The Holga Darkroom

Well, this post is late so let's get right down to it, shall we? 😀

YOUR Favorite Holga Photo - 2016 Edition

Name: Kristian Day
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Title Of Image: A Beer On Sunday
Holga 120N w/ Ilford HP5 400ASA 120 Black and White (stock film that came with camera)
Links: www.kristianday.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristianday/
I read online back in fall of 2015 that Holga's were being discontinued so when my girlfriend asked what I wanted for Christmas I told her I wanted the Holga 120N. I had I never used one before. So on Christmas day sure enough she had gotten me a Holga! I loaded it with the Ilford 120 b/w stock that was inside the box. I didn't really understand how to use it as I had only used SLR film cameras minus one 127 film camera I had. I took the camera with me everywhere but was very picky on what I shot. One Sunday in January I took my girlfriend and her parents to Firetrucker Brewery to treat them to a couple beer flights. Her dad's health had been slowly failing and he was not doing well that day but he and I always bonded over beers. I took this photo of him and it turned out to be one two photos in that first roll that I would consider good. In fact it was the only photograph from that first roll that was in focus. July of this year he had a stroke and passed away in hospice a week later.

Name: Adrian Stock (host of the Sunny16 podcast on film photography)
Location: UK
Title: Beach colour
Holga products: Holga 120GN
Film: Kodak Ektar 100
Website: @sunny16podcast on both Twitter and Instagram
I took my holga on holiday to Croatia in the summer and captured some great colour images in sunshine much brighter than we usually get in the UK. This is my favourite because it captures for me the memory of that trip.

Anthony Felipe, Edison, NJ
"Come On, You Can Get It".
https://www.flickr.com/photos/polyfez/
Taken from a Holga GTLR using Ultrafine Xtreme Black & White ISO 100 film. Developed and scanned by the Darkroom. The photograph was taken during a family trip down at the Round Vally Reservoir. My dog King was very excited to play in the clear lake. While there, my sister threw the ball near the water and King rushed to go and get it. That was when I decide to capture that moment of my dog at his best time. I love this picture so much since not only did I caught and sealed a beautiful photo of my dog. It kicked off my creativity on using the Holga more often and expand my mind in photography. As well as motivating me a lot.

Dave Wilkinson
Brancaster Staithe North Norfolk
The Crab hut
Holga 120N
Ilford HP5 home dev Ilfosol
https://www.flickr.com/photos/davewilkinson5/
This is the crab hut on the car park at Brancaster Staithe in North Norfolk, they do absolutely fantastic seafood sandwiches. It also happens to be our favourite holiday location which we try and get to twice a year. I have only been using the Holga for about 18 months, but absolutely love the images that I get from her. There is just something special about developing your own negatives and the look you get from the final print. It has really opened my eyes and made me think a lot more about the final image before you take the shot and slowing you down compared to digital.
Website for the most important photo work I've ever done: www.domesticviolencearoundus.com

Name: Earle Thompson (a.k.a. Takgyver or @Takgyver01)
Location: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Title: "Need a Harp"
Holga products: Holga GFN
Film: Ilford HP5+ at 1200 in Rodinal
Website: http://www.pbase.com/takgyver
"Missing the Blues" - This young fellow was funny, very polite, and knew the game he was playing. We had a great chat he was happy to be photographed.

Name: Dustin Veitch
Location: Rural south Saskatchewan
Title: Prairie Skyline
Holga: CFN 120
Film: Fuji Velvia 100 (Expired; unknown date)
This is my favorite Holga shot. I won a Holga 120 CFN in a photo contest in February but it wasn’t until July before I got around to shoot it. The camera came loaded with a roll of film that was kept secret from me until I finished and later developed it. Without any instruction or direction, other than it being color film, I just went and shot it not expecting much only to find that it was one of my favorite film stocks. Not bad for my first roll with the Holga.

Name: J. M. Golding
Location: Peak District National Park, UK
Title: A vortex in the path
Holga products and film: Holga 120N, Kodak Tri-X
My website: http://www.jmgolding.com
This year I had the amazing experience of visiting a landscape that I'd known only through the photographs of Al Brydon (http://www.al-brydon.com/), whose work has inspired me for a long time and with whom I've worked collaboratively for several years. Of the photographs I made there, this one seems to me to most convey the sense of magic that I felt in being there.

Name: Lorraine Healy
Location of the image: Wenatchee, Washington
Title: Wally’s House of Booze
Holga camera: Helga N camo
Film used: Kodak 160 expired
website: www.Lorrainehealy.com
I love old storefronts and old signs. I was on a weekend road trip in the Palouse area of WA, shooting with my goddaughter, who was visiting from Argentina. We spent the night in Wenatchee, WA, and on Sunday morning early we drove down the old downtown where we found this sign. It’s my favorite because of the vivid colors, the wacky name of the place, the ghost sign behind it, and because I had Fía at my side shooting like crazy

Melissa Federowicz
Black Rock City, Nevada
"And the Sun Sets Again"
Shot with 135 Holga & Agfa 400
unboredhands.blogspot.com
I've been going to Burning Man for years, shooting with my 120 & 135 Holgas in the harsh, dusty conditions. I've had the opportunities to grow as a photographer, artist and person throughout my experiences and challenges around this unique event & I am forever grateful for that. This photo was shot shortly before the man (in the background) was burned in 2016.

Alex Purcell
Swansea, Wales UK.
'Keep going'
Holga120N
HP5+ developed in Rodinal.
Instagram @grainyblur
I took this on Sunday, while trying to do most of my Christmas shopping in one day, without completely losing the plot. It's my favorite of the year, partly because it's my first intentional double exposure, and also because for me it captures how I was feeling about being held in a big city bursting with people, while wanting nothing more that to get out into open countryside. It was a successful shopping trip though, so i won't have to go back for a while

Name: David Perry
Location: Sydney, Australia
Camera: Holga 120 Pan
Film: Kodak Portra 400
This is one photo of a series on early-morning swimmers at a rock pool in Maroubra, Sydney, using 6x6 and 6x12 Holgas. I could only shoot this by holding the camera at arm's length over the water, so had no idea exactly where the camera was pointing. Part of shooting film, especially with a Holga, is the frisson engendered by having to wait a few days to get the film back from the lab. When I got this roll back I was amazed at how this shot turned out - the light, focus, composition and water dripping off the elbow all came together. The Muse of Holgas must have been smiling that morning.

Dave Wolanski
Dover, DE, USA
My Blog: www.davidwolanski.com
Picking my favorite photo from the year is nearly impossible, so I'll submit this one. I like it because its an interior of a church I've been going to in the Mississippi Delta for several years. It's flooded several times up to the windows, so, time will certainly take it's toll. The photo seems ageless too me, and I like the light and dark. I especially like the tendrils of the vine that are creeping in the one window. Nature will abide.

Name : Maki Tabusa
location : Tokyo Japan
title of image : a man looking out over the sea
Holga products : Holga 120 CFN
film used : Fuji Acros 100
my website : https://www.flickr.com/photos/136473385@N04/
I found the nice scenery when I walked with my dog on the beach in the evening, None but Holga can make this image.

Name: Martin Lealan
Location of photo: Castle Howard, Yorkshire, England
Title: Mrs Lealan goes on holiday (and the sun comes out).
Holga 120N
Ilford HP5 Plus 400
Five days of a blanket of cloud and mist. At 3:30 pm on the sixth day, the sun came out. I am not a photographer and this image explained to me what I do and don't like about my previous photos.

Name: Rachel Winslow
Location: Chicago, IL
Title: Magic Morning
Camera: Holga 120 Pinhole
Film: Lomo Xpro 200
Website: rachelwinslow.tumblr.com
I took this photo one winter morning in early 2016. I kept the shutter open the entire time it took me to drink my morning cup of tea.

Name: Randy Jennings
http://www.facebook.com/EverydayPeoplePolaroids/
http://www.facebook.com/HolgART
www.facebook.com/CapturedLivePhotography/
http://holgarts-world.BlogSpot.com
I have stepped away from my usual subject matter in 2016. Still shooting some Holga, but more Polaroid and 35mm, and yes even the dreaded "D" format. Unfortunately a necessary evil with the people I shoot. However this is my image for submission. I wanted to shoot a vampire themed shoot during October. My main concept was still with the Polaroid Big Shot. Of course, I had a Holga loaded and close at hand. I only shot a few frames with the Holga. After I applied the blood I had to work quickly to get my Polaroids shot. This is "Mistress of the Dark" Why is my favorite? I'm not going to lie to you, I like to photograph attractive women. :-)

Thank you everyone for your submissions! Happy New Year! Wishing you and your Holgas all the best for 2017. 💜

- Jen