View Full Version : Denver Post Newspaper Photogs Using Holgas
I don't own a Holga, but I found this article refreshing in yesterday's Denver Post. Looks like they turned their photographers loose over the summer with Holgas:
http://www.denverpost.com/mediacenter
Duane
very lovely pictures - thx for the link
candie
Actually, these photos were taken by their PJs.
mtbbrian
10-05-2007, 07:10
Muh Ahh Ahh!
Holgas, are taking over the world!!
:rolleyes: ;) :D
Brian
Ah yes...
Nothing sez "Art" quite like massive vignetteing at the corners.
photogdave
10-05-2007, 08:42
Thanks for the link. There are some really nice images in there, as well as some subpar ones. Definitely worth looking at.
ibcrewin
10-05-2007, 08:51
In my opinion this proves two things. First, pro photographers are still using film. and Second, the camera is just a tool.
shadowfox
10-05-2007, 09:10
Why the cynicism?
This sounds like a well-executed photo project. Some of the images are lovely, of course there has to be some that are just fillers.
I'm not enamored to Holga-Lomo-ism, but the camera is a perfectly valid tool for doing a project like this.
Kudos to Denver Post, the more film are consumed, the better it would be for people who love to shoot film. Like us.
IGMeanwell
10-05-2007, 09:10
OH NOES!!!
PJs using Holgas
http://www.magnumphotos.com/Archive/C.aspx?VP=XSpecific_MAG.StoryDetail_VPage&pid=2K7O3RHA2VXC
http://blog.magnumphotos.com/2007/02/in_the_machine.html
Morca007
10-05-2007, 09:24
Some very good images in that gallery, makes me wish there was a place to process 120mm around here, so I could go out and use my Holga. :(
EDIT: sitemistic- what do the pictures need to be 'about' other than, for example, a record of how the photographer remembers the events?
landsknechte
10-08-2007, 23:22
Frankly, I can't help but feel that if photos in the Magnum gallery were composed and exposed exactly the same - but with a "real" camera, there'd be a very different response here. Sure, there is a lot of Holga crap. There's a lot of crap taken with "real" cameras too.
danwilly
10-09-2007, 10:21
Perhaps we should have a discussion on the future of photojournalism. In our newsroom the editors are giving reporters digital cameras to take with for headshots and simple stuff. The photo staff doesn't get it, they see it as being relieved of scut work. They don't see the handwriting on the wall.
rogue_designer
10-09-2007, 10:57
The photo staff doesn't get it, they see it as being relieved of scut work. They don't see the handwriting on the wall.
Yup - the headline typsetters felt the same way...
It's a scary world for PJs who aren't paying attention right now.
A camera is just that, a camera. It doesnt matter if you have a $10,000 camera setup or a $100 (or less) setup so long as you are a good photographer. Obviously there will be limitations as to what you can do with cheaper equipment but in the end if you do not have the strong base of photographic technique, compositional, and artistic skills your photos are still going to look like crap.
I dont see what the fuss is. Just because people use Holga's does not mean their photos are good. Some may say "oh, thats neat" but a real photograph has something more to it than "oh thats pretty." It has depth to it.
People get worried over the silliest things.
Oh and it's already been mentioned like five times already that the people using the Holgas were Photojournalist to begin with. So why are you so upset? They are still photographers and obviously have the ability otherwise they wouldnt be photojournalist (in most cases).
It is also wise to note the fact that just because reporters are given cameras does not mean that their photos will be of any value. Yeah they will have a photo, but when an 'honest-to-god' photo journalists work is setup next to a simple reporter's photographs the images should tell the truth.
If a newspaper company cant see the difference between a crappy photograph taken by someone with no photographic skill and a photojournalist who has photos with impact, then obviously there is something wrong with the paper.
I would suggest you change employers, because if someone cant see the value of good photography then most likely you are not being paid enough anyway.
MichaelHarris
10-09-2007, 15:58
I'm no photojournalist and I'm really just a beginner, I'm living proof anyone can get a good shot if they try hard enough. I shot this from the stands, I'm sure the guys on the field got better shots than I did. They get the cool vests and stuff:
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f158/mharris660/game15E.jpg
Sure I would like to be a big-time photographer but as long as I keep taking shots that make me happy that's all I need.
I think it was an interesting exercise; giving pro photographers one of the most basic/simple pieces of gear and see what they can do with it. It looks like these weren't just wild carefree snapshots (ala Lomography, don't get me started...) but they were really trying to get the best out of what they had to work with.
And that begs the question, What makes a great photograph? The image, the camera, or the photographer?
Just my two cents,
Michael Harris
Well, you can't have an image without a camera and the photographer behind it. The image is, at the very least, the end result of what the photographer saw through the eye of the camera.
I also think this is a great idea...
Not that I am comparing myself to the Denver or the Magnum guys, but I also use Holgas for my professional wedding work and my clients love it!
Cheers,
Riccis
Great photos. Regardless who took them.
NickTrop
10-09-2007, 17:57
... geez, all this great camera manufacturers - many sadly now defunct, had it all wrong. They spent all their time, energy, and money trying to make better cameras, when they should have put their efforts in making terrible cameras and their money behind a marketing campaign to make them seem "cool".
... geez, all this great camera manufacturers - many sadly now defunct, had it all wrong. They spent all their time, energy, and money trying to make better cameras, when they should have put their efforts in making terrible cameras and their money behind a marketing campaign to make them seem "cool".
Clearly these photographers had it all wrong too, spending their time and energy trying to take better pictures, when they should have put their efforts and money into more expensive gear.
I wonder what it must feel like to shoot photos day after day for a living, walk into the office one day, and have them toss you a cheap camera and say "Go crazy with it."
EDIT: Quite frankly, I love cheap cameras and my Lubitel TLR has produced my all-time favorite photos, so I'm always excited to see them get some good press.
LeicaTom
10-09-2007, 19:04
There`s some great looking photos in there, some very good and others soso......but it`s still fun and colorful :)
As always though it`s NOT the GEAR it`s the person BEHIND it that makes the photo, any photo......
Could be that there`s alot more talented people out there than we know of....perhaps?
*But Photographers just like great painters are not made, they are born*
It`s the job of the passionate few to keep creating wonderful work and shooting real film and the REAL photographers will always stand out weither we shoot with a $15,000 Dollar Leica M kit or a beat up $10 Agfa Clack
Happy Shooting!
Tom
PS: I think it`s time for me to pursuade some known magazine to publish some Leica photos taken with the MOST BEAT UP LEICA`S in the world, now that`s an idea!
bean_counter
10-09-2007, 19:19
Holga's and cellphone cams for the sense of sight.
MP3's for the sense of hearing.
Axe (and the like) for the sense of smell.
McDonalds and Taco Bell for the sense of taste.
Silicon for, um, the sense of touch.
Blandness and the lowest common denominator seem to be ascendant.
Morca007
10-23-2007, 15:51
MP3's are perfectly fine. The human ear cannot discern the difference in audio fidelity between a V0 MP3 and a FLAC file or vinyl. If anything, the physical oddities present in vinyl and the plaback therof make it less faithful to the original source.
Sorry, pet peeve.
NickTrop
10-23-2007, 18:02
MP3's are perfectly fine. The human ear cannot discern the difference in audio fidelity between a V0 MP3 and a FLAC file or vinyl. If anything, the physical oddities present in vinyl and the plaback therof make it less faithful to the original source.
Sorry, pet peeve.
However, you can eat a vinyl record but not an MP3. You can also SMASH a vinyl record over the head of a random passerby but not an MP3. These facts are often overlooked by the "everything must be digital" crowd.
bean_counter
10-23-2007, 19:56
MP3's are perfectly fine. The human ear cannot discern the difference in audio fidelity between a V0 MP3 and a FLAC file or vinyl. If anything, the physical oddities present in vinyl and the plaback therof make it less faithful to the original source.
Sorry, pet peeve.
no need to be sorry - to each his own
personally, I can't stand the compression; it's not the lack of high/low data, but what gets left out of the middle, particularly dynamics and attacks/decays. do cymbal shots sound like stick striking a cymbal, or is it a sound like escaping steam? most redbook CD's don't even get it right, due to limitted sampling
that said, I agree you can't tell on many recordings and most sound systens
bean_counter
10-23-2007, 19:59
However, you can eat a vinyl record but not an MP3. You can also SMASH a vinyl record over the head of a random passerby but not an MP3. These facts are often overlooked by the "everything must be digital" crowd.
don't forget skeet
sweathog
10-29-2007, 14:58
I think this was great. Letting the PJs have a bit of fun. Letting anybody have a bit of fun. That is what photography should be about. Enjoyment. Fun. So it isn't 'serious' photography? It isn't somebody dying of exposure in a street somewhere, it isn't a political figure announcing an impending war? So what?
Yes, I too dislike the concept behind, and the general actions of, the Cult Of Lomo. That being said, I do not disagree with letting people have fun with affordable cameras. We can't all afford Leicas.
If you are good at your job, then you shouldn't be worrying. And if the worst happens, then go out with a Holga, make a book, and sell it to Lomo.
boobbbers
11-02-2007, 16:56
I think most of us here occasionaly enjoy the lo-fi pictures that would be considered today as LOMO. I enjoy them too, but the main thing i really dont admire is the idea of the Lomographic Society sales pitch. I found this surfing the web, Im sure some of you folks have seen this, but feel he put my thought into comprehensible english.
http://cameras.alfredklomp.com/lomography/
amateriat
11-02-2007, 19:35
If a newspaper company cant see the difference between a crappy photograph taken by someone with no photographic skill and a photojournalist who has photos with impact, then obviously there is something wrong with the paper.
I would suggest you change employers, because if someone cant see the value of good photography then most likely you are not being paid enough anyway. In my town (NYC), I'd say that, other than the New York Times, all the local papers couldn't care less about photographic quality/impact/etc., even as they pass over their staff shooters in favor over the even more bland wire-service stuff. I think there's a lot worng with the papers here (particularly the New York Post, but in the name of decorum I won't go there), but as far as photography goes the scene has been rather depressing for quite some time. And jumping ship from one paper to another (unless you're making a jump to the Times, of course, in which case you'd have to be damned good) won't make a dime's difference; most of them treat photographers like digital paper-hangers, no more, no less.
I liked a number of the Holga photos at the DP. Yes, there were clinkers, but the average was pretty damn good compared to what I see every day on the newsstands.
- Barrett
amateriat
11-02-2007, 19:55
MP3's are perfectly fine. The human ear cannot discern the difference in audio fidelity between a V0 MP3 and a FLAC file or vinyl. If anything, the physical oddities present in vinyl and the plaback therof make it less faithful to the original source.
Sorry, pet peeve. Having both worked on live recordings and worked with various grades of audio gear (high- and low-end), I have to seriously disagree with you on that one. There's a difference that doesn't require a golden ear to discern (a tin ear is another matter). Whether someone cares at all about the difference, large or small, is another matter altogether. Most don't. MP3 might be the best thing a lot of people have ever heard. Then, too, a color Xerox pinned to someone's bulltin board may be a perfect photographic representation of a person or event, at least from a distance.
- Barrett
IGMeanwell
11-02-2007, 23:53
Having both worked on live recordings and worked with various grades of audio gear (high- and low-end), I have to seriously disagree with you on that one. There's a difference that doesn't require a golden ear to discern (a tin ear is another matter). Whether someone cares at all about the difference, large or small, is another matter altogether. Most don't. MP3 might be the best thing a lot of people have ever heard. Then, too, a color Xerox pinned to someone's bulltin board may be a perfect photographic representation of a person or event, at least from a distance.
- Barrett
OK stream of consciousness post
Once again just like cameras, its about what your preference is ... When I was in college, there was a high end Stereo dealer across commonwealth ave and one day I went in bought a pair of Grado SR60s for my walk around Campus headphones, the owners would allow me to listen to all the high end audio equipment, brand-new (then) SACD, Vinyl, DVD-Audio, on Legacy Speakers or B&W speakers, even the Wilson Audio Pups made an appearance ... I would go back to my dorm where I had an old Sony 2-channel amp hooked to my laptop, a old turn table, to a pair of aging Advent "Small" Speakers (small was just the name, they were actually big by today's standards). I would listen to my CDs, Vinyl, MP3s and I could always tell the difference
Now, I usually do my listening in the car and at work via my Sansa MP3 player with Rhapsody files (which are even more compressed than MP3s), I can tell the difference but they sound pretty darn good even on my Grado headphones or my Tivoli PAL at work. Do they sound like a Electrostatic speakers attached to Monoblocks on high weight vinyl spinning on a Sota turntable? Absolutely not ... but does it allow me to enjoy my music everywhere I would like to be with litteraly thousands of titles, genres, and albums at my disposle? Hell yeah
And yet I still do take my weekends to spin one of my various favorite jazz albums, on my old turntable (with Grado Black cartridge), hooked to my wharfedale towers (I won these in a contest, lucky me), and enjoy what sounds like Art Blakey banging his drums in my own living quarters.
I can Appreciate it, but I can appreciate the decent quality of sound that comes out of my little Sansa player as well.
Same thing when it comes to the difference between a Holga and a Hasselblad
I can appreciate both as they have qualities the others don't ... I can still appreciate the pictures I took in highschool with my Kodak APS camera despite their low quality and my obvious point and shoot nature (didn't have a huge interest in photography as I do now), then I can appreciate the real keepers I can get now with more sophisticated/perhaps better equipment.
Sometimes you can enjoy both a movie like American Pie and a Masterpiece like Godfather.... sometimes you don't want to see either
I don't think anyone needs to sit any determine the validity of the existence of one over the other.
whew ... that was long
it is sad that people here on rff have such a rigid way of thinking. i dont have anything against cell phone cameras, mp3s, and stuff like that. those things should available for everyone. it would be a sad world if only people who have leicas can go into photography - that would exclude millions of people who dont have money even for a leica lens cap.
I don't understand - why are all these people in the toy camera forums bashing toy cameras? Did they come here looking to start a fight? It's a toy camera forum, if you hate toy cameras why bother reading it? You don't see people who prefer SLRs coming on this site and bashing rangefinders. I just don't get it.
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