Plastic Fantastic III Show

June 09, 2012 through July 07, 2012

Plastic Fantastic III

Artist reception and exhibit opening, Saturday June 9th from 6-9pm

LightBox appreciates photographic images made with plastic “toy” cameras and established this show to celebrate the gallery’s anniversary every year! LightBox is very honored to have Susan Burnstine as juror once again for the Plastic Fantastic Show.

Congrats to the photographers accepted into the Plastic Fantastic Show III and Thank You to all the photographers who submitted images, we appreciate all of your support and interest. Thank you Susan for curating, this truly is a Fantastic show,

Exhibiting Photographers:

Rich Bergeman • Crista Blackwood • Bonnie Borthwick • Nancy Breslin • Angela Casagrande • Matthew Cetta • Chris Clark
Kendall Davis • Diane Peterson • Amy Fichter • Sara Fields • Bob Gervais • Brian Gliniak • Larry Gloth • Emma Grace • Daniel Grant
Josh Hobson • Arunas Kulikauskas • Ashley Kauschinger • Michael Korol • Kent Krugh • Lena Kaellberg • Ky Lewis • Jessie Luke
Erin Malone • Jeff Mitchell • Gary Moyer • Holly Northrop • Heather Oelklaus • Daniel Polidori • Deon Reynolds • Jim Rohan
Maggie Skiba • Len Speier • Stefanie LePape • Gavin Stenhouse • S Gayle Stevens • Cody Swanson • Stacie Turner • Peter Wiklund

We will show the accepted entries and most of all the image submissions on this Showpage after the opening on June 9th!

MORE INFO HERE http://lightbox-photographic.com/shows/plastic_fantastic_iii

Clowns on Bikes

"Clowns on Bikes"
Shot during last years Clownfest in Seaside Heights NJ. Holgamods camera.

Great Wall Plastic Company

   I already knew that the Greal Wall Plastic Co. was responsible for making the original Diana camera. What I didnt know is the company is still in buisness. Here is an email that I got from them for verification.  Wish they still made them!

Dear Gary,

Yes we are the original design and manufacturing company of Diana plastic camera.

However, we have discontinued the production decades ago.

Best Regards,

King Chu

Sales & Marketing Officer

Great Wall (Optical) Plastic Works Ltd.

Units 1110-1123, 11/F, Trade Square,

681 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Direct Line: (852) 2376-6148

Tel: (852) 2395-5265

Fax: (852) 2789-0727

Web-site: http://www.greatwalloptical.com.hk/en/

This/These message(s) and any attachment(s) is/are not secure and therefore Company does not accept any legal responsibility for the contents of this/these message(s). Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Company unless otherwise specifically stated.

---

To: Greatwall - CMEL
Subject: Diana Camera

I am wondering if you are the original company that made the Diana plastic camera in the 60’s? I would love any info you could provide me. I am a user of these old Diana cameras.

Thanks,

Gary Moyer

Plastic Fantastic III Show

I have the following picture in the upcoming Plastic Fantastic III Show at the Lightbox Photographic Gallery. Show opens on June 9th in Astoria Oregon. Show info will be posted here soon http://lightbox-photographic.com/shows/plastic_fantastic_iii

Little Lady Liberty

"Little Lady Liberty"
Shot on Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day. Holga 120 WPC camera with the 6x12 mask.

World Pinhole Day: Workshop and Photo Walk at B&H Photo NYC

          April 29^th is known around the photography world as Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day  http://www.pinholeday.org/  Anyone, anywhere in the world, who makes a pinhole photograph on the last Sunday in April, can scan it and upload it to this website where it will become part of the annual Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day celebration's online gallery.

          This year, I signed up for a pinhole photo workshop and photo walk at B&H Photo in NYC. The guest speaker and pinhole photography expert was Tom Persinger of F295 fame http://www.f295.org/2012/  The workshop also had a representative from Ilford film who makes the Harman Titan camera http://www.ilfordphoto.com/products/product.asp?n=75   The agenda included a history of pinhole cameras, basic principles, camera types, pinhole photography works by noted photographers, and finished up with some info for the upcoming F295 Symposium http://www.f295.org/2012/

          Tom is definitely a pinhole and alternative photography expert. I found his talk informative and inspiring. One of his quotes from the workshop was during the talk on camera construction. He offered this advice- Once you make your first pinhole camera, any item you look at afterward you wonder if you can make a camera out of it! How true.

          The B&H staff was very helpful also. They had free film from Ilford, numerous cameras to check out, and an Ilford rep that was on hand to demo and answer questions on their newest camera the Haman Titan. The event organizer, Deborah Gilbert kept things running smoothly along with the help of Chris Gampat and Event Space manager David Brommer.

          The talk concluded with everyone preparing their cameras for the photo walk segment of the day. Was a very nice group and even Len Speier was in the house http://www.lenspeier.com/newyork/index.php 

          Next stop was Bryant Park where everyone set up their tripods and started taking pinhole photos. A lot of advice was shared and great tips. There were a lot of cameras available to test out along with some instant films. All in all it was a very informative and rewarding day. I highly recommend checking out some of the photo talks at B&H Event Space. They are free and they offer a whole range of topics. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/EventSpace.jsp

          I thought I would also share this little guide I wrote- Tips for Attending a Photo Seminar.

1.   Silence your cell phone!

2.   Be on time. Arrive at least 15 minutes early to allow getting settled and find a seat.

3.   Bring a notepad. The instructor will give out plenty of info, websites, and names you will want to remember.

4.   Ask permission if you want to record or take photos during the event. Chances are it will be OK, but be courteous.

5.   Do a little research on your presenter prior to the event. Great to be familiar with their work and background.

6.   Be quiet. Save networking with other attendees to before and after the presentation.

7.   Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Just follow the presenter’s protocol. Some will want to wait till the end of a talk so they can get thru their material. Others will answer on the fly.

8.   Make sure you read if there are any special instructions on your reservation. I.e. - bring film, tripod, etc.

9.   If you can’t make your reservation, please cancel to allow somebody else the opportunity to sit in.

10. If your event includes a photo walk, dress accordingly and bring all of your equipment that you may need.

11. Bring along a business card or even something less formal to exchange with other guests. Great time for networking.

12.  Be sure to thank your presenter. He has taken his time to share some great insight and info for you.

      Lastly, don’t forget to fill out a comments card if available. This helps for future talks.

Naples Florida

"Naples, Fl.- Holga"
SHots taken with a Holga 120 CFN model. Shot on expired Kodak Portra and some Fuji NPH400 films.

T-Rex Revisited

"T-Rex Revisited"
One of my favorite statues at Seaside Heights boardwalk. SHot this time with a flipped lens Brownie Hawkeye camera. 

Flipped Lens Brownie- Seaside Heights-III

"Flipped Lens Brownie"
Another installment of the Brownie Hawkeye camera.

Flipped Lens Brownie- Seaside Heights II

"Flipped Lens Brownie"
More pics taken with the flipped lens Brownie Hawkeye camera.

Flipped Lens Brownie- Seaside Heights

"Seaside Heights"
More flipped lens Brownie Hawkeye action at Seaside Heights NJ.

Brownie Clownie

"Brownie Clownie"
Flipped lens Brownie Hawkeye camera. Ilford XP2 Super 400 film.

Naples- Holga

"Naples-Holga"
From a recent trip to Naples Florida. This is what happens when you use the square Holga mask and set the film selector switch to 16. I did not do it on purpose, but this makes for a fun triptych. Shot on some expired color film.

Flipped Lens Brownie Hawkeye- Part 3

"Brownie Hawkeye-Part 3"
More from the flipped lens Brownie Hawkeye camera.

Flipped Lens Brownie Hawkeye Part 2

" Brownie Hawkeye"
Some more images shot with a flipped lens Brownie Hawkeye camera. I also used a No. 13 Kodak Portrait lens on the last shot.

Flipped Lens Brownie Hawkeye

"Flipped Lens Brownie Hawkeye"
A few test shots with my newly modified Hawkeye camera. Added some Zebra color and flipped the lens to get the blurred effect. Here is a link on how to flip your own lens- http://blog.expiredfilm.com/2010/03/10/how-to-flip-a-brownie-hawkeye-flash-lens/ If you would like to buy your own customized Brownie, Randy from Holga Mods does some very sweet mods- http://www.hawkeyemods.com/

Plastic Fantastic Workshop March 11, 2012

"Plastic Fantastic"
I will be giving an introduction to Plastic Cameras at B&H Photo NYC on March 11. Seats are limited so please sign up at  http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/eventDetails.jsp/id/1184

Holga 120 Pan Review

Holga 120 Pan (Panoramic)

Manufacturer: Universal Electronics Industries
Date: 2010
Format: 120 film
Price: $89.99 US
Summary: Plastic wide angle panoramic camera

Technical Details:
 Close to 180° view angle
 90mm Lens
 6x12 sized negs
 Plastic build

Attributes:
 Subtle vignette and edge blur
 Wide angle view
 Big negatives

Field Notes:
  The Holga factory continues to keep churning out plastic goodies and this one is super. Super wide that is! The Holga 120 pan camera boasts an incredible almost 180° view. Following along the lines of their 120 WPC pinhole camera, this model adds a shutter and lens assembly to the mix. The camera features a pretty decent viewfinder, dual hot shoes, and a tripod mount. It has your typical Holga zone focusing and usual cloudy/sunny aperture switch. A nice touch is a spirit (bubble) level that allows you to make sure your camera is level when using a tripod. The camera back suggests ISO 400 speed film for best effects but the manual does say 100 speed is OK with sunny days. Just remember your fixed shutter speed is about 1/100 second unless of course using the bulb shutter mode. Loading your film is just like any 120 Holga camera. Make sure you leave the film selector switch on the camera back set at 12. When advancing your film after each shot, you have to advance to an odd number. This will keep your exposures from overlapping due to its panoramic format. Shooting with the 120 Pan was fun. It really is like any other Holga except for the fact of its size. You need to make sure you hold its larger body steady when hand holding. If you decide to use a tripod, they do recommend the Holga Shutter Release Set (SRS-120). For this test I loaded the camera with some expired Fuji NPS 160. The results were favorable to my lighting conditions at the time, but in the future I would probably use 400 speed film as I do most of the time with Holgas. Since your shooting panos, remember you only get 6 pictures with a roll of 120 film. The format is 6x12 and that makes for some great sized negs! If your into wide pano style photography, then I would definitely recommend getting one. Cant wait to get this baby down to the shore! I bought this unit from the good people at  http://www.holgadirect.com/

Nativity Scene

"Nativity Scene"
Shot with the Great Wall DF2 camera.

Happy Holidays