I like my Holga. Its lo-fi images have a definite charm, I feel.

This time though, the “fi” is as low as I’ve ever seen it. I really don’t know what has happened with this roll of Fomapan 400.

The white speckles from the faulty batch of which this is a part are present and correct, and the scratches that the camera has started adding to the negs have made an appearance (although I’ve cloned the worst of them out), but as for that blothcy mottling? Well, I really don’t know.

It looks like the film is damaged, or has gotten wet, but it’s been stored in it’s sealed box and wrapper since I got it and kept in the fridge, so that seems unlikely.

I suppose my development could also be to blame, although I’ve not encountered such issues before. The only thing that I can think of that might possibly have had an effect is that it was quite cold in the room when I developed the film, so it’s possible the chemicals cooled by a couple of degrees over the course of the hour’s semi-stand process, but I’m not sure if this would have been the outcome.

Despite all the problems though, if anything can carry off this distressed look, it’s the Holga, and it still manages to do so with aplomb.

Yashica Mat 124G and Ilford Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 9mins @ 20°.

Taken on 24 January 2026