HACKS + TIPS

LINK TO HOLGA MANUAL
http://www.tlucretius.net/Photo/eHolga.html >>> DIAGRAM OF HOLGA S showing all parts, re-create

Simple Tips: Because this amazing little camera is completely manual it is very easy to make any number of these simple mistakes more than once before you get the feel of the plastic fantastic.

These small issues may seem obvious but are worth noting:

- Leaving the lens cap on and taking a shot. If you do this by accident dont just roll onto the next shot and waste your film, little or no light should have hit the film when the shutter opened because the cap was on, so take the shot again!

- Winding the film to far and missing a shot, wind the film on slowely and pay attention to the marks that show when the next shot is coming into frame.

- Forgetting to Focus, incorect focus can turn stunning shot into a blurred mess, estimate the distance of your subject and set the focus accordingly.

- Forgetting to wind the film on before taking another shot. This leads to a double/multiple exposure and can be really cool if this is what you intended(or maybe a nice accident)

The View Finder: The viewfinder on a Holga doesnt show you exactly what the lens captures, it just points generally in the same direction. Make good use of your imagination to picture a more wide angled view of the scene to compensate for this slight difference. Objects can also appear closer than what they actually are, meaning sometimes you should physically move closer to your subject for the perfect shot.

Apperature: The Holga appears to feature two Apperature settings Cloudy and Sunny although only the f/11 apperature is fixed. The fixed aperture of approximately f/11 is mounted directly on the lens, and one larger aperture of about f/8 is mounted on a swinging arm. In effect this larger apperature is mounted behind the smaller one meaning no change actually occurs to the apperature when moving from the cloudy to sunny setting. This is a rather silly design flaw made by the manufacturer.

Here are instructions on turning your Holga into a Holga with 2 selectable apperatures
Mark Hahn's instructions http://www.geocities.com/markhahn2000/holga_mods.html
T. Escobedo's http://www.geocities.com/tpe123/projects/holga/holgamod.html

Light Leaks: Love em or Hate em Light Leaks are a feature of the Holga due to its cheap plastic construction. Light Leaks can bring very interesting effects to your photographs and you will generally discover leaks, often red light especially on your 1st roll of holga film. Here is a shot from the first roll of film from my Holga 120S.

Avoiding Light Leaks: Many wish to remove the random possibility of light leaks by "plugging" up holes that allow light to leak onto the film. Here are some ways to minimize light leaks with your Holga:

Tape: The simplest method is to use black electrician or more expensive photographic tape to cover all seems of the Camera, personally I find this unecessary with most Holgas and you should shoot a test roll to see if your particular Holga has any leaks before covering it in tape!

"sure to cover the entire seam where the back of the camera meets the front and the seam on the front above the lens. I also tape a rectangular piece of cardboard cut from the film box over the red exposure counter window on the back cover in a manner that it can be peeled up when advancing the film and then stuck down again. Leaving the red window uncovered can cause the exposure number from the film backing paper to burn through onto your image. Also, if you are shooting in 6x6 mode, with the 6x4.5 adaptor removed it is a good idea to tape over the two vertical slots you will find where the adaptor attaches to the camera body. Failing to do so can produce light leaks on the film to the right and left of the current frame when taking a picture." FROM: http://jsurp.tripod.com/holgaman/id1.html >>>> REWORD,

take photo http://www.ehow.com/how_2048796_reduce-light-leaks-holga-120.html

Film Tension: Some Holga models, especially the Holga 120S does not hold the film spools in place with enough force, leaving the film once wound very loose, making it hard to unload the camera without exposing your precious film to light. The easiest way to avoid this problem is to place a small piece of folded card under the spool. This is generally only required on the right hand spool that the film is wound onto, although if you find it is still loose you can include under the left hand spool too.

Effects:

Cross Processing

Multiple Exposures:

Blah Blah VVVVVV http://www.geocities.com/markhahn2000/holga_mods.html