JPG

The best thing about shooting with a Holga is that you never know what you are going to get. Unfortunately that also includes uncertainty about the settings on your camera.

Allow me to explain.

I was driving home from work on the hottest day of summer when, stopped at a red light, I noticed a large group of kids splashing around in the stream of a busted fire hydrant at the end of a small side street. I took a quick right and decided to check it out. It was a classic scene in itself, but as I slowly approached, I made eye contact with one particularly mischievous looking child standing by a large plastic bucket full of water. We both knew it was on! He reached for the bucket, and I reached for the camera in the passenger seat as fast as I could. There was no time to frame so I kept driving slowly forward as the child smiled and hurled a huge wave of water at my window! As I drove away I could see all kinds of laughing, dancing, and high-fiving in the rear view. I knew it could be a great shot, but when I looked down at my Holga my heart sank. The oddly placed B/N switch had set itself (yes, this switch is known to switch itself with the slightest jostling) from N to B - or Bulb. This setting might as well stand for Blur. I knew this shot, that would normally (N) shoot at ~100th/sec shutter speed, was probably taken at a blurry 1/2 sec.

Sure enough, the scene is now just a blurry memory, and I have learned my lesson: Tape your Holga N/B slider tight!