Silly - sil·ly /ˈsilē/ - having or showing a lack of common sense or judgment; absurd and foolish. I took some time to think about this word in relationship to the Holga. Someone asked me first, what was a Holga camera, and when I gave them a brief but accurate definition, their follow up reply was "sounds silly."
I briefly thought, oh, this one is a troll. Then I thought, well, maybe not because I've experienced the eye rolls and I have often read most people's opinions dismissing and dissing toy cameras. They are either silly, crappy or dumb. If this were a tool that was supposed to change the world then OK, maybe. On the other hand it was originally created to give everyone, the middle class and the poor an economical tool to take pictures with. Now on second thought it might very well have changed the world; a little.
I love beautiful images. I drool over Citizen Kane and The Ten Commandments, and I adore Gone With the Wind (Scarlett is the best screen bitch ever). And more recently The Killing Fields, Elizabeth and The Dark Knight. All of these films have beautiful imagery and iconic photography.
Now if one was to compare the images produced in the 1930s to images produced 80 years later they absolutely stand up. Technologies has changed enormously during this time frame and yet it has had little effect on true photographic excellence; the creative not the equipment. Photography isn't and has never been about the "equipment." This is an art form that uses light and time in a box; a $35 Holga or a $6K Leica.
Good photography, and this too is subjective is the creative behind the box controlling the light, the time and selecting the subject. It isn't the box or what it's made out of or the cost associated with it. In a world where everyone tries to be cool, hip or in, I like silly. I laugh a lot and I dance a lot; privately, but to my own tune. I do my own thing. S I L L Y.
