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Panorama Shoot-Out

Panorama Shoot-Out, Part 7: Fisheye Holga

by Jay Versluis on June 3, 2009

in Panorama Shoot-Out

Wcimg3108.jpghen the colour-splash Holga came out, I knew I had to have one! It had a tripod mount and a bulb setting too – nowadays the standard for Holgas – but it wasn’t pre 2006. This one also has a glass lens, and a dedicated 6×6 gate.

Lomography were selling it for a lot more than eBay seller “uranium-99″. Although I usually stay away from items shipped in from Hong Kong, I gave it a go – and was extremely happy with his service. I ordered many other Holga related items from him since then.

To make my shots more interesting, I ordered Lomography’s Fisheye adaptor. Having used their 35mm Fisheye 2 camera for many years, loving the close-up look and warped images, I imagined amazing results with added Holgalicity. How right I was!

Since it’s not that easy to mount the adaptor (you have to screw two bolts into the focussing ring), it has since then become my permanent Fisheye Holga, delivering excellence in weirdo-imagery whenever it tickels me.

For panoramas, I suppose you have to get “up-close and personal” with your subjects to really make an image standout. I imagine them to be just a series of circle-ish images stuck together, and I didn’t have high hopes for this camera to become a sterling panorama candidate. Nevertheless, I gave it a go.

It didn’t help that the day I popped a few rolls of expired Kodak EPP into my heavy-lensed friend, it was very overcast. Not good Holga weather. But, the local fun fair was in town, and I thought what the hell.

This Holga gave me some excellent results in the bright sunny conditions of Las Vegas in 2007 – I love it dearly, and the Fisheye adaptor is now its permanent lens. I’m not going to give it bad remarks for dark pictures. I have to admit that I’ve not used it as close up as I normally would have. What I do see though is that the subjects 20 yards away won’t come out the way I want them to – i.e. up close and personal. Probably to be expected with a super wide lens.

I love the circular images it produces, but stuck together to make up a larger picture, I can’t quite see this as a good panorama contestant. Sorry, Fisheye Holga – you’re out of the Panorama Contest!

Tell you what: if there’s room in the suitcase, you can come with me ;-) I always need a whacky Fisheye friend, especially when the weather is good.

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Panorama Shoot-Out, Part 6: Diana (with Endless Panorama gate)

by Jay Versluis on June 3, 2009

in Panorama Shoot-Out

cimg3105.jpgOne of the super funky features Lomography have introduced in their Diana+ is the Endless Panorama gate. It makes it possible for you to shoot square pictures with no overlap and minimal space in between.

Now that could DYNAMITE!

I grabbed a couple of rolls of Fuji RMS and made my way over to Camden on a sunny lunch hour. We were taping the big finale of Britain’s Biggest Loser that day, which inspired me to have a salad from Pret, which happens to be just next to Camden Lock.

It was very sunny outside, but not blazing. So I’ve pushed the RMS to 400 ASA and used the largest aperture Diana had to offer. Let’s have a look:

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These results though speak for themselves. Endless Panorama makes your shots look like they come from the Supersampler, another one of my plastic favourites. The lack of overlaps has its advantages, and I absolutely love it.

I like the overall look of the Diana lens too, and the fact that the back doesn’t threaten to fall off all the time. There are plenty of accessories to keep your shots interesting and keep you playing for years. I like Diana!

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However, for what I want to do for the upcoming Miami Beach Huts shoot, I really want the individual shots to blend together – like Pink Holga does so beautifully. I’m sure we’ll find another great application for Diana+ and her super gate very soon.

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Diana is still in the race though – and most certainly has secured her spot in the suitcase already. It won’t be my main camera for the project, but I wouldn’t want to be caught without her.

RUNNER UP:

Diana+ and her Endless Panorama Gate

OVERALL WINNER:

we’ll find out soon…

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Cross Processed in E6

June 2, 2009

The other day I tried my hand at cross-processing some colour negative film in Tetenal Colortec E6. The results are remarkable! Looks like I’ve been back to 1952 for a bit. I’ve tried it the other way round before (slide film in C-41), which also looks rather funky (or shall we say lomographic?) So here [...]

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Panorama Shoot-Out, Part 5: Yellow Holga

June 2, 2009
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Logic dictates that every Holga should produce pretty much the same outcome. But then, logic and Holga don’t mix – so I went and shot a few rolls on my Yellow Holga. Maybe he’s the lucky one to win a trip to the land of beach huts in July…? Coloured Holgas not only look super [...]

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Panorama Shoot-Out, Part 4: Diana (without a gate)

May 29, 2009

The lovingly recreated Diana+ by Lomography is the ugly duckling in my collection. However, looks can be deceiving; I’ve had some excellent results with this baby since I bought it last year.In fact, it’s slowly becoming my favourite plastic camera! Lomography have added some funky bits to the package, like the possibility to shoot 3 [...]

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Panorama Shoot-Out – Part 3: Pink Holga

May 25, 2009

Time to check out what the contestants can do! As I said before, the Pink Hoga is my favourite (at the moment). I love them all to bits, but the colour really does something for me. “It’s so gay”, people say – but I think it’s more like a funky breath of fresh air in [...]

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Panorama Shoot-Out – Part 2: Meet the Contestants

May 24, 2009

5 plastic fantastic cameras are going head-to-head in my tests, all of them lomographic pieces  of low value. They all eat medium format film, although they can survive on the odd roll of 35mm. They’re happiest in brightest sunshine, they don’t like overcast or twilight shots, unless you utilise the bulb setting. Most of them [...]

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Panorama Shoot-Out – Part 1: Introduction

May 24, 2009

We’re going to Miami Beach in July to finish working on the Miami Beach Huts project – I can’t wait! I thought it would be fun to shoot some wonky panoramas on medium format while we’re there, some of the Beach Huts, and plenty of others in the brilliant Sunshine State sun. But wait a [...]

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