Once upon a time cameras were used only by professional photographers
A Journey to Wonderland
The Holga Camera Series
Down the Rabbit-Hole
“Alice was beginning
to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having
nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was
reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, “and what is the
use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures or conversations?”.
“Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland”
by Lewis Carroll, 1865.
The story of “Alice’s
Adventures in Wonderland” inspired me to produce “A Journey to
Wonderland”.It is a theatrical body
of work that reflects Alice’s long journey down the rabbit hole, where she
discovers an extraordinary world of unusual characters and encounters a series
of unforeseeable situations. I
wanted to compose images that represented Alice’s own imagination, by
producing photographs that dramatically convey an illusion like the same way
we see and feel when we dream. This is why I chose the Holga.The simplicity of this cheap
plastic toy camera produces unpredictable results. Despite it having
occasional light-leaks, it is able to capture extraordinary imagery with
unique effects that no other cameras can produce; soft focused, intense vignetting, and distortion.
John Tenniel’s drawing illustrations
closely followed the text descriptions by the author.I went along with the same idea and created
the characters with similar facial expressions giving them their own
uniqueness that emphasized their personalities. The author Lewis Carroll,
created a world where animals acted like real people, expressing behavioral
characteristics including feelings of happiness, sadness, anger,
frustrations, obsessions and personal flaws.All were driven by their own personal basic needs; the exceptional characterization of the White Rabbit wearing a
waistcoat, carrying an umbrella and holding a pocket watch on his hand,
insinuates he is rushed, nervous and agitated. The peculiar caterpillar
smoking a Hookah gives the impression of someone being impolite and
contradictory;the March Hare’s long
ears and straws, mixed with his hair, is a representation ofmadness;the Dormouse stocked inside the teapot is dozing off and falling
asleep;the mischievous Cheshire
catwith his depicting grin;theQueen, King and Knave of Heartscharactersmade like a paper
deck of cards;the eccentric Hatter
with hislarge hat,and the ugly hot-tempered Duchess and her
manic Cook with a very pointy long nose; all were carefully handcrafted under
the same concept.
The Technical Aspects of the Holga Camera
About the Title
The
meaning of the title “A Journey to Wonderland” touches upon the focal point
of the story, in which the main character, Alice, uncovers a world of
imagination that goes beyond reality. However, it also symbolizes my own
personal journey as I discovered ways to create complex images that
dealt with many different technical aspects.
