Holga 135BC Arista EDU Ultra 400 ISO 35mm x 36 ex. Arista EDU Ultra VC RC Gloss 8x10
This was my very first time using a Holga camera. The museum in my city was hosting a watch party for the solar eclipse, so I took my camera with me with the goal of getting a shot of a group of people staring at the eclipse with their eclipse glasses on. I wanted an image that gave a dystopian, sci-fi, "what are they looking at" sort of feel. Right at the time when the sun was almost completely covered I shuffled next to this group and grabbed this shot. After developing the film I was thrilled with how it turned out. The people emerging from the deep black, the highlights on the faces, and the one person in the very center that you want to make eye contact with. This was my one and only shot of this composition and I couldn't be more thrilled with how it turned out.
I used photoshop to remove some dust that was on the negative, but otherwise this is straight out of camera
I like that the one person is looking in a different direction.
In harmony with the dystopian theme, it gives an "everyone else is fooled but I'm not vibe".
Thank you! Initially I was disappointed that everyone wasn't looking up because in my vision of this photo everyone was looking up!
Then another photographer mentioned that that's the one person that the viewer is desperate to make eye contact with which adds some cool discomfort/drama, so now I like it!