The HOLGA

Long time ago, 1999 to be exact, I discovered a camera known as "The Holga"... A cheap plastic camera. A good search brings up this link about the cameras... The Holga

So I bought several... and after some work, I produced some interesting images. Like this pair of Tanya, using the 6x4.5 insert.

Another good image is this one:

Now having turned to digital, I don't have my darkroom to process the images I get with the Holga.

Using Photoshop CS3 and it's Lens Correction filter, I can create a "Holga-like" image in Photoshop when I shoot with my Nikon D200.

So I experimented with various pre-made actions and scripts... none gave me what I got with my Holgas, so I took a hard look at what each was trying to so, and made up my own process. The Lens Correction filter is the key, as the Holga's single element plastic lens has distortions that are unique to each camera.

Before

After

The technique is rather simple, really. I converted the image to B&W using a Photoshop Action for Agfapan-25 B&W film, . Then I used the Lens Correction to slightly distort the image outward, and gave it some edge vignetting - then I selected a small area to keep sharp, and added Lens Blur to the rest of the image.

So now I can see what I got and make adjustments without shooting a bunch of film and hoping I'll get something interesting...