Light Leak Chronicles

These two pictures came from an absolutely busted roll of  Harman Technology Phoenix II 200 Color Negative Film film that I shot with my Holga 120N on September 24th at the Rilo Kiley show here in Raleigh . Why, you ask, was this roll busted? Was it the developer or the developing process? Was it the camera? Was it the film?  No- It wasn't the developer of the developing process. Southeastern Camera here in Raleigh did an excellent job on these two pictures, as always. Jamie, at Southeastern, did his dead level best to get what was to be got. Out of the roll, there was only a handful of negatives to have anything on them. Plus it's a Holga, what do you really expect anyway.  No- It wasn't the camera. I took my trust ole Holga 120N. I did make a slight modification to the insert to widen my scope. I sanded it down to almost nothing so that, I thought, I would get a broader  exposure. Not expecting much besides the usual Holga light leaks, there is nothing wrong with...

This post begins with a confession: I bought Fuji film at a Wal-Mart.* Of this, I am not proud. Layer upon layer of guilt has been laid upon me with every frame I shoot. I grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee. The number one economic driver of Kingsport is Eastman Chemical Company. Though a subsidiary of Kodak, "The Eastman," produced chemicals needed in the film development process and was a vital part of the "You press the button, we do the rest" mantra of Kodak. My father's side of the family all worked at Eastman. My grandmother technically retired from Kodak, grand-dad from Eastman Kodak. Dad got his gold watch from Eastman.  Which is why, standing under the fluorescent lights of a Wal-Mart in Raleigh, clutching a roll of Fuji film, I felt a pang of generational betrayal. Aerial view of Tennessee Eastman Posted August 18, 2020 Photographer: Thomas McNeer, Jr. Date Taken: 1949 Collection(s): Thomas McNeer, Jr. Collection, 1945-1988 ID#: 44-B-49 Rights: Use of thi...

Back in September, I took my trusty ole Holga 120N to a Carolina Hurricanes game not expecting too much. With the Holga's slow shutter speed, and hockey players able to travel at almost 30 mph, it is not the most ideal. I still gave it a a partial roll during warm-ups. There were about six or eight really solid pictures, which was about six or eight more than I expected.  Arena rules state that no professional cameras are allowed without registering as a professional, a song and dance I am not anywhere close to completing. Going through security took just a second longer so the security officer to double check that my Holga was in fact not a professional grade camera. Assuring him that I paid more for the roll of film than the camera did not seem to matter, though it wasn't going to be a big deal after they took one look at my ole reliable.  Given this was preseason game, the Canes were wearing their new road whites. Few and far between are Caniacs who like this kit as it look...