Written by Alec Pain (Alastair Place)
I recently purchased a digital keychain/keyring made by Holga (find on eBay). It’s similar to the Kodak Charmera, only it’s been beautifully designed to replicate their old “Baby” Holga, the Holga Micro 110.
It got me thinking about how nice it would be to re-make it – and provide analog film photographers with a keychain/keyring that isn’t digital! I’ve asked Holga and … there’s a possibility… but I think I’ll need a large number of you to buy one!
Find the Holga Digital Keychain on eBay here and the Baby Holga/Holga Micro 110 on eBay here.
110 Film Photography
There are two fantastic articles written by my fellow Shoot it with film writers about 110 film photography. The first is by Angela Izzo: 110 Film: What Is It & Everything You Need to Know.
The second is by Katya Rowny: Pentax Auto 110 Review: A Nostalgic and Unique Pocket Film Camera.
Where to Buy a Baby Holga
If you do a search for the Baby Holga or Holga Micro 110 on eBay, you’ll find that it came in a number of different colors. I have the Yellow, Red, and actually Black. The latter formed part of an Oyakö set of a Baby Holga and a Mummy/Daddy Holga 120FN and distributed by superheadz.
The others are very tricky to get hold of, with Red the most available. Ebay has a couple – and the cost has started to rise for such a little camera!
My advice? The Japanese website buyee.jp – an excellent website for locating old and out of production Holgas, Dianas, and plastic cameras! They “buy” the camera for you and take care of the postage for a small fee and you can also buy several things and have everything posted at once.
How to Use the Baby Holga
In the meantime, I’ve started taking pictures with the Holga Micro again. Essentially, it’s a very, very simple camera. It means you need to think carefully about what you are going to take and be mindful of the camera’s lack of control.
The camera (according to instructions if you are lucky enough to find one with the camera when buying secondhand) has a focal length of 25mm, an F8 aperture and a shutter speed of 1/125 second. The focus is 1m to infinity. Pretty much standard Holga in terms of the aperture and shutter speed.
To load the camera, you pull down the back cover (it can be a little tight) and pop your 110 film cartridge in. Close the back cover, and then wind the film advance wheel (located at the front of the camera on the right when the “lens” is facing you) until it reaches the first number. It should stop there. If it doesn’t, take the cartridge back out and make sure it is inserted properly.
The Viewfinder is folded neatly on the top of your camera so needs to be pulled up with your thumb or finger, in order to compose your shot. Hold the camera around 4-5 cms away from your eye when looking through it, and depress the tiny shutter release button on the back (right) of the camera. Then, wind onto the next shot.
Bear in mind that the camera is either on the end of your keyring or in your pocket, so if you are going to put it away, the button can often be pressed accidentally. If you have finished shooting for the time being, it’s best to not forward the film to the next number as you might end up with the odd blank shot.
Film Available for 110 Cameras
Lomography is the only company right now producing 110 film. There are various expired films available, but for the purposes of this article I’ve not shot Orca (I have a roll being developed!) or Classicolour. I couldn’t tell the difference with the Color ‘92s when I came to scanning them:
Lomography B&W Orca 110 ISO 100
Lomography LomoChrome Classicolor 110 ISO 200
Lomography Lobster Redscale 110 ISO 200
Lomography Color Tiger 110 ISO 200
Lomography LomoChrome Turquoise 110 ISO 100–400
Lomography LomoChrome 2021 Metropolis 110 ISO 100–400
Lomography LomoChrome Color ’92 ISO 400
Lomography LomoChrome Color 92 Sun Kissed ISO 400
Lomography LomoChrome Purple 110 ISO 400
There are a couple of triple packs available, too, but the savings are minimal.
Taking the Baby Holga Out
Previously, I had shot it during Holga Week on a trip to Norwich and Cromer. I was most impressed with the portraits I took of my friend the photographer @jayhaldon:
You can see some light leaking onto the bottom of the film but not the actual image. This being a Holga, you’ll find that the light leaks can sometimes edge onto the image area. I think shooting into the sun doesn’t help.
I love the way that the image ghosts itself in various degrees onto the surroundings, and I think I prefer seeing the Lomochrome writing on top of the image.
More casual “street” shots at Norwich station also came out well and benefitted from the 400 ISO film.
More recently, I’ve been testing several of the cameras I have. Here’s a shot pointing into the sun (barely shielded by a light cloud), but it still produces a pleasing image, and I was able to find some detail in the shadows with LomoChrome Tiger ISO200.
LomoChrome Turquoise
LomoChrome Turquoise seemed to produce the best images – perhaps because I was pointing the camera at London landmarks.
As you can see from the image on the second image below, it does take some getting used to when looking through the viewfinder with the Palace of Westminster trying to get in on the scene!
I took some portraits of my wife with the camera, and you can see the sun behind her creeping into the picture:
And flowers always look good on Turquoise:
Scanning (and Developing) Your Tiny Negatives
I did find scanning the negatives problematic. The images are tiny and my scanner (an Epson V700 photo) went from producing beautiful images like those below to very grainy pictures which I couldn’t improve.
There is a 110 film holder available here, but you could also use Lomography’s digitaliza. I’m waiting for mine, but I scanned the negatives on my flatbed scanner – with two pieces of glass holding them. I managed to get a reasonable resolution on them, but not always!
You can also develop the negatives yourself. I bought two little reels from @Film Stuff Lab in the US which was very reasonable if you live in the States, and I hope to start developing soon! I also found these 110 reels on Amazon.
The smaller your negative, the larger your hairs and icks, so get used to using the healing tool in Photoshop!
Looking at the two here side-by-side of Big Ben, I’m still not sure which I prefer.
LomoChrome Metropolis
LomoChrome Metropolis also seemed suited to the brighter sunshine. The Lomo 92 seemed to struggle in really bright light (unlike the Mummy/Daddy Holgas).
LomoChrome Tiger
Tiger was also lovely in bright sunlight – note the light leaks:
And here’s a missing frame when placing the Holga in my pocket, traveling from (19) Oxford Street window to next day (21) the South Bank:
You can also get some inconsistencies when scanning:
And I did seem to get a few scratches on my Yellow Holga – along with some moiré when scanning too:
Lomo 92
A trip to Scotland gave me the chance to try out some landscapes, and these, too, were a little inconsistent when scanning:
In cloudy conditions in Weston-Super-Mare, Lomo 92 produced muddy and duller imagery.
Lomo Redscale “Lobster”
I did love this Redscale study of a High Rise in Lewisham:
The Baby Holga Project
It’s safe to say that I have renewed my love for the Baby Holga, so much so that I have started a little project: The Baby Holga Project (@thebabyholga). I already owned two of the Baby Holgas, an orange and a black one, and have since purchased quite a few more.
I have started sending them around the world. Currently, there are four travelling around the US. Three are in the UK, three in Europe, one in Hong Kong, one in Argentina, one in Canada, one in Africa and two in Australia/New Zealand.
Check out the Instagram page to see what’s happening or who has which Holga. If you would like to participate, please DM @thedailyholga or @thebabyholga.
Thank you so much, Alec! Alec is a regular contributor here at Shoot It With Film, and be sure to check out his other articles, like No Tripod? No Problem. Double Exposures with Neon, LED Screens, & Contact Sheets and The Holga Challenge: 18 Photography Prompts with the Holga & Kentmere Film.
You can also check out more of his work on Instagram.
Leave your questions about the Baby Holga below in the comments, and pick one up for yourself on eBay! You can also pick up the digital Holga keychain on eBay here.
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