Di Margherita Marchioni
"Girl on a beach"
All the photos are property of Fitzhughfella
Il secondo fotografo di Flickr che vi presento è inglese, si chiama Duncan Holley, ma il suo nickname è "FITZHUGHFELLA". Quello che mi ha colpito dei suoi scatti è la grande varietà di mezzi usati e di risultati ottenuti. Si serve solo di macchine fotografiche a basso profilo, poco costose e spesso di plastica. Gli effetti che riesce ad ottenere sono sbalorditivi e i suoi colori sembrano riportare in vita gli anni '50 nel mondo contemporaneo. Lo abbiamo intervistato e ci ha spiegato un po' di cose sulla sua passione per la fotografia e sulle tecniche che usa. (Per il momento è disponibile solo l'intervista in inglese, durante il weekend spero di riuscire a tradurla e ad inserirla anche in italiano)
Visitate il suo portfolio su Flickr!
Visit his Flickr portfolio!
"Blowin' the blues underground"
1) Why only Lo fi plastic film cameras for you? what's special about them? and how many do you have? (Perché usi solo macchine fotografiche poco costose e di plastica? Che cosa hanno di speciale? Quante ne hai?)
I have always been keen on photography since the 70s and maintained that interest into the digital age when I bought an expensive digital SLR. Around that time I joined Flickr but I soon found I was bored with producing the same old stuff and lacked direction. Then I stumbled across a photo on someone's stream which blew me away - it was a blurry rain shot taken with something called a LC-A. I asked the person who took the photograph (a girl living in Brooklyn, New York) about her work (which was superb) and she recommended I get a Holga and a LC-A which I did. Within a few weeks I had discovered the world of toy cameras and I sold my digital DSLR and all the lenses even though they were only a few months old.
I had never used 120 film before and at first I found the light leaks and all the other peculiarities a bit offputting but soon grew to love the randomness as well as the quality of 120 film. I am always on the look out for different aspects of toy cameras and once I see a picture I like on Flickr I check out which camera took it and then I try and get hold of a similar camera and try and "get the same look". The last camera I bought is an Agfa Clack a( 6x9) toy camera made in Germany from the 60s. I have quite a few Holgas including a Holga pinhole and one that does 35mm sprockets. A couple of Dianas, a Brownie Hawkeye Flash with the lens reversed to give a blurry effect, a Horizon 202 which does 35mm panoramas and a Lubitel 166B in which I use Agfa slide film and then cross-process.
I also have some polaroid cameras, a Daylab and a Vivitar slide printer which I use for transfers (see below). I am running out of space. If I had to recommend one camera for someone new to Toy Cameras or Lo Fi work it would be the Holga without a doubt.
I had never used 120 film before and at first I found the light leaks and all the other peculiarities a bit offputting but soon grew to love the randomness as well as the quality of 120 film. I am always on the look out for different aspects of toy cameras and once I see a picture I like on Flickr I check out which camera took it and then I try and get hold of a similar camera and try and "get the same look". The last camera I bought is an Agfa Clack a( 6x9) toy camera made in Germany from the 60s. I have quite a few Holgas including a Holga pinhole and one that does 35mm sprockets. A couple of Dianas, a Brownie Hawkeye Flash with the lens reversed to give a blurry effect, a Horizon 202 which does 35mm panoramas and a Lubitel 166B in which I use Agfa slide film and then cross-process.
I also have some polaroid cameras, a Daylab and a Vivitar slide printer which I use for transfers (see below). I am running out of space. If I had to recommend one camera for someone new to Toy Cameras or Lo Fi work it would be the Holga without a doubt.
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"Calshot Spit tugboat"
2) How long have you been photographing? What are your main inspirations? (Da quanto tempo fai fotografie? Quali sono le tue maggiori fonti d'ispirazione?)
I started as a boy in the 60s with a Kodak Instamatic and never lost interest although I would say I am as keen now as I ever was - mainly because I discovered medium format film and cheap cameras. There is nothing like scanning your negatives and suddenly seeing your work pop up onto your computer screen. You don't get that with digital. Toy cameras take photography back to basics - so many people I know have really expensive digital cameras which they hardly use - I think photography has been cheapened a little by it being so easy to point and shoot without thinking.
My inspirations? No one famous really. There are quite a few on Flickr who have taught me so much. Many live in the States where I think (film) photography education is taken much more seriously. The Holga became famous via the colleges in the States and out there toy photography is treated as an art form in itself.
"I'd like to teach the world to sing"
"Hope Cove"
3) Let's talk about polaroid transfers and your book. Is it difficult to do? how did you get in touch with this process? (Parliamo della tecnica di trasfer delle Polaroid e del tuo libro. E' difficile da fare? Come sei venuto a conoscenza di questa tecnica?)
Again it was through Flickr that I became aware of the process that is called Polaroid Image Transfers but, because I could not at first get hold of a polaroid camera that took peel apart film, I had to buy a day lab (a machine which turns prints into polaroids) and a slide printer (which does the same with slides). At first I thought the process to be awkward but after a few mistakes I soon got the hang of it and enjoy it immensely. It sounds harder to do than it actually is. After the polaroid emerges from the Daylab you just peel apart after 10 seconds - instead of the full 2 minutes - and then press the still developing negative half onto some art paper and let it develop on that. However, it seems the peel apart film is running out now Polaroid have stopped trading so maybe the art will die out but I see some people use Fuji film for transfers but it is more complicated. I still have a few hundred polaroid (669) in my fridge so that will keep me going for a while. The book I did through Blurb - and I just gave it to my family and friends - it has not entered the best sellers yet :)
Again it was through Flickr that I became aware of the process that is called Polaroid Image Transfers but, because I could not at first get hold of a polaroid camera that took peel apart film, I had to buy a day lab (a machine which turns prints into polaroids) and a slide printer (which does the same with slides). At first I thought the process to be awkward but after a few mistakes I soon got the hang of it and enjoy it immensely. It sounds harder to do than it actually is. After the polaroid emerges from the Daylab you just peel apart after 10 seconds - instead of the full 2 minutes - and then press the still developing negative half onto some art paper and let it develop on that. However, it seems the peel apart film is running out now Polaroid have stopped trading so maybe the art will die out but I see some people use Fuji film for transfers but it is more complicated. I still have a few hundred polaroid (669) in my fridge so that will keep me going for a while. The book I did through Blurb - and I just gave it to my family and friends - it has not entered the best sellers yet :)
"Lanterns"
4) You shoot great BW but also great COLOUR photos. Which one do you prefer? Do you use them depending on the subject or on your mood? (Scatti dei magnifici bianco e nero, ma anche foto a colori grandiose. Quale preferisci? Scegli uno dei due a seconda del soggetto o del tuo stato d'animo?)
Thanks for saying so Margherita! Yes is the quick answer to your question. At first with my low fi work I preferred colour because of the cross-processing and colourful lightleaks but again, inspired by people on Flickr, I noticed that b+w shots can be so atmospheric, especially when it is cloudy (which is a lot in the UK). When the weather is sunny I usually reach for a Holga or my Lubitel but, if it is raining, I will use a Diana+, on a B setting, or a special Holga which I keep especially for black and white.
"The Gipsy's Horse"
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