Was browsing the web a bit today and came across Holga cameras. Basically, they’re cheap and cheerful Chinese cameras that were intended to provide a cheap, mass-market camera for the working class. Their poor quality produces amazing, ethereal photos with vignetting, screwed up colours and contrast. Light leaks create colour distortions and the simple lens blurs the edges of images. More about Holgas and lomography in general.

So it got me thinking about how I could use one – I’d love to get one or something similar. Then thought about getting the lens for my digital cam and found a few pages on Digital Holga. Definitely one for the future, but then I thought I’d try using Photoshop to create a similar effect.

The beauty and appeal of shooting with Holgas is that the effects aren’t uniform, adding an element of chance – serendipitous photography. Anyway, that got me thinking and there’s a deep and meaningful spiritual commentary about the nature of photography, mixing modernity with zen and serendipity not being mutually exclusive of technology, but at the end of the day, I made some pretty pictures, so here’s my Holga-nised take on some of my Japan photos!

Sapporo Subway

Coach to Sapporo

M in Sapporo snow

Susukino in Sapporo

Hanazono 308 Building - I overlayed another photo to simulate a double exposure