I’ve been shooting paper negatives for the last few weeks and having a lot of fun doing it.

A paper negative is Ilford photographic paper as the camera’s film. That’s right, the same stuff used to make enlargements from Black & White film negatives. I’m currently using Ilford MGIV Multigrade IV RC De Luxe paper.

@JonWilkening @ILFORDPhoto My shots came out as paper negatives. I reversed them in Photoshop. This is what I got http://t.co/vIZqH4HzYi

— Mr. Holga, filmtographer (@MrHolga) March 23, 2015

The photo paper creates a negative photo of whatever is projected on it. So, everything I shoot and develop comes out as a paper negative. The image is inverted from black to white and left to right. Both of these issues can be corrected in Photoshop once the negative is scanned.

I shoot paper negatives with my Speed Graphic and pinhole cameras. Both cameras use 4×5 inch film holders. Each holder stores two 4×5 paper negatives until they are ready for exposure.

#papernegatives #papernegative #paperfilm @ILFORDPhoto #SpeedGraphic #pinhole pic.twitter.com/JVpA44ZE5D

— Mr. Holga, filmtographer (@MrHolga) March 30, 2015

Why Shoot Paper Negatives

I’m shooting paper negatives for several reasons including time, cost, convenience, experience and entertainment.

I’m saving time and money with paper negatives by omitting the film negative: film cost, development cost and development time. Each 4×5 film negative is about $1 per shot, which does not include developing chemicals. Development time for six film negatives takes about 30 plus minutes to load, process and dry.

In contrast, Ilford paper is about $1 per 8×10 inch sheet, which gives me four 4×5 paper negatives for a quarter a piece, and each negative can be developed in 3 minutes. That’s ten or more paper negatives in the same time as six film negatives.

Convenience is my reason for using photographic paper in my 4×5 cameras. Photo paper can be handled under a red safe light, allowing for ease of cutting and loading the film holders. Loading film holders for the first time in the dark is a nerve racking enterprise.

The benefit is experience. The ability to quickly load, shoot and process paper negatives gives me more time to use my large format photo equipment. My Speed Graphic sat idle for many years until I started shooting on photo paper. My messenger bag is currently filled with either my Speed Graphic or pinhole cameras and all the film holders it can carry. A notebook for shot records is the only thing missing.

I’m also practicing my pinhole on paper technique for the Dallas Photo Walk Worldwide Pinhole at The Museum of the American Railroad on Saturday, April 25, 2015. I’m hoping to capture the old iron with a well exposed paper negative.

I think this is pretty sharp coming from an @IlfordPhoto paper negative. House Portrait https://t.co/K5xqXfF2L8

— Mr. Holga, filmtographer (@MrHolga) March 23, 2015

Lastly, I’m doing this for the entertainment. I have 35 plus 4×5 paper negatives on my desk. I really enjoy picking up the stack and thumbing through the photos. It’s wonderful to hold photographs in your hand. We are missing this in the digital age: holding a memory in your hands.

Shooting with Paper

Shooting with Ilford photographic paper is slow. The ISO of the paper is estimated to be ISO 3-4. Compared to my normal film negative of ISO 100, this is a near stand still.

Using my f-208 pinhole camera on a bright, sunny day takes about 20 seconds for one shot. Cloudy days will take minutes. Be prepared to slow down your photographic process, if you intend to create paper negatives.

It's overcast and my pinhole shot on #ilfordpaper will take over ten minutes to capture. #Ilford… https://t.co/gWyq1CtwWL

— Mr. Holga, filmtographer (@MrHolga) April 1, 2015

Negative to Positive

There are a couple of things I am still looking into. The first being positive paper. Ilford was distributing Harman Direct Positive Paper until Harman went bankrupt. With all the reasons I have given above, I hope Ilford sees a great need to redevelop this product as soon as possible. Analog photography would go through the roof using large format and pinhole cameras again with positive paper.

Since I can’t wait for innovation, I’ve read about a process of creating a paper positive from a paper negative. It involves putting the paper negative over a new sheet of photo paper and them exposing both images with light. The details state that both sheets should be emulsion side together. Exposure time is about 20 seconds. I will be trying this really soon. Until then, I’ll just scan and invert. Cheers.

I decided my next Death by Holga book project will be a collection of portraits. I will start by taking selfies and photographs of my family. From there I will move to photographers*, friends and co-workers. My end goal will be to entice local and national celebrities to sit for a photo shoot.

Why Death by Holga?

My passion for photography lies with the use of Holga cameras and film. So I will continue to do most, if not all, photographs using a Holga camera. But that will not be the limit to my creativity. I will use many different cameras in my collection including the following:

• Rolleicord V
• Baby Speed Graphic
• NEW Intrepid 4×5 Camera
• Polaroid SX-70
• Kodak Six-20

I’m not looking to take snap shots. I plan on making each sitting a real photo shoot with good lighting and a little patience. Maybe I’ll get an interesting story out of my sitter that would make for nice reading in the book.

Photography and Printmaking

Photography will not be the only art form in Death by Holga: Portraits. I will create several block prints and etchings. Most of these will be from the photographs I take, but some will be collections of celebrities for my Dearly Departed series, a who’s who of celebrities who died in a particular year. And I may not limit my portraits to people. I might photograph a few places and things, so long as they feel like a portrait.

A secondary goal of this book project will be a gallery exhibition. I plan on creating real darkroom enlargements of all the photographs in the book.

Celebrities

I am just now starting my list of local and national celebrities that I would like to photograph. I hope the creative works displayed on this site and others will green light some opportunities. I would love to photograph any of the following:

• George Bush, former President of the United States
• Laura Bush, former First Lady
• Mike Rawlings, Dallas mayor
• Susan Hawk, Dallas district attorney
• John Wiley Price, Dallas county commissioner
• Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owner
• Troy Aikman, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback
• Roger Staubach, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback
• John McCaa, WFAA Channel 8 news Anchor
• Cynthia Izaguirre, WFAA Channel 8 news anchor
• Bo Roberts and Jim White, Lone Star 92.5 deejays
• Paula Poundstone, comedian
• Willy Nelson, singer
• Kinky Friedman, author
• ZZ Top, band
• Chuck Norris, actor

The above is a wish list. Who I will be able to get is anybody’s guess. If you know anyone on my wish list and get me a contact, I would greatly appreciate the connection.

Publication and Exhibition

Death by Holga: Portraits will be published in 2016 by Dallas Art Press. My goal is to have a gallery showing of the works on display at the same time.

Stay tuned.

* Yes, photographers are closer than friends. These people eat, sleep and breath photography. They share the same passion. They own the same equipment. Photographers are family.

I was reviewing some photos to post for Holga Week when I ran into this lovely shot of my darling wife and show* daughter at Beavers Bend State Park, Oklahoma. This image has all the qualities of a wonderful Holga photograph. It has sweet-spot focus, a blurry background, vignetting around the edges and a double exposure in the bottom right corner.

This was taken on my oldest Holga camera. I can tell because of the double exposure in the bottom right corner. It’s not always this pronounced unless the subject is moving faster than the shutter. The double exposure gives movement to an otherwise still photograph.

I say my Holga cameras are both near and far sighted. I’m luck to get anything in focus. In the photo my daughters face is sharp while her hand is not. I doubt my Nikon would ever product a nicer shot.

Beavers Bend

The photo was taken at Beavers Bend State Park near Broken Bow Lake, Oklahoma in 2013. This is the south east corner of the state. The state park has a small resort area with many cabins, camping sights and a state run hotel. There is a winding river which has really calm water for a family canoe ride. We did the same river three times during our state. We stopped to eat lunch and wade in the shallow river.

* I have three daughters. I list them in order: win, place and show.

A long time ago in at a Comic Con not so far away … I had the grand opportunity to meet and photograph Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Chewbacca in all the Star Wars movies. Mr. Mayhew taught me a very valuable lesson that every photographer should know: always ask before you take someone’s photograph.

I first met Mayhew at the Sci-Fi Expo at the Plano Convention Center in Plano, Texas in October 2005. I had gotten into film photography about a year earlier. My primary camera was a medium format Rolleicord V. This was before I fell head-over-heels in love with Holga cameras. I was lucky to get any good shots at the time. My Rollie required lots of measuring, setting, focusing and a steady hand, so I relied a lot on a tripod for shots.

Before I actually talked to Mayhew at the signing table, I had set up my Rolleicord on its tripod and set the aperture and shutter speed. All that was left was a little focusing and a press of a button.

Now, if you have never met Peter Mayhew, or you are not familiar with Chewbacca from Star Wars, let me say he has a grandiose presence. Mayhew stands 7 ft. 3 in. (2.21 m.) tall. He has a dark, bushy mane of hair, a strong jaw line, long arms and large hands. In one word: intimidating.

As I was about to trigger the shutter, Mayhew leans forward and says, “What … are … you … doing?” He clinched his hands, raised his arms and put a stern look on his face.

In hind sight, I would ask the very same question. Here was a stranger (me) setting up some type of camera (which had not been used in nearly 40 years) on a tripod. In short, what the heck was I doing.

Click.

Yep, I took the photograph anyway. And not only can you see Mayhew’s angry look in the photograph, you can also see the unfriendly expression on the face of Mrs. Mayhew in the background.

After the photograph, I did apologize. I explained what type of camera I was using. I said I was a big fan. I used to be a lot smaller fan (in 1977). I was able to take another photograph, but it was not nearly as dramatic.

In 2006, Peter Mayhew was back again for the Sci-Fi Expo at the same convention center. I though this would be a good time to apologize again for my behavior the previous year. I took the angry photograph with me to explain. We all looked at the photograph and had a nice laugh.

Mayhew has kind enough to take another photograph for me. So, I set up my Rolleicord for another shot. I measured the lighting, set the aperture and shutter speed. Mayhew leans in with the biggest smile I have ever seen and says, “How is this?”

Click.

The shot was perfect. It remains one of my top Rolleicord photographs. I could not have asked for a better model that day.

Later, I remembered that Mayhew had kept the angry photograph. I had not given it to him, but apparently he had tucked it away during our discussion. I have mused about that angry photograph for years.

Fast forward to last year. Mayhew was visiting a patient at the hospital where my wife works. She texts me asking if I know Peter Mayhew. Why, yes I do. I have photographed him twice. I sent her the photographs. I said he is very nice and she should talk to him. My darling wife (bless her heart) is not a Star Wars fan, and she is always very busy at work, but she did eventually talk to Mayhew and show him my photographs. She said he liked them and would like a copy. I later said that was very kind of him to say. I was sure he says that to all Star Wars fans.

Cut to yesterday at the Sci-Fi Expo at the Irving Convention Center in Irving, Texas. I like getting autographs of my favorite Star Wars actors, but I especially like getting their signature on my photographs of them, which usually means meeting them twice. I printed off two 8 x 10 in. photographs of my favorite Mayhew, put them in a protective sleeve and headed out to the convention.

Peter Mayhew was just as nice, if not a little older (aren’t we all), than when I first met him. There wasn’t much time to chat, which I would have liked, but I did manage to get his autograph on my favorite photograph and I gave Mayhew the extra copy, which he quickly tucked away.

Another lesson to learn: stamp your information (name, website, etc.) on the back of your photographic prints. I gave Mayhew the photograph, but I never gave him my name or even a business card.

Earlier in the day, I had tweeted about the Sci-Fi Expo and included Mayhew’s Twitter handle (@TheWookieeRoars). To my surprise he started following me (@MrHolga). I even got a DM from his account saying his wife wanted to talk to me about my photographs. It’s never good when someone’s wife wants to talk to you about your photographs. I hope she is alright with them. I’ll let you know. Cheers.

Here's Peter Mayhew @TheWookieeRoars by @MrHolga. Taken with a Rolleicord on Kodak film in 2006. pic.twitter.com/tsrqYwrPu8

— Dallas Art News (@DallasArtNews) February 8, 2014

That’s my photograph under Mayhew’s hands.

Yesterday, I gave Peter Mayhew @TheWookieeRoars a copy of my photo of him. Today, he's following me. Really cool. pic.twitter.com/lUqQYnk9D9

— Mr. Holga, filmtographer (@MrHolga) February 9, 2014

Death by Holga: 11.22.63 can now be purchased through Amazon.com. Get your copy today!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0989885909

Click here to read the full press release on Dallas Art News (www.dallasartnews.com).

I am up to 84% done with the writing for my JFK book. I only have twelve more pages to write. Actually, I have… http://t.co/v6AxIygceD

— Mr. Holga, filmtographer (@MrHolga) September 15, 2013

Tweets by @MrHolga

Just in time for Mother’s Day, I am thinking about mom with a photo that I took of her in 2007. Mom is holding a sign that reserved her parking space on the US Air Force base. Alas, mom did not have any car to drive that day. Just her luck. Love you, mom.

The family and I spent the Labor Day weekend in Galveston, Texas. It was a delightful four day weekend starting on Friday, August 31, 2012. We drove down U.S. Interstate Highway 45 from Dallas to through Houston.

We stopped for a little lunch and art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Click here to see some of my goddess butt images from MFAH on Tumblr.

We stayed at the Galveston Hilton. I splurged on my darling wife and got us the presidential suite. It was a very nice room with king-size bed and living area. Too bad it did not have a microwave.

I spent most of my time with the family at the beach and out to eat. I did sneak away for jogging and a little cemetery photography. I knew better than to go shooting at noon, but that was the only time I could get away. Maybe next time I’ll get some early morning or evening shots.

Galveston Gallery

Click any of the thumbnail images to see a larger version. My film is being developed. These are shots from my Nikon D7000. I did shoot with a variety of Holga cameras including a pinhole model.

[nggallery id=6]