[Leica] A moment at Mac World Expo

[wooderson at gmail.com (Matt Powell)]

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 00:25:01 -0500, Kenneth Frazier <kennybod@mac.com> wrote:
> Not long ago in Boston, at a large art supply store, I discovered that
> the Holga and it's sibling Lomo Colorsplash are now THE hottest item for
> a certain age group--college age art students.  There was a large
> display set up near one of the checkouts.  I had never seen them and
> spent some time playing with one, and asked the sales assistant about
> it.  She explained that they were selling like hotcakes.  I gather that
> these cameras are designed to produce special "artsy" effects straight
> out of the box.
> 
> Then, one of my daughters put it on her Christmas wish list!

Designed isn't quite the word for it. It's a product of cheap
construction and design (and the plastic lens), but for $15-20 they're
not bad cameras. I enjoy the process of modifying them (you've got to
do some work before they're ready to shoot, flocking the interior and
closing up light leaks) and every other one produces good negatives
when used properly.

For art students a very cheap method to approximate the antiquarian
look (ala Sally Mann) or certain ways you can get 4x5 to look. At the
same time, it could be a very useful piece of equipment (for amateurs)
if you're shooting somewhere where it's likely that your equipment
could be broken, stolen or lost (NYC protests, for instance).

-- 
MP
wooderson@gmail.com