CCTV cameras in Coleford, Cinderford, Lydney and Newent are owned and operated by the respective town councils.

Despite the obvious technical limitations of the camera, it is funny to realise that it is actually quite liberating - allowing me to do less thinking and more shooting!” Prepare to shoot your Holga during Holga Week (1st - 7th October). You can shoot as many photos as you like. Your images will be judged against a number of categories including: effect (think multiple exposures, light leaks, double negatives…), street, nature, portrait and pinhole. This year, Holga Week starts on Sunday 1st October until Saturday 7th October, bringing the film photography community together to celebrate the cult-classic medium format film camera. Find out how to submit your images to the 2023 competition!

Coleford Town Council

Holga Week, which is celebrated every year on the 1st - 7th October, is a global photo competition dedicated to the iconic Holga camera. It is organised by none other than @MrHolga himself and is simple to take part in. Here’s how you can join in the fun: Cinderford, Coleford, Newent and Tidenham own and manage the use of these cameras, which can be loaned out to towns and parishes for a fee to cover costs of installation, maintenance and insurance. Adam describes his experience with Holga: “I have been using a Holga camera since 2008. I tend to photograph simpler scenes and quirky subjects as the imprecise and flawed aesthetic of the camera tends to complement these. I will also try to use up a whole roll of 120 film in one go, showing a collection of the things I see on a short walk under the same conditions. The Holga, is a medium format 120 format which was created in Hong Kong in the early 1980s and is deemed a cult classic amongst the community. Being low-cost makes it an attractive entry camera for film photographers looking to explore the world of medium format. Offering several various models, such as the classic Holga 120N, Holga Pinhole and Wide Pinhole, Holga Panoramic and Holga with Flash, each one shares a unique set of attributes. You can expect: lo-fi aesthetic, 120 format, strong vignetting around the edges of images, simple and lightweight, simple to use and capable of producing amazing images.

Holga Week is finally here and we can’t wait to see the film community coming together to celebrate the mighty medium format camera!