Holga is basically a toy camera which was originally designed for those who couldn't or didn't want to use an advanced camera such as a DSLR. It's primarily plastic and very simple to use. It has one shutter speed and one aperture. 

I think I've been assigned this project as a way to actually enhance and use whatever photography skills i currently have. This is not a fancy camera with a lot of technical things applied to it. It will however be a challenge because of the fact that it doesn't have many of the features that many other advanced cameras have. So this project will require a lot of testing and focus to get the best possible outcome.

The Holga Camera is a very simple and easy camera to use. It has very few controls in which the user can mess with or try and adjust. The camera has one shutter speed and one aperture. It also has a very simple focusing system. However, everything is left up to the photographer to make sure that the image comes out as clear and as high quality as possible. 

The thing that makes Holga unique is it's simplicity. It gives the photographer very little control over anything really so the photo quality relies all on the person with the camera. Most camera's like DSLR's and bridge camera's give photographers more things to work with which means that photographers put less attention into the photo and more into the complexity of the photo. It's truthfully a more fun camera to use just because of the fact that the user does not have to worry about every detail in the photo and they can just go out and shoot photos.

The Holga camera comes with a very cool feature as well. It has a tray that crops the image on the film and adds a cool vignette to the photo naturally. 

Because Holga has the uniqueness of the simplicity, it's easier to shoot photos. The only issue is, because Holga camera's only have two options for shutter speed it'd be difficult to shoot at night or in darker areas. In this case I'm going to have to shoot during the day or when there is plenty of light for me to. 

-A photo I have an idea of is flowers in the sunlight. The Holga camera comes with a vignette effect which would allow for more emphasis on the flower. 

-A photo I have an idea of is a panning shot. The Holga camera comes with a bulb option which allows for me to increase my exposure time and that will allow for me to create the panning photo.

-A photo I have an idea of is possibly a light trail. The Holga camera requires a lot of light because of the lack of options for light control. However, with the bulb option, I can increase the shutter speed to a couple of seconds and try and create the light trail in the night. 

+After a first roll of film, my photos came out black. They were underexposed. The majority of the photos were taken indoors or in the evening using the bulb option. However, the increased exposure was clearly not enough time and so the film came out black.

+After a second roll of film, I was more experienced. I shot all my photos in the day time, and in places where the sun could shine. 

+The two photos that I chose best represent my use of sunlight. They also have clear detail in what the focus of the photo is.  

+After asking peers of their opinion on my photo of rocks, they told me that their attention goes elsewhere. My goal was for the rocks, however that doe not seem to be the situation. A solution would have been to adjust my position since the Holga cameras do not have a focus mechanism. 

+After asking peers of their opinion on my photo of a girl looking at a tree, they told me that the primary focus is good, but the background is bland and boring. Pictures of garages are not as interesting and they take away from the photo. A solution would have been to just shoot elsewhere. There are plenty of trees in Colorado with better landscapes to shoot in front of. 

Successes:

+For the "Girl" photo, I thought that the photo came out almost the way I wanted it to. I have a focus and clarity, and the exposure is how I wanted it to be.

+For the "Rock" photo, I thought that the photo had great clarity and focus on the rocks. The light also puts a lot of emphasis on the rocks.

-For the "Girl" photo, I thought that the background was definitely a loss. It is very boring and plain and it takes a lot away from the photo. 

-For the "Rock" photo, I thought that the photo had too many distractions which takes away from the focus. Leaves come into the photo all over the place and cause it to be a weaker photo.

After shooting two rolls of film with a Holga camera I learned a lot. Since the camera is so simple, it really doesn't let the photographer do what he/she wants. Using a Holga camera just takes a lot of patience and use. The more you use it, the easier it is to control shutter speed and focus.