The folks at the Arizona-based ArtsEye Gallery love the Holga—a plastic toy camera by Lomography that shoots 120mm film.
So much so, that they decided to create a giant fully-functioning version of the camera for an annual photo competition that they host, that features works shot with Holgas and other various cameras.
They originally planned to create it as a prop for the exhibit—as homage to the Holga—but halfway through, they decided that it could be made as a functioning camera.
The giant Holga has the same dimensions as they toy camera, except that it’s 20 times larger in size.
“The most challenging aspect of working with it is actually moving it from site to site,” photographer Francois Robert, who was invited to use the giant Holga to take pictures, said. “Luckily, the camera fits inside a two-horse trailer, though just barely.”
The camera was loaded with 30x30-inch photographic paper—and to load it, someone needed to climb into it.
Exposure takes 1-2 minutes per shot, depending on the type of paper (black & white, or color).
Check out some of the test shots below:
[via PDN Photo Of The Day, images via Francois Robert and Lorraine DarConte]