Michael Bryant

I shoot 120mm black & white film using a Holga camera. The Holga is a plastic camera of poor quality first produced in China in 1982. It was cheap in order to be the camera for the masses. Each Holga is different and its imperfections affect the film in an individual way. Light leaks are common, although I wrap my camera in Velcro to minimize them. The film spools are often loose, creating out of focus images because the film doesnÕt lie flat on the focus plane. Since the lens is plastic, the image edges are distorted and sometimes a double Òghost imageÓ is seen near the outer edges. Light falloff from the plastic lens causes a darkening of the edges in most images. The Holga is not a single lens reflex (SLR) camera (SLR means that when you look through the viewfinder, you are seeing through the lens). The HolgaÕs viewfinder is simply a hole near the top of the camera that doesnÕt line up with the lens. This causes an image shift that varies depending on how close the camera is focusing. There is no built-in light meter, so good exposures depend on my knowledge of light and film. I often shoot multiple exposures on a single 2-1/4 inch square negative. The film does not automatically advance — it must be done manually by turning a knob on the top of the camera. The shut- ter is operated by a simple spring that exposes the negative as many times as I trip it. Only the lighting conditions and film speed limit how many exposures the negative will withstand, before becoming too overexposed to print. I experiment with rotating or moving the camera position or location between exposures. Mostly the experiments fail, but occasionally they result in an incredibly unique image that can be almost abstract. I scan my negatives in a negative carrier that has been filed out to show the whole image with the film code and image numbers sometimes visible. I print my work using an Epson 7880 on a watercolor paper that I first painted and metal leafed. The finished piece is coated with an oil glaze for protection and a glossy sheen. The resulting Archival Pigment Images are acid-free and rated to last at least 100 years. I make my own frames (from raw wood, paint and metal leaf) so that I can float the images without glass. The overall effect of my technique is an image that utilizes but doesnÕt record what I saw in the viewfinder. The source of my work is in my head, not in my camera. It is my own personal version of the truth.