Yes, this is a pitch for my latest issue of Monochrome Mania! First of all, when I started Monochrome Mania in 2020, I had no idea that I would be publishing a 12th issue just a few years later. Yes, for me, it's my creative outlet, and more importantly, I'm able to reach many more people with a zine than with a gallery showing.
Twenty Years of Holgas actually started in about 2001, when I got my first Holga. But, it really was not until 2003 that I was using one to create memorable images. I don't care what camera that you use, but it takes some time before you are really proficient with it. With a Holga, that means accepting its limitations, but also knowing when you can push it beyond the "snapshot" with technique, choice of film, and subject choice.
In preparing this issue, I reviewed many hundreds of negatives from my Holgas. Luckily, I had almost all of them scanned in previously when I was working on the medium format toy cameras for MM No. 3, which is now out of print. Still, reducing 20+ years of photos down to less than 50 images is a feat. It's not like I have shot with a Holga every day every year, either. I was most prolific with the Holga between 2007-2010, and there are a few years that I hardly shot with it. Nevertheless, the Holga is still a camera that gives me wonderful results in certain situations, and I continue to use it. Could this be a prelude to a larger work? Maybe. I still have many stories to tell with toy cameras, and the Holga hasn't been the only instrument for that.
Here are a few samples from this latest issue.
This looks really interesting. Could you offer your ‘zines as (paid) pdf downloads for those of us outside the US please. A special offer of all 12 issues would be great.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of the zine is to be a tangible good, so a pdf would not be in that vein.
ReplyDeleteFair enough, but it does seem a bit of a shame to deny everyone outside the US access to your images and ideas.
ReplyDelete