The Crystal Holga - First Public Reactions

Wow. That's really all I can say right now...wow. If you're wondering what I'm "wow"ing about, it's the reactions I've been getting when I've been taking the Crystal Holga out for its first public outings. In a few words, phenomenal, immediate, visceral, amazement, even near-joy. The best example is from yesterday, when I brought the camera up to the rooftop club at the Standard Hotel in Downtown L.A. As soon as I got out of the elevator and pulled the camera out of the bag, the girls started going crazy for it. Over and over, I kept hearing "I love your blinged-out camera!", or "Where can I find this?", or something similar. Not just the girls, either--a lot of guys were pretty impressed as well. I mean, I pretty much knew that I was going to get some sort of positive reaction from people, but I did not expect the strength of it to be this big!




Here's something else that's funny--while the party was going on, there was also this Australian photo crew there shooting some sort of fashion thing. They were using a Phase One medium format digital camera, which as any pro will tell you is an incredibly expensive piece of gear. I was chuckling quietly to myself watching them work, knowing that I would be getting more attention with my $40 camera (pre-bling price) that they would with their $15-$20,000 monster. And you know what? I was right...so many people just gravitated toward the Holga. There were a bunch of girls who asked if they could take pictures of me, them, or both with the camera in them. The fact that people want to be seen with the Crystal Holga is a very cool thing.


I've been getting all sorts of suggestions about where to go with this...like making more of them, for one. I mean, making Crystal Holgas is certainly doable, but it's sooooo labor-intensive. It took me forever to get this first one done, how long would additional models take, even with hired help? There are all sorts of questions that need to be answered...but not tonight, 'cause I'm still trying to adjust to Daylight Savings Time!


Until later, then...the film is at the lab, so I'm of course anxious to see what the proof sheets are gonna look like! Will have more Crystal Holga updates when the events are right for more public unveilings!


p.s. Thanks to Jenny Dann and Lysa Carlson-Oldhams for providing the pictures!