Yashica Mat 124G and Ilford Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 9mins @ 20°.
Taken on 24 January 2026
Zig-zag roof
Tag: Holga 120N
Dr Spaceman in space (in front of the cathedral)
Yashica Mat 124G and Ilford Ilford HP5+. Ilfotec DD-X 9mins @ 20°.
Taken on 24 January 2026
Holgagraphy
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
Giving the Holga some light
My Holga has sat unused (but not unloved) for quite some time. I almost always like the lo-fi results that it produces, so I really should shoot it more often, but I guess having a bunch of different cameras means that some of them have to wait awhile to get their time in the sun (or overcast).
Fellow blogger Dave Whenham posts Holga pictures on a fairly regular basis, and it’s from reading his posts that the urge to Holga took hold.
Here are the results from a roll of Fomapan 400 I shot back in March. Apart from one picture that I wasn’t happy with, it’s the full roll. I don’t think this represents my most successful outing with the Holga, and there’s some element of shooting stuff because it was there rather than being more careful in my choice of compositions, but there are a few that I really like, such as the Thai Boxing gym, the underpass, and the church.
I’m also very pleased with the results of the semi-stand development. I sometimes find that Fomapan 400 needs more light (something you can’t particularly control with the Holga), but the Rodinal has pulled out a full range of tones from every image. I’ll certainly semi-stand Foma 400 again in the future.
Holga 120N & Fomapan 400. Rodinal 1+100. 1 hour semi-stand development.
Taken on 28 March 2025
Experiments in multiple exposure
A week or two back I posted the image that I entered into October’s film photo competition. Before shooting that image (and before I even realised I could make multiple-exposure photos with my Nikon F80) I shot a roll of expired Tmax 100 with my Holga (which I definitely knew could handle multiple exposures!). None of the images from that roll were as appealing as my final entry, but there were a few interesting pictures nonetheless. Here are some from the roll.
Holga 120N & Kodak Tmax 100 (expired 2007). Fomadon R09 1+25 5:30 mins @ 20°
Taken on 9 October 2022
Exploring the unexplorable
A few days ago, after I’d broken my ankle, I wondered if I might need to ration out the photos I upload given that I might not be able to go out and make more for a few weeks. As a result I uploaded some photos that I might have otherwise left on my hard drive. One of the photos was the one published here today.
For some bizarre reason, it’s managed to be selcted for Flickr’s Explore selection. I posted about my thoughts on which of my pictures are selected for Explore in this post a few weeks ago. My thoughts on this picture are much the same. I generally post a lot of photos to Flickr and yet it always seems to be the ones that are what I’d consider less sucessfull that seem to be picked to go into Explore. Perhaps it’s just mye eye? Maybe everyone else sees this as some sort of masterpiece of subject, light and composition? I suspect not though, and it’s just that the Flickr Explore algorithm is inscrutable.
Holga 120N & Fomapan 100. Adox Adonal 1+100 18mins @ 20°.
Taken on 9 July 2022
All Saint’s on the Holga
Another set of photo’s of All Saint’s Chapel at Steetley. These were all taken on the same visit when I shot some pictures with my Olympus 35 RC. If I had to choose, despite liking black and white photos , I think that in this case the colour images are the better set. That’s not to say I don’t like these, but I don’t think they hang together as cohesively. Some of the individual frames are also identical compositions to the 35 RC shots but, again, don’t really work as well I don’t think.
The Holga is a great camera and one which I usually really enjoy my results from, but I don’t think this set is amongst the better ones. I’m sure I will do better next time.
Holga 120N & Fomapan 100. Adox Adonal 1+100 18mins @ 20°.
Taken on 9 July 2022
A place to rest one’s legs (or perhaps an ankle)
As I mentioned in my last, somewhay concise, post, I suffered an injury yesterday. A broken ankle to be precise.
It was the first of five days leave I have from work (or seven including the weekend) and I’d taken a trip to Manchester with my wife and her sister. They were off to see a show while I planned to just wander around the city taking pictures. And all was going to plan for several hours. I visited Real Camera to have a browse (and ended up buying a couple of rolls of expired slide film, because, of course, I really need more film to add to the already packed drawer that I’ve commandeered in the freezer), had some passport photos made in the old-style analogue photo booth in the Fred Aldous store (not for my actual passport, but just because I could. The photos are now stuck on the side of the fridge along with loads on Instap pictures). I treat myself to a nice burger and fries for my lunch and, of course, I took pictures. I had a couple of cameras on me – my Olympus 35 RC loaded with one of my two remaining rolls of Portra 800, and my Canon Z135 compact containing some Ilford HP5+.
After wandering around for a few hours I decided to visit the art gallery an it was when I left the gallery that disaster struck. Just outside the main entrance, down a short flight of steps, there were some benches in the shade of the building. Thinking it would be nice to take the weight off for a few minutes I headed down and, as I stepped down the bottom step my right foot twisted awkwardly beneath me with a distinctive snappining sound.
I had an immediate sickening sense of dread and planted myself straight on the bench to take the weight off my legs. There was no actual pain as such, just an odd, numb tingling sensation, the sort you get if you bang your elbow, so I decided to stand up and see how bad it was. Luckily I was able to bear weight and, after messaging my wife to tell her what had happened and that I was taking an ealier train home, I set off limping back to the railway station. Walking was awkward but not especially painful and I managed to get to the station without issue. Unfortunately the next train was cancelled so I had to wait around for over half-an-hour for the next train, which I rather not have had to do, but I guess that’s life (and my luck).
When I got back to Sheffield I took a taxi from the station to the Accident & Emergency department where I spent around four hours waithing for x-rays and to speak with the nurse about the prognosis. I managed to buy myself an actual analog newspaper from the station before getting the taxi as I suspected I might be in the hospital for a while and my phone battery wouldn’t last out. It was a good decision and I read the paper front-to-back while I waited to be seen by various people.
The x-rays showed I had broken a fragment of bone from the bottom of my fibula. While this is painful, I was told that it would have been worse had the break occurred further up the bone close to where the tibula meets the bones of my foot as it would likley have restricted my mobility more severerly and would take longer to heal. The injury I have should be healed within four-to-six weeks, and I was given a large plastic “walking boot” to wear if I need to go out. Thankfully, there is little to no pain while I’m at rest, and I was able to sleep perfectly well last night. The ankle feels sore while I walk about, but again not too bad, and I can move it around quite freely, so I guess I should count my lucky stars that it wasn’t worse than it is.
I think my main upset is that it’s kinda ruined my days off – I had things planned that I’m now unable to do because, while I need to use the ankle to encourage it to heal, this probably doesn’t stretch to full days out on my feet. I also can’t drive for a while, so I’m at the mercy of the goodwill of others if I want to go somewhere. My planned trips out into the Peak district this week, and to Lincoln Steam Rally the following weekend (the first time it has been on in three years) have fallen by the wayside, so I’m frustrated that the opportunity to photograph heather while it’s in bloom, or see the vintage vehicles at the rally will now have to wait another year. There are worse things in life though, so maybe I’ll just count my blessings and enjoy the next fews days away from work by watching TV, reading books, and playing videogames with the spare time I’ve got. At least I have a good excuse for avoiding chores!
I’ve got four full rolls of 35mm film that I’ve yet to upload (or, in some cases, scan), including the roll of Porta 800 from yesterday that I almost finished in Manchester (but ended up using the last two frames photographing some hospital buildings while waiting for my wife to pick me up). So I should be able to feed the blog until I’m back on my feet at least.
Finally, today’s picture of a chair in a shady spot under a tree looks like just the place for a chap with the busted ankle. Maybe with a cold beverage. If only this were my back garden and not in a churchyard several miles away, eh? 🙂
Holga 120N & Fomapan 100. Adox Adonal 1+100 18mins @ 20°.
Taken on 9 July 2022
Out with the Holga part 2
Another set of Holga 120N pictures to follow on from yesterday’s blog post. They include two views of the pavillion in Endcliffe Park, the Trinity United Reform Church (a brutalist design just across the road from the park), and a climbing frame in the middle of the park.
Holga 120N & Fomapan 100. Adox Adonal 1+25 4mins @ 20°.
Taken on 10 April 2022
Holgacolor
I like my Holga camera. I find, despite its lo-fi credentials – plastic lens, single shutter speed, being built like a cheap toy etc. – that it can produce some sublime photographs when used to its strengths. It’s notable in my case though, that this generally tends to be where black-and-whitefilm is concerned. While I’ve probably not shot enough colour film with the camera for this to be a fair comparison, I’ve found my non-B&W results to be less impressive.
For this roll, it probably doesn’t help that it’s an expired film with some colour shifts (albeit nothing too bad), and one that I had some trouble scanning to my satisfaction to boot. It might also be argued that the images I made are not my best from a compositional point-of-view either – I’m not sure I was seeking to get the best from the roll, rather than just using it up.
Whatever the case, I don’t think these work as well as they might have done in B&W. I don’t hate them, but the feel a bit “meh” at the same time. I’ll leave it up to anyone who reads this to make up their own minds on the matter.
A plastic piece of junk?
Beauty is more than skin deep
I think you might find
Holga 120N & Fujifilm Superia 100 (expired 2008).
Taken on 17 July 2021
Steel City Snapper photography 