Living in the North of England you have to get used to the idea that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. In the case of todays blog we’ll be having a look at the Holga 120N - the ideal all weather camera!
I’ve already showcased the Holga’s mysterious wares in a few other blogs HERE and HERE. Having shot with it on quite a few occasions I have a good feel for the look and feel of the images and it remains a firm favourite of mine in the collection (but you know already that I say that about all my cameras)!
First port of call on this dank and dreary day is Bank Bottom Mill in Marsden - tt’s quite a brooding structure, especially when shrouded in mist and rain. One of those buildings where it’s hard to decide if it’s derelict or not… I suspect not, but every time I visit there’s not many signs of life or activity you’d associate with a factory/mill… answers on a postcard please!
And so leaving the stereotypical ‘dark satanic mill’ behind us, we venture up towards Butterly reservoir which sits on the edge of Marsden and the Moors up above.
The rain was really starting to pour down at this point and the mist was sweeping in too, making for some dramatic scenery - enhanced by the dream like qualities of the Holgas ‘optical lens’
Being on your own in a place like this, watching the far distance dissolve into the mist with the sound of the rain intensifying was a deeply satisfying experience - an assault on the senses! I shot these back in February when Lockdown 3.0 was in full swing and I very much needed a blast of ‘fresh’ air to clear my head.
The flooded track along the edge of Butterly reservoir winds up Wessenden Valley and into the mist. I am a sucker for a leading line and a bit of symmerty to boot!
The intensifying downpour of rain and my contemplative mood got me trying a couple of ‘creative’ shots - neither of which worked the way I’d intended if I’m honest… For the shot above I forget now what my ‘creative’ concept was aside from - hey look! It’s raining… the one below I was very definitely aware of being ‘alone’ on this trackway seemingly leading to no where… I wanted to create a self portrait which reflected this (literally) - but since the viewfinder is not coupled to the lens didn’t noticed the camera strap hanging in shot or my two big clod hopper boots in frame too - oh well! I’m sure the art world will survive this catastrophic loss…
You get 12 shots on a roll of 120 film with the Holga - and you’ve got 12 shots here in this blog post - I like every frame! Sure some are better than others, and I walked for quite a while beyond the point where I ran out of film - changing film in the Holga is a bit of a faff at the best of times (the biggest job being peeling back all the electrical tape - I mean ‘weather sealing’ that holds the back of the camera on) never mind in the pouring rain (note to self buy another Holga for such an occasion)
Using a Holga there’s never too much to say about the technicalities - you load your film, guestimate the distance to your subject, point it in the general direction and hope for the best! I tend to use Ilford HP5 in my Holga - its so flipping reliable that it’s one less thing to worry about! The holga’s shutter (read: bit of spring loaded wire) is fixed at a vague point somewhere about 1/100 of a second and the lens aperture can be set to either wide open (about f8) and stopped down (about f11) so really you’re only variable you have control over is at what speed do you rate your film at - I sent my film off to the good people at Exposure FIlm Lab as I have no time or space for home developing at the moment, I asked them to treat it as shot at 1600 ISO this gives a little lee way in the shadows and provides lovely punchy contrast as you can see!
After walking a little further up the track, I stood on top of a wall to grab this final shot and was more than a little surprised when two people walked past me - I’d been so wrapped up in my own thoughts, and the rain had masked sounds of their approach that it startled me at first. But watching them ascend into the clouds ahead of me, I felt glad of their presence. Even when we think we’re alone - theres always someone near at hand. (And they usually manage to walk into your frame just as you’re taking the flipping shot…) Bless em…