I have always loved the look and feel of film. I am very taken by the lo-fi shots from the LC-A, Diana, Holga, etc… Last February my girlfriend gave me a vintage Diana 151 in mint condition (complete with box!). I fell in love with this camera immediately. The results were wonderful! To lessen the costs of processing and scanning 120 film I purchased an Epson 4490 scanner and eventually began developing (both B&W and color) at home. Working with 120 film was a blast. I decided to look for a new camera with a new challenge. The Holga 120WPC (Wide Pinhole Camera) caught my eye immediately. I was way into the wide format, vignetting and long exposures. Now I had two very different 120 format cameras.
Diana 151
What a lovely little lump of plastic. She features a 1/125(ish) shutter speed, a bulb setting, 3 apertures, and zone-focusing. You get 16 4×4 frames on a roll of 120 film. How simple can you get? I love how this camera forces you to be creative through it’s limitations. You never really know what you’re going to get. I’ve only been pleasantly surprised so far. Loading her with slide film for cross processing has yielded some very surreal, dreamy results.
The heavy vignetting and general dreamy look really jives with the way I see the world. It’s easy for me to line up a shot through the small square viewfinder. It’s wonderful as a snapshot camera or as a serious tool for capturing a very specific mood.
For those who are a bit intimidated by film and especially 120: I can’t stress enough how simple this camera is to use. Loading and unloading the film can be a bit cumbersome at first as with any 120 camera. I’ve resorted to zip-ties in order to fasten the camera to my tripod as there is no threaded mount on the camera. I never take this camera anywhere without plenty of black electrical tape to seal up any light leaks (there are plenty!).
Holga 120WPC (wide pinhole camera)
It’s a box. It has a tiny pinhole. How simple can it get? There’s a large spring-loaded shutter release on the front which has threads for a standard cable-release. A series of posts on the top of the camera, which represent the center and outer bounds of the frame, are used to compose your shot. There’s a small bubble level on top as well but I’ve found it to be basically worthless. Exposures range anywhere from 5 seconds to 15 minutes and beyond. I’ve done a little modification to the area around the pinhole; removed some raised plastic which was creating a hard, uneven vignetting. I also have a couple of 52mm filters (R25, R72) which can I tape over the pinhole opening. You can fit 6, 6×12 shots or 8, 6×9 shots on a 120 roll. I have only ever used the wider 6×12 mask.
The images from this camera are so interesting to me. It captures 120 degrees which far exceeds the bounds of my vision. This is sort of how my brain interprets what it sees. I find myself “seeing” more than I actually can by piecing together a scene after looking around it for a few seconds. This blending looks to me very similar to the images that come out of the Holga WPC. A little bit of the past, slightly embellished and dreamy.
Once again, this camera is extremely easy to use. The lack of viewfinder leaves a little to chance. I like that. It’s an imperfect system. It requires visualization and patience. I’ll take anywhere from 2-15 minutes to set up a shot. A tripod is a MUST with the long exposure times. Or at the very least a sturdy platform. Once again, BLACK ELECTRICAL TAPE. I tape up all of the seams and latches to avoid light leaks.
Two Different Cameras.
While these two cameras are very different from each other in form they both represent my personal vision quite well. The small square vignetted Diana shots are how I see the immediate external world. The wide, dreamy images from the Holga WPC represent my composite view of what’s in front of me. I enjoy the process of working with the film and negatives from these cameras. It adds a more real and personal feeling to my finished images.
Take a look through my albums for more examples:
Holga 120WPC on flickr
Diana 151 on flickr
If you are interested in joining our mailing list, please submit your email below. 
