Shooting Film With Holga 120GFN

I still remember my early days, back in 1976, when my grandfather was taking photographs with his Agfa Click. An old, simple camera that uses medium format film. Only two settings: cloudy or sunny. No flash. Just shoot and hope for the best.

Grandfather was trying to document our family moments on black-and-white film. The aesthetic allured me. To this day, I look for perspectives, patterns, and facial features, which, as I imagine it, would make great black-and-white images. With time, I also got interested in colour, mostly for long-exposures.

My grandfather felt disappointment whenever he got an accidental double-exposure. I, on the other hand, spend my time experimenting with my camera to get the right kind of blends.

I can still listen to his beautiful Agfa click when I release its shutter. The camera is now in my home, still fully functional. But I miss the presence of my beloved grandfather.

My first personal camera was a cheap no-name 35mm thing with a flash. I exposed a few rolls on it with my grandfather and left it on the shelf, hibernating. As it stood there, I kept my interest in photography up with books and others’ images.

When the digital revolution arrived, my time to make photographs again has come. Tired of being a photo viewer, I bought Canon EOS400D and later Canon 60D, which I still take with me when I go to watch my son play football.

But eventually, I felt the need to start shooting film again. I bought a Nikon F80, then a Lomo Fisheye, an Olympus OM-10, a Holga, a Rollei 35SE, a Minolta 110 Zoom SLR, a Polaroid Swinger, Ilford Envoy 120, Lomo Sprocket Rocket, and some more from my Father in law. And finally, a vintage Polaroid Presto! and an incredible Holga 120GFN.

Holga is a basic medium format camera with two aperture settings, a “bulb” mode, and a built-in flash. Its simplicity allows me to concentrate on my composition more than anything else. A bit of mental math to ensure the film has a reasonable amount of light, frame, and click. That’s it.