Post-process Holga 120 scans: how much is too much?

Megumi

Megumi

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Last week, I finished my 3rd roll with the Holga 120n after a month.
The film was Ilford XP2 Super and I had it developed and scanned at my local photo lab, so files are low quality: 72x72 resolution with a size of 1074x1074 px.
I have a dedicated 35mm scanner by Plustek, but since I only have the Holga in 6x6, I do not think it would be relevant now for me to buy a flatbed scanner like the Epson.

For the first 2 rolls, I was very satisfied with the basic scans made by the lab, but this time, I thought I should try to work a bit on them.
Here is an example, on the left is the basic scan by the lab, on the right my post processing in Adobe Photoshop (this is the Tower of the Sun at Osaka, Expo 70' Commemorative Park):
Holga.jpg

Putting aside the issues quite common with that kind of plastic camera (I think there is a light leak at the "shutter" level), looking back at what I did with Photoshop (on the right), it does now seem too heavy and quite bad.

In Lightroom, I selected in the Develop Module "Black & White Treatment", so it kind of removed this brownish tint to make it more "black and white".
Then, in Photoshop - Camera raw filter, I adjusted the curve on the highlights and shadows which resulted in darkening the shadows even more. I tried the contrast grading technique that I saw on a video by Martin on the tower only. I also removed the scratches and dust with the spot healing brush.
Because of this light leak (probably), the right-bottom corner of the photo is overexposed so I applied a brush and reduce the exposition on this corner in order to balance the natural vignetting of the picture.

It all comes down to my personal preference concerning the tint, but as I am writing this and looking back at those pictures, I like more the softness of the basic scan (left) and the shadows are now just a black blob on my edited photo (right).

However, how should I work that kind of blurry / atmospheric image made by the Holga?
As I wrote before, it is only my 3rd roll with this camera and I started photography more seriously less than a year ago, plus I am still a novice at photo editing with Photoshop and Lightroom, so I was wondering if you had any advice?

Here are 2 other pictures from this roll with no light leak: a tree taken in the mountain near Kobe and the Berlin Wall in a Temple at Osaka.
I am sorry for the quality of the images, I did not remove the scratches, these are the files I got from the lab.
Berlin wall.jpgTree.jpg
(I think, except the dust, they are good as is)
 
I sympathise as I am just starting out on my contrast grading journey too.

I do like the soft images and vignetting from the Holga. Your tree image is particularly good in this respect and has a timeless quality.

One thing I notice about the Tower of the sun photos is that the blacks on the edited version are a little clipped. I guess that's why you have lost the shadow detail. I am not sure if this is the cause or not, but do you adjust the levels before you start contrast grading? I find that doing so helps get a good starting point and I know that Martin mentions it in his videos.

Have you come across the British photographer Michael Kenna? Mostly he uses a Hasselblad but he is also a fan of the Holga and has taken some great photos with both. He has produced a whole book of images called "Holga" and another called "Forms of Japan". They are not too expensive but there are flip-through videos of both books on YouTube for free if you just want a flavour. His images taken in Hokkaido in Winter are brilliant - I might even say iconic.
 
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Re clipping: if you hold down the alt/option key while moving blacks or whites sliders In Lightroom or the levels in Photoshop it will show you exactly any clipping in the image

In Lightroom however i suggest not using the whites slider whenever possible as it kills luminosity quite quickly and use the highlights slider instead , it won’t always do the job but often will and without killing luminosity

Also you may be able to bring highlights under control by lowering contrast and then compensating by careful use of the clarity slider.

Blacks slider isn’t so destructive to luminosity but I still prefer the shadows slider to be stronger
 
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Thank you Glenn and Digital Finger for your advice!
I checked Michael Kenna's website where there are many photos, and for the Holga ones, I noticed most are soft and with low contrast I would say. However, others where a bit darker.
I will definitely think about what you wrote and try not to clip shadows and highlights.
I guess I really need to think about the look I want for each image before post-processing them.
 
Megumi said:
I guess I really need to think about the look I want for each image before post-processing them.
Click to expand...
Visualisation ( however you like to call it ) is the hardest part of mono IMO.

I have always struggled with it Howe with practice it becomes easier

I regularly produce 7 versions of a mono edit before I find the way I want it

So what I’m saying is lots of experimentation!
 
Michael Kenna has a particular look to his photos and uses a number of techniques both in-camera and as part of his wet-darkroom printing process to achieve it. There is a very interesting documentary video available on YouTube which I found enlightening. It is here if you are interested. It follows him on a photo shoot in Korea:

 
Thank you Glenn for sharing this video about Michael Kenna. I heard of him before but never carefully looked at his photographs before you mentioned it here.
The video was great in showing how he works before, during and after! It resonates with what Digital Finger said when he has to do many versions before getting it right.

What I learned from what Michael Kenna said in this video is the importance of the "intention" of your photo.
Lately, I have been feeling "guilty" of either not taking the time to compose before I take the photo or taking the time to edit the picture in LR or Photoshop. I am still a beginner in photography, so I think it is still OK in this learning phase to take the obvious snapshots (like the Tower of the Sun :D ) or try the basic editing. However, a "good" photo takes time and effort from start to finish, so, now, I have a lot of "work" to do!
Thank you, both of you for sharing your experience and insights!
 
h2oman said:
I don't know if you will learn anything from it, but I've always enjoyed this Kenna video, as well as the Part 2 that you can find:

Click to expand...

Thank you for sharing this!
I was finally able to watch all 3 parts, and it was fantastic.
What Kenna said about having a relationship with your subject, even a tree, or capture things the human eye cannot see, this is very inspiring.
Excellent food for thought.
 
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