China loves Holga.

As I sit here wondering when and where some items I bought on Ebay recently, I figured Id blog about what it is I am waiting for. 

(Insert disclaimer here)

Look I support local camera shops, but face it. Either they do what they do and they are the best, or, they suffer the consequences and go away. And heres what spurs the reaction to fall to the low level of ebay user. 

I asked if they had a soft surround kit for my holga, easy right. No. After a week after having asked them to order me the kit, which mind you was $14.99 for a set of 4 filters, I was notified by cell phone that it was in. Now I was led to believe that the kit included a mount for it. When I got there, they said that it did not include the mount. And that the mount to hold the plastic lens filter was $9.99. So altogether it was around the area of $27 dollars for 4 lenses, and a plastic mount. 

It doesn't stop there. I found out after a brief haggling session, they didn't even have them in?! They called to ask me some questions about it. I told them that I searched online after this to see what the company, Holga, the lomography website charged. I was like, "Hey dude. Your supplier charges like $35 bucks for all of it. Can you match it?" His answer was, "I would have to find out from the supplier directly..."

You have got to be shitting me. I can get the whole set directly from Holga for less than that. And why wouldn't you reward me the price that the actual site that they order it from? Pointless. Point being. That after two weeks of dealing with crap from them. I get on ebay and looked to see what I could find. And I should have known.

The entire lens kit made for the Holga 120 and the 135 camera series includes 11 lens filters. And the fucking mount like it should in the first place. How much is it? Try $24.99. And the real kicker, what about shipping? Free bitch. 

Free shipping and its $10 dollars cheaper than the Holga site. 

What sucks about this? Ill tell you. Contact with Chinese online stores. Not that I can say I have had a bad experience really so far, but its hard to communicate with them sometimes. And waiting sucks too. 

They say 7-14 working days for delivery to anywhere in the United States. Which is forever. 

Mind you. Before I started to use a camera shop. I ordered my first Holga from a Chinese man on ebay. I convinced the CSR's at the shop that Holga was needed for schools and colleges this being a college town. So up until recently I have had no use to go into a camera shop unless I had questions about my equipment. 

They are burning bridges with their take on customer service. You price match whatever if you have the power to. Don't make a customer wait. Because what happens? Your store gets fucked losing a customer. And they end up buying it online for 20% cheaper than the actual supplier gives it to the store selling it.

I will never buy anything from a shop unless its necessary for instant gratification. And even then... its not worth it. Lens cap leashes are $4 dollars after tax.  I got one shipped from North USA for $1.50 with free shipping and had it in 3 business days. 

Now. By all means if your like me, give the shop a chance. I had a few weeks where I was frustrated and needed the equipment for some shots I was wanting to take. Therefore after waiting and playing phone tag, I was fed up. And now I buy my stuff cheaper from a Chinese man that loves the INTERNET. And ebay for that matter since its buying his family all the Raman they can handle. 

So far. The experience from ebay has been a pleasant one. No problems so far. Just language barriers. And that isn't even that bad. 

Lesson learned:

1. You always check online for what the company your buying from sells for. 
2. Check in store if they have a price thats close to it, if not ask for a price match.
3. If they refuse to match, or are lazy with ordering, check online.
4. Fill out ebay account information, learn Chinese, and get to ordering. 

Its funny that the Asian person who I don't even know has better customer service skills than an English speaking native to the Midwest does. Get good at doing this in this order. You will save a lot of money and a lot of time. I wasted two weeks waiting for the damn things to come in and instead they gave me the run around with silly Q and A sessions.

So after everything, I end up with this as an order. 

• 4 color filters
• 4 soft-surround color filters
• 3 multi-image filters
• The f'in mount.

For $25 bucks. I didn't need per say all of them. The multi image ones are prism lens filters, not much of a use to me but its was basically free. When you figure I would have spent that money on the soft surround ones alone. Do your research. 

There you have it. The first real filter kit you would need for your Holga's for less than $30 bucks. If you find a nice china man, you get free shipping. Ill post some shots I get with it after I get a roll processed. I have a feeling the plain gray one will be the one I use for every shot in black and white. Makes the corners dark and eerie. Finally the mask inside my 135BC will be more noticeable.  

I guess I should end with be patient. But I cant really take my own advice, as I just get on here to rant about it. Cause my cat is  le tired of hearing about it... 

Sorry Pants.

Click *grind grind grind*

I went to use that time camera in the aforementioned blog, the one that had slightly resembled the TIME camera. (This is the camera my dad gifted me I had mentioned) Of course I puttied a couple of different washers onto the barrel of the lens to try and get a weird black corner effect. How did my results turn out?

Walgreens always develops my pictures. Well. Not develops but processes my 35mm on to a disc so I have it for a collection. She asked me my last name and then told me... "Blank roll." I was like, "theres nothing on that roll?" She replied "Uh-huh."

What bothers me about this specific time, since this has happened now a total of like 5 times in the last few months, is that firstly it was my last roll of expired Kodak 200 film. And secondly, I wanted to see how the washers effected the exposures. 

Now mind you I would have still been flaming if it was a black and white Kodak 400 roll now that a three pack is like $9.99 even at Walmart. But it was some really really cool, imperfection covered one of four expired rolls my girlfriends mother gave me.  

And it leaves me to believe that the crunching sound and force I was getting when I started to shoot and advance, was probably the camera malfunctioning and not actually "Taking up" the film.

Speaking of taking up. My main camera the Holga 135BC was giving me trouble. And I had debated getting another one. It was not advancing my film I had brought to a family get together. After some finesse it started to work. And after I got the blasted thing to work I tried to get my cousins to take two of their kids to the park so I could take some good pictures and they without hesitation denied it in the same manner they would have denied a stranger asking to take pictures. I made way with camera bag and girlfriend in hand and skipped out of our little family rendezvous that I made such the effort to go to. Which sucked. I got a really rare steak out of it though.

All of this will probably put me on a hiatus to wanting to use the cheap TIME camera anytime soon. And the Holga is just pissing me off. I expect that damn thing to work all the time without a hitch. I am understanding with the first few rolls of film a camera eats on my behalf. But when I feel like my work horse camera is slouching and not working due to a camera defect, it will probably be a bit before I go out of my way to take pictures with it.

Maybe the cameras I have been using are too low tech? Or maybe its me expecting too much out of toy cameras anymore? 

These cameras are so simple, the results are so random, and the film makes all the difference. That and the lighting which im starting to figure out. 

*Picture provided by blogger, Holga 135BC expired Kodak 200 Expired 2005*

Expired film and a pocket full of dreamy... ness.

It all started with a digital camera, and a will to learn photo shop. I started with the photo editing software due to a course or two I took in college. And later after all of that, was gifted a 5.1 mega pixel fujifilm camera. Not bad to start out with. 

I took random pictures of me and friends for social networking sites. And pictures from parties and what not. After deciding what to upgrade to I had an epiphany. I told myself, "Do I really want to spend hundreds on a new digital camera? Like an SLR?" And after a literal 10 minute silent debate, I decided against that route. 

Really, all I wanted was to roll backwards. I didn't need, nor wanted a new $500 + dollar camera. Not practical to learn on. I scoured the net for my choice. 

Ebay allowed me to find a camera for cheap and with what I needed. I found a 1967 Vintage Russian Zenit E camera with a Helios lens. And I got it for the right price. But for a price. It was cool looking, weighed about 2.5 pounds, and was all manual. Negative part about this new piece of equipment was finding a manual in English and did it even work?

It worked. But the manual shutter setting didn't. I was hoping to learn about the basics of photography with it. Blurry images and all. But with the manual setting not working I got turned off. I makes me mad now this camera is sitting here collecting dust when its still operational. I shot a handful of 35mm rolls in it. With mixed results.  Some settings worked some did not. To say the least its for sale now. Parts or working as is.

Back to the interwebs. I found some cameras actually on accident. I did not remember the name, but I eventually found them again after many days of searching. Essentially. What I was looking for was a cheap, 35mm camera with little or no bullshit involved. And I found it.

These cheap cameras were from a company from China called Holga. They are completely plastic and labeled as Toy Cameras by the manufacture. Funny thing is, I was interested without ever seeing a single photograph. As the features were simple and to the point. And I wouldn't be afraid to carry it with me wherever I went. 

I ordered a Holga 135PC pinhole. And at first I was not surprised. Until I learned how the thing worked and how it took to the film it was a disaster. With no experience what so ever, It felt like I dove into the deep end with water wing's on. Eventually, and after a cable release and a tripod were added to the collection, the camera paid off itself with the first roll that came out. 

Blurry and dreamy. Ghostly and scary at times too. It is the true basic basic basic in photography. Relying on nothing but LITERALLY a pinhole and a spring, it takes everything as it sees it. 

Come to find out after some research this company has quite a following. Most real "photographers" look at these toys as exactly that. Toys. Random firing cannons of the camera world. You just cant control them. Although. You can try to. They do as they wish. Against everything you were taught in your classes you took. You have to let loose and let the camera do what it does. Its translating what you see, and interprets it with a surreal dream state look and feel.

I still even as I post this ruin rolls of film on a regular basis. I did this week as a matter of fact. I am still learning. And I wont claim I know everything about cameras or even the ones I have. But I will tell you what I know, and how they treat me and what I see in this world. 

Current cameras I own:

• Zenit E
• Holga 135PC
• Holga 135BC
• Holga 120N
• Fujifilm finepix 5.1 MP
• Canon EOS Rebel G
• Kinetic (No name or number, plastic)

I obtained the Kinetic last night from my dad. Got it at a rummage sale for $3.00. Tomorrow I plan on getting some things for a mod. Ill post pictures after I get them processed. This is the closest thing I could get to what it resembles.

It is not the time edition though. Same exact camera. Same "auto focus" lens. Looks and feels even more cheap than the Holga's, and that turns me off. But, on the upside, I wont mind screwing with it experimenting. All that is starting tomorrow. 

After I had the pinhole camera for a bit, and successfully managed to shoot a few rolls through it black and white & color. I obtained more and more from Holga as you can see with my list so far. The Rebel was a gift from my mother, who is ashamed I haven't even used it yet. 

When the truth is I just feel like I want to work slow from the less expensive and less complicated up. Its a beast compared to my other cameras. And a ton more expensive. Lately the Holga 135BC has been my work horse camera. I take it with me everywhere all the time. And I have been taping up the back to try and dampen the light leak problem I seem to have with my plastic door. 

I will elaborate on that at another time. When I come back Ill post more about the mods Im thinking about. Hint: It involves rubber washers. And the picture I took at the top of this entry is taken with 200 ISO Kodak film that was expired in 2005 with my Holga 135BC. Can you say imperfections?

-E

PS I found out the Holga has a cult following. Should I feel sad? Or happy more people are into photography? Because they sound like hipster douche bags.

Without further adieu.

There was me...

As with most movies (among many other forms of media and entertainment) an introduction is a good start to any new adventure. 

My name is E. I live and always have lived in the direct smack dab middle of the United States. In the state of Missouri to be exact. In a suburb near the big town of Saint Louis. Always complained about how much it sucked in "Misery" until I decided to sign up for the United Stats Air Force. Feeling like there was no other choice, I opted for the best choice of the four branches currently established. I was enlisted for six years, signed in blood. Although, it turns out that taking orders literally can get you separated from the military. 

So they did. I was kicked out after 2 months. 

Came home and had to start over. Promised my then Training Instructor I would come home, get a job and get back in school. And by promised, I meant that I was going to. Shortly after I came back, I got a job at a sandwich shop making minimum wage. Back to square one. But to say the least I was lucky. Not many people had jobs with the current economic situation. Blessed I was about even some little job making sandwiches.

Strangely enough, to add to that. I was reunited VIA facebook, with an old girlfriend from grade-school. *No matter what she said, we were boyfriend and girlfriend in school* And since our little rendezvous we have been together ever since. She was deeply involved with college work, and urged me to get back into school So I did. Taking a break this semester after getting killed with Summer classes, and enrolling late for government aid, its good to be able to save money for whatever life tends to throw.

Although I am currently going to school for Computer Networking certifications. Art and photography is a past time of mine. Which is what this blog is going to be a majority dedicated to. Photography and art. 

Hopefully after reading this far you know that this blog is not going to be a diary or a blog in the essence of that 16 year old promoting her online biography, but as guide to how I about freelance photography and art, and anything else related. (Or not related*)

I hate introductions. 

-E