Not the prettiest picture, but if you cut off the end flap of a 120 film box and fold it just so then you can use it as a film tension-er under the take-up spool as shown below.
I use this little trick in all of my Holgas and it seems to help with avoiding "fat-rolls" which cause light leaks.
Some people use the little flap trick on the supply side as well.
Newer Holgas have foam under where the film spools go as seen below.
The foam works great until it doesn't. It notoriously comes loose and will wind itself into the film roll when you least expect it. Then you have a "fat-roll" problem of epic proportions. Not good and an absolute fail.
So if you have an older Holga, or a newer one, try the folded paper trick and see how you like it.
Periodically I'll share some more of my tips for using the Holga. I really like the simplicity of the camera. Not worrying about settings gives me more time to think about composition.
A simple camera and a simple setting....
Just down the road is this place. Quarai .
It's about 45 minutes away and a good spot to enjoy the day or test a nine dollar Holga.
Sometimes you just have to go with the flow, even if you don't know there's a flow that needs going with.....
Church in Taos with the nine dollar Holga and Shanghai film which bled numbers all over...They say you get what you pay for...but it wasn't the cheap camera in this case.
Found this down in Magdalena, NM. One dog, one vote.....
It's thing like this that really make me want to drive every back road in the state...
Since 1793, this has been a focus point of Old Town Albuquerque just off the plaza. The history is interesting and can be read about here. There seems to be a heavenly light leak in this one....
This might be a cliche type of shot, I'm not sure, but I like trying to get a simple camera such as the Holga to perform a few notches above its capabilities. It takes a good convincing.
Ah yes, the iconic Waffle House. This was one of the first photos I made with the nine dollar Holga last September. You can see it was a nice day for having a waffle..yet I did not.
Often I try to make a photo that shows the Earth has a curve....or maybe my "fancy" Holga lens has distortion? Either way, I like going to the beach and hanging out with the tides.
One day this will look like one of those old timey photos that you see of Model T's going down the road...for now it's just a modern highway.
I suppose when you live out west, then everything is out west....
Occasionally you will find a horse with a tree growing out of its back....
surplus shed lens concoction...
I like this effect, but the way the lens is mounted it's unlikely I will ever get it back in place the same way twice...it's okay. It's something to dink around with during the cold
When the sunflowers were still in bloom and the sky had that soft summer glow about it....accented by a light leak, which comes and goes and is more noticeable in color...
Pando,
aka the Trembling Giant is one of the largest living organisms on
Earth. Pando has been on my radar for a while and I was happy to be able
to visit it in December during the winter break. If you're not familiar
with this clonal colony of Aspens, then take a few moments to read about
it. It's quite fascinating. Here's the link to Pando.
Trees will be so still for portraits. I found this one on one of my jaunts down HWY 60
One of my friends along the road
Holga w/surplus shed lens
Holga with lens from Surplus Shed. Maybe this is too much blur...or maybe it's just right..the woods look just like this to me without my glasses.
Not just any ol Tuesday but January 1st
click on the photo, it looks better big
A Chip Thomas mural is always a cool find while driving along long desert roads in the southwest.
