jana obscura

No, that is not a gigantic Holga camera with a human-sized Dalek sitting on a hilltop at Greenlake Park. This is an example of the silly double exposures I get when I forget to advance the roll after exposing a frame.

One of the hardest things about a manual pinhole camera like the Zero Image (and plastic cameras like the Holga, in fact) is keeping up with a system that prevents these accidents. A double exposure is exactly what it sounds like – two exposures on one frame of film. Sometimes they are accidents, but there are photographers who love to use double exposures in their work. I don’t usually mind them, as long as they produce hilarious, unexpected results like the Holga at Greenlake Park above. Luckily, this is the only double exposure on this roll although I’d love to see a double exposure of the lifeguard stand pinhole I shared earlier.

Most modern cameras often have an automatic advance or a frame counter handy but manual cameras require that the photographer remember or have a solid system in place to count which frame they’re at. My system is generally to advance the frame after I’ve exposed the film so my camera is always ready at a moment’s notice to take a shot. That way if I see anything interesting on my way home after work, I don’t have to worry about advancing the film, my camera is ready to take a picture immediately. In this instance, I probably got excited about the sunset shot with the Holga and Dalek and simply forgot to advance the roll. Simple human (nerd) error.

Have you had any fun and unintentional double exposures?