My shot at winning a Nikon F3

If you've been reading my blog, you know I love shooting with film. I enjoy having to think hard about each frame because there are only 24 available, so each one has to count. I love being in a darkroom developing film, trying new mixtures of developer/time/temperature out (I've been getting into caffenol!). I find it fascinating to try out new types of film to see what they look like (currently obsessed with Ilford Delta 3200). I do have to admit I don't enjoy scanning one bit, so I send my stuff to people that can do it much better than I can.

I currently own a Holga (which I used to shoot the photograph above), a Konica C35, and 2 Nikon EM's that I bought on ebay but turned out to be crap. I've always wanted a Leica M6 (or M-whatever really). And I really want a proper film SLR. It has to be a Nikon as I already own Nikon glass and accessories.

So, this brings me to my shot at winning a Nikon F3. Rob Boyer is giving one away over at his blog and this is my entry.

By the way, Rob is also an Apple Aperture user and has a lot to share on his site. I've been following him for a while now and have learned heaps from him. If you visit my website because of my writings on Aperture be sure to visit Rob's site as well.

Holga photo: Sydney's Opera House

Opera House; Sydney, Australia; 2007 © Gabriel Ponzanelli

I'm too tired to write anything coherent, but I wanted to post something before going to sleep. This is another photograph taken with a Holga. It's fun playing with film again.

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Holga photo: Bronte Beach, Australia

 Bronte Beach; Sydney, Australia; 2007 © Gabriel Ponzanelli

Another Holga photograph. This is from the first roll of film I put on the camera. I wasn't sure what I was going to get then, but I think it turned out all right. It was shot in black and white and the only post-processing was a slight increase in contrast.

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Holga photo: Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Harbour Bridge; Sydney, Australia; 2007 © Gabriel Ponzanelli

I've been playing a lot with a Holga lately. It's a cheap, plastic camera that uses medium format film and is a lot of fun to play with. The lens is also plastic and of very bad quality, so it produces a lot of distortion and focus is all over the place. There is no control over exposure other than a "bright/overcast" button that I don't think does anything really. To make it even worse (or better, depending on how you look at it), the casing isn't really well built and lets some light in randomly. I've found that at least with mine, light leaks depend on how hard I press the camera! Anyway, all of the defects above are actually what make it fun. Holga's produce a very distinct look that can sometimes be used to an advantage. Of course, it's not to everybody's liking, but I enjoy shooting with it and sometimes really like the results. It's liberating shooting with a camera that all you can do is truly point and shoot.

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