Back to Basic: A Try in Analogue Photography

I got myself a simple, cheap camera for my try in Analogue Photography. I think it's called a toy-camera and I bought for only S$80. I'm not very familiar with prices of this kind of camera so I'm not sure if I bought it in a more expensive price. Well, so long as I get what I want it's fine.

My new baby is a black Holga 135BC camera! And now that I think about it, I could have bought other color for a more fun look. I actually planned to buy a cheaper and cuter toy camera - Supeheadz Wide and Slim Series- just to have a try in using film cameras. However, the idea of having more control in the camera entices me so I ended up buying Holga. Up to this date, I have only used a single roll of 36 frames so I don't know if I can really manage it. I just left the film in a shop for processing and printing so I will only get to know the result by next week. I am really hoping that I have some decent photos.

Earlier in 2000's, I am using a film camera owned by my family - Canon Ixus Z70. I also used an old, black film camera which I believe is also a Canon product. Those cameras are film but it automatically advanced the frame in the film after pressing the shutter. But after trying out the Holga, I realized that analogue photography is more complex than what I thought. I have created funny moments even though I only used a single roll of film.

Most of the time, I will forget to advance the film hence causing multiple exposures in a single frame. When I realized that, I have walked far away from the subject. So, I have to go back and re-take the pictures. Frankly speaking, it's wasting my effort of staying under the hot sun. If I did not forget to advance the film, I might have forgotten to remove the lens cap. I just find myself laughing for the idiotic acts I did.

I actually don't have full control of the camera. The aperture was fixed to F/8 for cloudy or flash setting, and F/11 for sunny setting. The shutter spead was a fixed 1/100. And the ISO? I learned that it depends on the type of film you are using. I used an ISO 200 film for my first try even though my camera manual advises me to use ISO 100 or ISO 400. There were also various types of films that I am yet to learn. There were types with higher saturation and contrast, and even black and white. Just how interesting is Analogue Photography? And why did I only discover this now? Had I known earlier, I could have owned a couple of film cameras now. Well, I am planning to buy another film camera, a more advanced one, if the results of my Holga are good. (29.06.12)

(original post here)