Holga, A Love Story

One of my favorite classes in college was my Medium Format class I took my sophomore year.  There was only one assignment: take photos of whatever you want with a Holga camera.  This was the class where I really got into the groove of developing my own film and learning darkroom techniques.

You really have to use your imagination when shooting on a $20 camera made of plastic.  Light leaks, natural blur, and color shifts occur.  And since everything is manual, it’s also easy to make double exposures either by choice or accident.

I sold my Holga when I graduated. Although I was still in love with this toy camera and it’s ability to take perfectly imperfect images, I really had no clue when I would be in a darkroom again.  And the cost of processing 120 film is extraordinarily expensive, so I felt like it would be put to better use in someone else’s hands.

Fast forward to 2012, when I had really decided to fully pursue photography.  I started craving a Holga again.  I found one on Amazon for $18 (don’t buy a $60 one from Urban Outfitters– it’s a rip off). I ordered some film along with and and decided to start shooting with it as a supplement to my focus on digital photography.

I finished several rolls of film over the course of the past year. I took my Holga with me when the situation was special, but taking my 5d along wouldn’t have been the best choice.  I developed all the film in one go this week, and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.  Here are some of my favorites– a trip to Six Flags, camping, a horseback ride in Hawaii, and a dear friend’s wedding. And the best part was, everything was scanned and digitized so I never had to step foot in a dark room!

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Sneak Peek: Savannah Wedding – Megan + Chris

Here’s a sneek peek at Megan and Chris’s glam black tie wedding from last weekend in Savannah, GA at The Mansion on Forsyth.  Isn’t Megan’s dress to die for?

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Trash the Dress on El Matador Beach, CA

As a photographer, I’m obsessed with Pinterest.  I get so many ideas and inspiration from Pinterest, and here’s one of them.  I’ve been seeing a trend of Trash the Dress photo shoots pop up a lot on Pinterest lately, and I loved the idea of making a total mess of something pristine.  There’s a lot of beauty in that.

Surprise, not many brides are willing to destroy a dress that they paid so much for.  So I decided to take matters into my own hands and buy a used wedding dress off of Ebay.  I had asked my lovely friend, Amanda, to pose for me.  Serendipitously, the $5 dress fit her like a glove.

We took our shoot to El Matador Beach in Malibu.  We arrived at the perfect time at dusk, and Amanda dug into the sand, rolled around, and got dunked in the waves several times.  She did her job perfectly, and didn’t complain once even though she was soaking wet and covered in sand by the end of it.

I had so much fun doing this, it was something I had wanted to shoot for a while and I was so happy with how it all fell into place.  Thanks Amanda for being a beautiful model!

(PS. I did that hairdo!  I think I could make a second career out of doing crazy updos!)

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A Plantation Wedding in Savannah with Kristen + Chris

On April 27th, Kristen and Chris got married on a beautiful plantation estate in Springfield, Georgia.  It was the perfect, intimate, casual, backyard wedding.  Kristen and her bridesmaids all wore handmade dresses, and Chris and his groomsmen all wore suspenders.  Everyone had a special part in this celebration, too. The bridal party even put together an awesome photobooth complete with wigs, toy guns, and crazy animal hats!

The entire day was filled with laughter, love, and happy tears.   I was so happy I could be a part of capturing the emotions that day.  I had a blast!  Congrats, Kristen and Chris!

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