Holga At The Rilo Kiley Show

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 the camera. It's a Holga after all. Expecting too much will only hurt your feelings

No- Film shouldn't have played a factor in just getting two shots out of this roll. Phoenix is a well respected film. Before shooting, I did my homework and found lots of good reviews. Shooting this in a Holga would be akin to putting the proverbial lipstick on a pig anyway. This is good film in a Holga. It's my own fault for expecting really great results. 

So what was it that busted this roll? 

Me.

Everything you ever read about Holga cameras tells you, a lot of different ways to improve your photography. But universally they tell you to.......

TAKE OFF THE LENS CAP. 

But did I remember to take off the lens cap as I shot this otherwise fairly expensive roll of film? 

No. I did not. So in the words of John Perry Barlow's Mexicali Blue, as sung by The Grateful Dead's Bob Weir "I have no one but myself to blame." Because you don't look through the lens on a Holga when using the viewfinder, you cant see if the lens cap is on. Thus you're apt to forget its on and shoot a whole roll without ever actually taking a picture. 

Still this light leak, or what I'll call a light leak, is pretty dang cool. I am still not 100% sure what the hell it even is. I think, think, think, it is a street light, but it could be any number of things. If you turn it another way, there looks to be a light switch. Since I was moving around and didn't have my notebook with me, I have no idea. But, it's a pretty cool shot none the less.  

The other shot that came out came from early in the day as we were walking around Red Hat Amphitheater. It is far more of a classic Holga picture. Retro looking without any of the crisp edges. 

My photo, of the photo doesn't do it much justice either, but I don't really have the best way to scan these to digital right now. And I dang sure am not going out of my way to digitize something in analog form. That's just not my thing. 


Listen, at the end of the day, I am shooting on a camera I got for $10 off Facebook Marketplace. I was walking around having a great day with my friends who'd flown in from their home in Ohio just for the show, the weather was nice, we had a good beer buzz, and most importantly I learned to take the dang lens cap off my dang Holga. 

Just remember to take the lens cap off.  


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