Great video Martin, I followed a similar pathway with my photography starting in my teens in the 70's. My first camera was a Fed3, then moving on to Pentax and Canon. Before moving to digital in 2003, and still using it now. But about 5-6 years ago I came back to film photography because something was missing. I bought a Holga and instantly fell in love with it, the quality is its lack of quality sometimes and them dreamy images you can produce with it.
So true , thanks
Hi Martin, so much for the wonderful video! I have been eyeing the Holga for years but your commentary and fantastic photos have really convinced me to pull the trigger. Thanks!
Go for it and enjoy, thank you
Yes. I started with the digital. My first film camera was the Holga about five years ago. I later was able to obtain my grandpa's camera a Pentax K1000. It has little gremlins because of years of poor storage, but I can still take quality photos. I later collected other Diana, Lomography cameras, Holga versions, and now more 35mm film cameras. I have a digital Sony and Canon for photos I can not live without, such as important events. But everything else. I prefer film therapy. It's mindfulness at it's finest. I would like more content on the Zero pinhole. I bought this and still feel unsure about it. There is a lack of classes or workshops for beginners.
U agree with your sentiments, its a journey we all travel along, I will be posting another video next week using the Zero45, if you require any advise please do not hesitate to ask. thank you
Another interesting video, thanks.
love the pictures, the story and the music. Why didn't you've taken a shot of the drinking dino at Flamborough head?
The pictures of Whitby are so awesome!
Using a Holga for this kind of photography is really a great piece of artwork.
Wonderful images and wonderful prints.
Another thoughtful video with wonderful pictures. I'm a bit jealous about the UK sceneries. Your craftsmanship in the lab certainly helps to get the most out of the Holga system.
Like memories tend to fade into dreams over time, I think the Holga actually _adds_ elements and therefore meaningfulness to pictures like these, and it suits them well. As you have stated, rendering quality alone wouldn't necessarily increase their actual value.
On the other hand, I don't think such an impressive photograph like "Living with Power" which I have found in your gallery would work if it was taken with such a simple camera. (By the way, a background story about this picture would be very interesting).
PS: Sorry for your cap :-)
The Holga is not universal for every photograph, I agree, the Living with power was taken many years ago using a Pentax MX with one of my favorite but getting quite expensive now films Kodak Trix
@@martinhensonphotography Thank you for this info, an outstanding artwork. It left me speechless and very irresolute: If I could afford to buy it, I would certainly not put it on a wall in my apartment, because it's pretty depressing as well.
@@olafwDEThere would be no way to capture this image again, the power station was demolished two years ago, If you would like this picture contact me through my website
@@martinhensonphotography Now that's probably good news. And thank you for the opportunity, I really appreciate it. However, I should not avail myself of it since I don't have any other walls to put it on other than in my apartment.
There are a lot of heavy industry locations in my hometown. Based on your inspiring work, I'll try to hunt down a similarly expressive shot. If I can't put this on my wall at home for the same reasons, I will certainly credit you with the initial inspiration. Thank you very much.
Another interesting video Martin. My pathway mirrors yours, starting with a Zenit E , progressing through 35mm and then on to digital before returning to film cameras and lastly to pinholes and the Holga. As you know I purchased a 5x4 pinhole recently and I am now about to take delivery of a Cambo/Calumet Cadet 5x4 monorail to continue along the road. I’ve been enjoying watching your back catalogue over the last week or so, thanks for sharing. All the best. Dave
Your welcome, thanks
You have lots of very picturesque places over there in the UK - and the Holga's rendering seems to fit perfectly. A very interesting showcase and musings about *why* you're drawn to the Holga (and pinhole). I still have to develop the one role I took with an Agfa Isola two weeks ago to see if I like the results - they should have some similarity (or not, because the Isola has two glass lens elements).
I have a large collection of vintage cameras and love the results they produce, I am sure your pictures will turn out fine given the right development process, thank you
I just got a Holga. I am so excited to use it.
I am so happy I cam across your channel. I just bought a Holga and will start with film photography. Your perspective and compositions are so amazing. It would be really nice to know the settings as well that you use to take these photos. I look forward to see more videos from you. Wonderful!!!
Thank you, there are no real settings using a Holga, no real control or the exposures, what I would say is pick the right type weather, you need plenty of light to get decent exposures, the other thing that will work in your favor is negative films latitude to over exposure, in other words don't be afraid of over exposure, let the film and development take care of that, as regards composition, best way to learn is by studying other peoples work and see how they compose, a great visual learning tool
Technical sharpness is fine for entries in a reference book. Digital HDR, the need for detail in both light and shadow, ends up looking unnatural. And no one looks at a painting and says, "It's not sharp!" Pinhole and "Toy" cameras are atmosphere generators. But the photographer must supply the vision.
Hi Martin, truly lovely images and I believe you have put your finger on why pin hole and the Holga feel a little magical! My Holga usually has some very dark vignetting in the corners that I didn’t see in your scans- in fact I was going to ask you if you cropped yours out. I have been trying to embrace the dark corners but have to admit your images are much cleaner and I like that.
None of my Holga vignette that bad to be honest, the corners can go darker but would not say dark by any means
Very good pictures! Thanks!
thank you
Really lovely Martin. sim[plicity is so appealing
I think it is as well, thanks
Hi Martin, greetings from Australia. I’ve been enjoying your Holga videos & I agree that the camera produces something special. Even different films can be rendered differently. I’m still learning to use my Holga & I’m interested to know whether you use the “sunny” & “cloudy” aperture switch? thanks, Andrew
Hi Andrew, I leave it in the sunny setting all the time, my thinking is more exposure is a better option to less especially for BW negatives, in fact I have a few holgas that have the switch but nothing alters when I slide it from sunny to cloudy. Thanks
Love your videos.
Thank you, glad you enjoy them
Hi Martin cool video, I was wondering what b&w film you would recommend for a Holga.
Depends on the light were you live , if it very bright sun 100 iso if not 400
Beautiful images!
Thank you
You've perfected the zone focusing technique of the Holga, that's something I'm still trying to do. Have you modified the Holga at all.?
No mods done, thanks
Wonderful video Martin. But with a great variety of light conditions, how to expose with a two stops camera? Using ND filters and actuating over the time exposure? Thanks
No ND used, I relied on the films latitude to over exposure and use compensating developers that exhaust in the highlight so as not to make them un -printable, the area to be careful is under exposure, I tend not to use the Holga when the lighting is dull, so over exposure is fine, under exposure is to be avoided, than you
@@martinhensonphotography Thanks Martin
Great video Martin, do you shoot the Holga at its widest lens aperture or doesn’t it make any difference?.
Well I have 3 holgas, only one allows me to make the aperture smaller, the other two when I move the slider nothing happens, so I use them at the widest setting all the time on all 3, better to over expose then under and let negative films latitude take care of it, thank you
@@martinhensonphotography i have the 120GN with the glass lens not sure if the results will be as good as the plastic lens version you have. to be honest i have only used it once so not really sure of what its capable of. As a new subscriber i am enjoying catching up with your back catalog of videos ATB.
All those vignetting and other imperfections can get pretty old too, and pretty quick.
Would you like to come and chat with us on the Lensless Podcast - pinhole and indeed holga we love !
Yes that would be nice, thank you
i have bought 3 holgas in month and it all martins fault nothing to do with me, i also have the zero 2000 i dont take pictures i take art i am not interested it taking normal photographs its to boring .. jeff.. holgaologist in residense ...