Where to start…… Hi there! My name’s Paul, but most people know me better as squarefrog. I suppose I should introduce myself – I’m quite shy so it’ll hopefully be brief.
I come from a little forgotten seaside resort in the UK. I was given my first camera for my 21st birthday. It was a compact digital point and shoot, which I was instantly besotted with. I took it everywhere with me and photographed anything and everyone that caught my eye. The honeymoon period lasted a long time, but after a while I got a bit tired of the sterility of digital.
Some time in 2006 I discovered the Holga. I immediately felt that rush of excitement of something new and unpredictable. I bought as much 120 roll film as I could; shooting dozens of pictures before waiting anxiously for them to be developed.
This then spurred me on to throwing my credit card at a 70s LC-A from eBay, which was one of the lucky few that still worked with no problems. I then bought more than my body weight in 35mm film and dove right in!
Shortly after, someone showed me how to develop my own black and white film. I was bitten by the bug again! Not only did I no longer have to wait for a film to be developed, but I had total and utter creative control!
Just as I was getting a bit bored of black and white, I discovered the magic of cross-processing. Since then I’ve been spoiling perfectly good slide film by chucking it in my trusty Russian camera and then dropping the resulting mess into C41 chemicals. Oh my word! The unpredictability!!
Recently my life has been pretty hectic, which has forced me to put my Holga on the shelf for a little while. I’m now slowly breaking down my digital barrier and trying new digital techniques. When the time is right, my trusty old friend, the Holga, will be quickly restored to its former pride of place. In the mean time, I am kept busy by the maintenance of an increasingly popular website.
Outside of photography my passions are; music, Macs and general web geekery. My favourite things are; my girlfriend, monkeys, second-hand books, and toast.
Comments
welcome, paul!
Howdy! My name is Steven and I run a low-fi photography blog with DIY articles and reviews. I’m still in my first month of it, but I’ve linked to your site because I’ve found it to be a wonderful resource. I’d like to know if you guys decide you like it, maybe you wouldn’t mind adding a link to your blogroll column to my site? Thanks so much!
-Steven
P.S. Sorry about leaving this in the comments box, but I couldn’t find any way to contact anyone here directly.