Holga Blog

Well, I have to say I am neck deep in photography and loving every minute of it.

I started out with an APS point and shoot when I was younger (ah, the good old Kodak Advantix), never really delving too deep because I soon learned that film wasn’t cheap (neither was developing) and if I took a roll that wasn’t of people from say a vacation or event, my parents wouldn’t get it developed. Cruel, I know, to so early squash the photo-related dreams of a young girl. Needless to say, when that camera broke down (very un-durable little guys that they were), my photography habit sat on the shelf for several years until I graduated high school and decided to go to Paris. I decided that if I was going to a place I had dreamed of for so long, I would need a good camera. I splurged and purchased a Canon Rebel 2000 SLR. Mind you, when I purchased this camera, I knew nothing about photography or how to operate this little machine; needless to say, it stayed on the automatic setting all through Amsterdam, Antwerp and Paris.

The next year, I signed on for a black and white film photography class at the local community college in an effort to learn how to work my rebel. I immediately fell in love with film photography. About a year after that, I was looking through some blogs and noticed some very interesting photos that someone listed as being taken with a holga or diana camera. I immediately had to find out more, and I ended up purchasing a holga along with all of the filters from B&H photo. I went from there to an advanced color photography class, got in good with the lab tech, and the rest is history. Brett (the lab tech) started to see my interest in alternative processes (and ever growing collection of toy cameras) and he was constantly showing me more things I could do to manipulate my film and my prints. I went on to be the assistant lab tech for a while until work elsewhere and getting engaged (to a fellow photographer) took away most of my spare time.

I have developed an unending curiosity. From film acceleration (my personal favorite) to coffee developer to various transfer prints, I am always looking for something new to try. I’m a big believer in experiments and happy accidents. Most of my favorite photos are complete accidents that I could never duplicate even if I tried (and believe me, I have tried). I love experimenting with light and long exposures. I love pinhole photography. For a broader view of my little projects, go to my experimentation collection on flickr. I’m always trying to get people to try new things, so I’m always excited to answer any questions about any process to help get you going.


Also, I’m a hopeless camera collector (as it seems most of us at holgablog.com are). I’ve amassed over sixty cameras, from the very cheap (the “special moments” cam from the dollar store) to the very expensive (my Mamiya 645AF – which was given to me – hizzah). To see the bulk of my hording, go to my camera collection on flickr. To see the results of some of these, go to my toy cameras on flickr. (If you can’t tell, I’m a big fan of flickr)


Anyway, a little about me personally. I’m 23, getting married in 3 weeks to the best guy ever, and I live in Titusville, FL. Yes, I am in the center of Florida’s Space Coast (I can step into my yard and see the rocket launches perfectly). I’m also only one hour away from Orlando – land of theme parks. I’m in that area quite often. I love travel. I’m addicted to ripping things apart and trying to make them back into something beautiful. I was a French Language major in college. I also have a graduate degree in diamonds. Blah Blah Blah. Yackity-Yack. Oh, and I also have a photography business that I started with my fiancé (shamelss plug). We use digital like anyone else, but our niche is we use our toy cameras and alt processes on our jobs. Check us out at Shimer Photography.

I’m sure that most of the articles I will write on holgablog will be about alternative processes and toy cameras. I’ve got a few plans already I’m so glad to get to help out on this site and I can’t wait to get started.

Remember: Never stop experimenting!