Holga Week 2024
HOLGA WEEK IS BACK
The first week of October marks a special celebration in the world of film photography... Holga Week! Enthusiasts worldwide grab their quirky plastic cameras and head out to document daily scenes through their uniquely imperfect lenses.
Holga Week isn't just about taking photos. It's about connecting with a global creative community. Photographers have the entire first of October to shoot their pictures and then submit their images one month later to win prizes. But I think it's a fun excuse to dust off my favorite plastic camera
If you aren't already familiar, the Holga is a charmingly simple medium format camera made by Lomography. There are several varieties (with or without flash) which all share the same basic characteristics that make them both frustrating and fun to use.
Y2K THROWBACK
I got my Holga CFN 120 in high school when I first fell in love with film photography. Those were the golden days of cheap film and one-hour photo labs. My friends and I spent most of our time experimenting with film and printing in the darkroom. My Holga joined me on countless adventures across Florida, California, and even Paris!
The downside is that my Holga's flash no longer works because the battery contacts corroded, and I couldn't revive them. I miss the colored flash, but there's something wholesome about sticking with a camera I've had for so long, and I love working with natural light.
The Holga was my gateway into the world of medium format; of course, now I am devoted to my Rolleiflex 2.8F, but it's hard to really compare these medium format cameras because one is totally playful, and the other is very elevated.
Holga Week was full of surprising moments and happy accidents. Keep reading to discover my Holga stories and photos. And I share my tips for creating multiple exposures at the end.
DAY 1: VONDELPARK HOLGA MEETUP
Kicking off Holga Week, I invited a few other film gals to join for a photo walk in Vondelpark. With earily autumn as a perfect backdrop, we found a few pink roses left on the bushes and golden leaves shifting into the new season. It was a lovely scene but our trio encountered a handful of mishaps!
Elise arrived with a used Holga purchased online but after teaching her how to load the film, we quickly discovered it was broken. After shooting my roll, I Frankensteined the roll out of her camera and into mine camera so she could give the Holga a proper try. And it worked! Nadege arrived with her Holga and found it had a decade-old roll of film inside. And by the end of our trip, her shoe broke apart so we had to tape it back together and keep going.
Despite technical challenges, we had a great time together. I love sharing the joy of film photography with my friends, and this afternoon reminded me of our casual photo walk days in high school.
Autumn in Vondelpark | Kodak Gold 200
DAY 2: HOLGA PHOTOWALK IN THE JORDAAN
The Jordaan and Prinseneiland are two of my favorite areas to wander, and these neighborhoods were a great setting for my second Holga Week outing. This historic side of town was full of classic Dutch imagery — picturesque canal houses, bicycles, and even a pair of traditional clogs. The afternoon sun streamed through, flickering leaves and we had a quick visit to the little goat farm on Prinseneiland.
Prinseneiland, Amsterdam | Kodak Gold 200
DAY 3: PLAYING WITH PRISMS & MULTI-EXPOSURE MAGIC
On the final day of Holga Week, the sun blessed us with golden light, so we headed west to chase it. I wanted to tap into Holga's playful creativity with double exposures and special effects using the prism filters. I'm really happy with my results and want to share my technique with you.
Looking for magical, layered images? The key is thinking about how your images will interact—imagine painting with light and textures, one layer at a time. Here's my simple approach with the Holga:
Frame and shoot your first image
Don't advance the film!
Find your second scene (keep the first composition in mind)
Shoot again
Now, add another scene to the frame or advance the film to finalize your shot.
The Holga has manual film advance, so technically, you could expose the same frame as many times as you want. I think two or three exposures are best. I also experimented with Holga's prism filter kit, which adds an ethereal, trippy quality. My favorite technique is combining these filters with double exposures. The randomness of the Holga combined with these filters means each frame is truly unique—you cannot replicate the exact effect twice!
Pushing the exposure latitude with Ektar 100 during Golden Hour.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN
