Digital Holga

Okay SO, as most of you might know I'm obsessed with my little toy Holga camera, and it will always hold a place in my heart. BUT, you imagine my excitement when I found out a guy had created Holga lenses to mount onto DSLRs! I knew it would never look the same as my actual Holga, because what makes the Holga look so unique are the light leaks and strong vignettes, something I knew this lens wasn't capable of. Nonetheless I decided to buy it for the $40, and waiting eagerly for it to arrive. When it finally did, I was severly disappointed in how the pictures looked so...un-holga like on my Canon 40d. It wasn't crappy enough to look good, and obviously isn't sharp enough to look good either. Just somewhere in the lukewarm middle of those that left me sighing heavily.

Then someone suggested to me the reason why it might not look good is because I was shooting on a cropped sensor and not a full frame...therefore the vignette and other focus effects aren't showing their true colors.

Well I recently got the glorious 5d Mark II back from my brother yesterday to shoot with while I'm in Colorado (YAY!) and slapped the Holga lens on it (yes, a plastic lens on a $3200 camera) and was MUCH happier with the results. Not only did the full frame make a huge difference, but with the Holga lens you don't have aperture settings: it reads "00" on your LCD screen, so you NEED a camera that has higher ISO capabilities otherwise you can't shoot in anything less than BDE. Plus having a higher ISO mimics (to a certain extent) the film grain you see on medium format film.

SO, in short, if you looking into buying one of these, I recommend having a 5d Mark II or other camera with higher ISO capabilities. Know the the focusing is annoying, (you have to literally unscrew the lens and pull it away from the body for a close-up), and you don't have F-stop control. But if you can look past these set backs, I think you'd enjoy this $40 lens for creative purposes. Above are examples of some quick shots I did just now...

Holga Love

FINALLY, I have scanned and uploaded my film from my trip up north through the central coast to San Luis Obispo, Cambria, and San Simeon CA last break week. Alot of these pictures were taken inside of the Hearst Castle, which fit the look and feel of the Holga perfectly. I didn't even touch my digital camera during this trip for two reasons: first because I wanted something low-maintance, and second because I needed a break from digital photography and wanted to shoot for myself. Oh and I just love Holgas. Period.

If any of you are interested in prints of these, contact me and we can work something out. Enjoy :)

Shooting for Stock

This session I'm auditing a class at Brooks called Stock Photography. For the non-Brookies, Stock photography is basically images that are generic enough for mass consumption and multiple uses, but strong enough visually and conceptually to make it a strong photograph.

According to wikipedia (a very scholarly source): Images that are not photographed for a specific client or use, but are catalogued for review and selection by someone who may have a use for the image.

Even thought I'm auditing the course, I'm shooting some of the assignments for the class. These are some images I shot while on the hunt for wildflowers in and around Santa Barbara. The wildflower part wasn't so successful, but I got some other cool shots along the way.

First Post!

Hello Everyone!

I've become a follower of the pack. That is I've been severely influenced, and have decided to get a blog because thats what all the cool kids are doing.

SO, this blog is primarily for my photography, (and my random life adventures that happen as a result of photography), and to bring a voice to the images I produce. I'll be posting recent work, and hopefully be able to update this weekly (hopefully).

Hope you guys enjoy, and feedback on my work is always appreciated, good or bad!

Happy Viewing :)

-Kailey