Forgotten Photo: Llanddwyn Island (Part III)

This year it will be 3 years since we visited Wales and I'm a little bit sad about that...

I have blogged about Llandwyn Island before, but it was definitely the highlight of our week in Wales for me and looking at these photos reminds me of how peaceful it was, how sunny it was and how much I loved being there.

You want to go there too now I bet...

I can't actually believe some of these weren't on here before!

Camera: Helga the Holga 135bc :)
Film: Kodak ISO 200
Location: Llanddwyn Island, Wales.

Already too excited...

After the excitement of Paris and Krakow over the last two years and even more excitement coming up this year with my lickle sisters wedding (eep) Thomas and I decided that rather than a city break abroad, this year we really wanted a relaxing week by the beach. So later this year we are going to Whitby for a week and staying in a little cottage with beams. I already can't wait to go and I have months to wait!

We've only been to Whitby the once and that was back in 2009 where I took photos for my first ever photoswap with my little holga (and also some digital photos for my dear friend Nicole too). I don't think I've ever shared them all here though, so I thought now was the perfect time!


Some of you may recognise a couple of the photos from my shop (you know, back in the day, haha) I was really pleased with how these turned out and I can't wait to go back with more than one camera to take photos. Hurray! It's nice having things to look forward too.

Have a great weekend!

Location: Whitby, England
Camera: Holga 135bc
Film: Kodak ISO 200.

My favourite holga photos... Part 2!

In 2010 as part of my Holga Week I posted my favourite photos from my little holga's first 14 rolls of film... and I only just remembered that I was going to keep continuing with this! 

So here are my favourite holga photos from rolls 15 - 21.

 Roll 15 - Breakfast in Krakow :)


Roll 16 - Winter Moon - one of my all time favourite photos that I've taken.


 Roll 17 - This was one of those photos I just knew was going to look exactly as I wanted it too.


Roll 18 - The pop of red just makes this photo!


Roll 19 - This was a tough decision, but I took this spontaneously in the car and really it shouldn't have turned out this well... so I love it just because it did.
(And I love photos of horses... I need to take more.)


Roll 20 - J'adore Paris!


Roll 21 - I just love the colours...

Like in my last post, it was harder to choose just the one photo from a roll than I thought...
but gosh I still really love this camera! 

 ALSO
I finally figured out how to edit my template to incorporate the threaded comments (using this guide) and
I AM EXCITED!!! 
I can't wait to reply to you all properly (finally!) through them, so please check back if you leave a comment, I will be replying to them!

Forgotten Holga photos... (again)

I took these last April when my dear friend Adele came to visit (Can you believe that's nearly a year ago?!) and I completely forgot about them, in fact I've only just put them onto Flickr as I sorted through last years photos.



Looking at these, I'm starting to get really excited about Spring!

In fact, now that we're starting to make plans and the year is progressing,
I'm incredible excited about 2012 as a whole!

Camera: Holga 135bc
Film: Kodak ISO 200
Location: Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds.

Diana Mini or Holga 135bc..?

I get a lot of Google searches finding my blog with this question and recently I've had a few people email to ask me which I would suggest so I've decided it's time I have somewhere that people can actually find some information on here to help them decide.

Although I'm not going to answer this question for you - just help you decide - I'm not actually sure I could decide between them if I had to pick. Luckily when I decided to get my Holga 135bc (way back in June 2009) that was the only 35mm camera option, the Diana Mini didn't exist, so I didn't need to choose.

The good news is that they are both great little cameras 

so which ever decision you make, I don't think it will be the wrong one and to be honest, if you love them as much as I do, you'll probably end up getting both anyway...

So, how are these cameras similar?

~  Price ~

When I got my Holga 135bc, it was much cheaper but due to the popularity of Lomography recently, I can safely say that there isn't much difference in the price of these two cameras anymore, even on Ebay. I don't think that's a bad thing though as it makes having to decide on price alone irrelevant.

The Diana Mini can be a bit more expensive if you want the flash included, so if you do want a flash, that is worth considering however I don't think it's completely necessary for either camera to have one as they both work better in natural light anyway.

~ Mechanics ~ 

Essentially these cameras are very similar - they are both plastic, they can both do multiple exposures, they both have a bulb setting, distance focusing, two aperture settings (sunny or cloudy) and take 35mm film. So if you want to get experimental with your photos, both of these cameras are perfect for that.

 

What are the differences?

~ Size ~

Though I wouldn't say that this is a deciding factor - it's worth mentioning that the Diana Mini really is indeed mini and that it can be quite fiddly at times whilst the Holga 135 in comparison feels much chunkier and sturdier.

~ Formatting ~

The Diana Mini offers two formats - the half frame and the square format. Whilst the Holga just offers the one, the regular rectangular format to fit the 35mm negative.

This can be a deciding factor between these cameras and I can personally say that one of the reasons that I love my Diana Mini is the square format - it really suits the camera and it's results. So if you're looking for the square format in particular then the Diana Mini might be for you.

~ Ease of Use ~

I've written before that it took a lot longer for my Diana Mini to win me over than my Holga 135bc and the Diana Mini is temperamental, it has to be said - I've had issues with loading it, the bulb setting and the advance mechanism, especially in the half frame mode. However, I wouldn't let this put you off - all this requires is practice, patience and research - the Diana Mini micro site has lots of useful videos which I highly recommend looking at and once you've got used to your Diana Mini the results can be constant and glorious.

The Holga 135bc in comparison is much easier to pick up - the loading is quite simple, the buttons aren't as fiddly and the advance mechanism is study. If you're looking for a camera that you can pick up and learn quickly to get the results that you want, then perhaps the Holga 135bc is the camera for you.

~ The Results ~

If you're going to base your decision on anything, then it should really be on this.
Someone once said to me that each camera I use is like a different side of my personality and I think they were right. I use different cameras when I'm in different moods, when I want to share different things and despite being very similar cameras, the results are where these two cameras differ the most.

First we'll look at the Holga 135bc...

The Holga 135bc has an added mask inside the camera that creates the gorgeous vignetting (the 135 doesn't have this but I don't have that camera to compare). The colours and contrasts with the Holga 135bc I've always found to be strong and vibrant, even with softer films like Kodak Portra NC or expired film. The focus is sharper than the Diana Mini with clear lines which create great depth whether the subject is close or further away.

Now the Diana Mini...

In comparison to the Holga 135bc, the Diana Mini results are much softer and dreamier... with subtle contrasts and grain and less vignetting. Yet the Diana Mini is also capable of beautiful colours and focusing, everything just seems more subtle in comparison. With the half frame option you can take double the amount of photos per roll, but I think this camera produces it's best results with the square format.

~ To Summarise ~

The Holga 135bc is a sturdy, reliable camera that is easy to learn and produces images with strong contrasts, gorgeous colours, beautiful vignetting and clear focusing. I always think that this camera captures things almost exactly as I see them.

The Diana Mini is a small, delicate camera which is temperamental, yet with patience and practice can produce dreamy images with soft contrasts, lovely lighting and colours with an almost magical, vintage quality.


 It's evident from all the photos above that both of these cameras can produce beautiful photos, especially in bright, natural light. Although the mechanics of the cameras are very similar the lenses in both cameras are different, and it's these differences that will influence your decision on which camera to get and how you take your photos.


 ~ Other 35mm Cameras to consider ~

Of course, if this is your first 35mm camera then there are other choices to consider as well as these two cameras....

The LC-A+

Lomography is very quick to suggest this as a first camera for Lomographers, and it is an amazing camera - it has extra features to the Diana and Holga including more aperture settings and a light meter which allows for the correct exposure in each photo (though no bulb setting). The contrasts and balance of it's photos are always spot on and the focus is clear - however, this camera is a hefty price. One that I do think is worth it but perhaps not for your first venture into 35mm cameras or if you have a limited budget.

Superheadz Wide and Slim

This camera is simple. It has one shutter button, a fixed wide angle lens and that is it.
The colours are vivid with great vignetting and the results can be fun as well are artistic.
If you're worried about all the settings on the Diana Mini or Holga 135bc then perhaps this is the camera for you, although you can't do multiple exposures. This camera is cheap and also comes in a fun variety of colours.

La Sardina

Again, similar to the Holga 135bc and Diana Mini in mechanics, it's plastic, it can take multiple exposures, it has a bulb setting, distance focusing, a fixed aperture and takes 35mm film. However, this camera has a wide angle lens which produces great vignetting and interesting results. Another contender if you are looking for something a bit more artistic and varied.

~ See Also ~

This Flickr thread has a great description and more information on the cameras I've talked about above.

More walking to work...

I actually can't remember the last time that I had to finish off so many rolls of film on my way to work - I didn't realise that I had taken so many photos recently but I must have done... hurray!

These first two were taken with my refurbished LC-A and kodak 200 film, I love the definition...


 But, the following photos were taken with my holga 135bc using Lomography's CN 800 film
... can you believe those colours?! I'm blown away!



It's funny as before Photo Meditations I used to be quite reluctant of taking photos of the same thing but now I could take photos on my walk to work everyday if I'm honest, it's mostly the one time of the day where I'm completely on my own and although its only 10 minutes tops, its just what I need to start my day, especially if I have a camera with me and the sky looks like these!

Cameras: Refurbished LC-A and holga 135bc
Film: Kodak ISO 200 and Lomography CN 800
Location: Leeds.

Paris in Film: my little Helga the Holga...

Today has been hectic and I miss Paris, especially as we were both so relaxed there...

I only used one film in my little holga whilst we were in Paris, I'm pretty sure she is feeling unloved right now, but the photos I did take I'm thrilled with.


I even tried a new film: Kodak Portra 160... these were taken with the Natural Colour (NC) film and I'm kind of smitten with it. It's a shame it's so expensive but from what I've seen with these its definitely worth the cost.

You can see the entire film on Flickr here.

Camera: Holga 135bc
Film: Kodak Portra 160 NC
Location: Paris :)

p.s. After using my yashica samurai so much in Paris, I may have got a bit carried away with the fact I could do multiple exposures with both my holga and diana - I don't think that's a bad thing though...