While We're On Color...

Back to the Holga. As the last Holga image showed, the workout I gave the camera in its first days appears to have taken its toll. The earlier images from the camera were sharp, at least a sharp as the lens would allow. My guess, from looking at the last couple of rolls, is that the cheap mechanism that controls the shutter speed is stretched out a bit, leading to a bit of shake if I'm not careful. This image was taken a few weeks ago of a residential construction site in Hollywood.
The effect really altered what I intended from this shot of the shopping carts at a Trader Joe's, and I think the image suffered from the shake. Still, there's something about it I do like. One of those pleasant accidents. More pleasant, I think, is the effect on the black-and-white photo below (shot at the Jersey shore, it's a digression from the Los Angeles theme of this site). I've been trying to brace myself more as I shoot with the Holga, knowing now that even stranger things are afoot with it. Still, the wind in the flag is compounded nicely, I think.

Appreciating Digital

For all the sort of mindlessness auto-focus, auto-exposure cameras like the digital SLRs take to operate, there is something to be said for being a ble to snap one off and not really worry about the metering, etc. That happened in the car wash the other day. I like the image, but the more I use the film cameras - even the Holga - I feel the creative limitations of the digital SLR. Sure, you can switch off all the auto everythings you've paid for, but in the end it's still digital, and there's still the lack of richness in the image otherwise offered by film.

What's L.A. Without the Homeless?

The Mamiya arrived, and I took it for a walk over to El Pueblo, trying to figure the whole thing out. The manual followed a few days later, so the first roll (Ilford FP4, ISO125), of which this image is one, was very iffy. These, too, were scanned from the contact sheet.

The striking thing about walking downtown is that there are so many homeless that it is easy to become indifferent. In New York, where I lived before moving to Los Angeles, the homeless were pervasive, but not like this. And in New York, we were millions of us on foot, in a hurry, and so they tended to blend into the crowd. Here, they are alone, nearly, on the streets. And yet, as the image below shows, there are so many that we nevertheless become indifferent.

Foot Patrol

Back after a short break back East, I'm putting up a couple more Holga images to run through the stockpile. These two were taken on those rare moments I was able to move slowly enough to actually stop and consider the image for a decent interval (the others are considered, mind you, but are more products of opportunity). Above was shot at Costco in Atwater Village, and below from the Los Angeles Street steps of City Hall East. Again, these were scanned from a contact sheet, so the texture would be a lot more consistent in a real print.