The "Baby Holga" Project

The “Baby Holga” Project by Diana Nicholette JeonNovember 7, 2026

baby holga camera film image of a beach umbrella

©Alec Pain (@alecpain), England, United Kingdom

Last summer, a random comment I made on an image in a Facebook Holga group led me to a new acquaintance, Alec Pain, who runs The Daily Holga feed on Instagram. That opened a door to me to an invitation to participate in a then-newly-formed project where participants from the United States would use borrowed Baby Holga cameras sent by mail between participants to make images.

I found the project interesting from the outset enough that I knew I wanted to interview Alec about it. Several months in, we get to see how it was originally conceived, how it evolved, and what he foresees for the future of the project. I hope you find this as interesting as I did.

©Alec Pain (@alecpain), England, United Kingdom

DNJ: Tell us a little about your own photographic practice and your interest in Holga cameras.

AP: I guess I’m an experimental film photographer who sometimes calls myself an artist, but I love taking photos of anything, with anything, whether that be a Holga, a digital camera, or an iPhone.

I’m really interested in Holga cameras. I’m something of a hoarder: I have been trying to collect the different Holgas that have come out over the years – from all of the different Holga letters – Holga N, to GN, FN, CFN, GFN, GCFN, etc through to the 135 makes, the 3D ones, the digital ones. Anything that has a Holga (and Woca) written on it! I now have 54 different makes, but two are still missing from my list (plus new ones that appear and surprise me!). The two I am missing are the WOCA NF-4 and the Holga 135T—if anyone has them!

I run a feed on Instagram called The Daily Holga, which means I post pretty much every day. That might change to the Weekly Holga at some point. I’ve been posting since 2023; I put up challenges, themes, monthly “artists in residence” who showcase their work, and the odd competition.

There’s an annual competition called Noddy Holga where I do a backward advent calendar. You enter the competition, then a judging panel chooses their top ten favorite images and ranks each selection from one to ten. The competition winner is the image that garnered the most points. It sounds complex, but it’s straightforward. I think it’s fairer than a people’s-choice vote, which usually ends up decided by whoever has the most friends who voted. It’s then announced daily by counting down from 24 to the winner, who is announced on Christmas Eve on both Noddy Holga and The Daily Holga.

©Alec Pain (@alecpain), England, United Kingdom

DNJ: What initially drew you to the “Baby Holga” camera?

AP: I’m a collector of Holgas, so what initially drew me to the Baby Holga was that it is a Holga. That said, I loved the fact that it was a keychain/keyring size – something you could fit in your pocket. More recently, when Kodak brought out their Charmera digital camera, Holga followed suit with a digital keychain Holga—which looked like the original Baby Holga. I thought: “Why isn’t there a keychain camera in use that is analogue?”

I owned two “Baby Holgas” – they were originally called Micro 110 Holgas. Holga made them originally; Superheadz in Japan repackaged them as Baby Holgas. They also produced a “Daddy/Mummy” and “Baby” Holga set called Oyakö. They aren’t made anymore, but I managed to find some on buyee.com. One of the participants (@fromdalens) lives in Hong Kong and found some too.

Creatively, I liked the challenge of making art with something so small and basic. I also loved the way you got most of the image ghosting onto the edges of the film.

©@_thedecisivemoment, Massachusetts, United States

DNJ: How did the idea for The Baby Holga Project come about? Was there a particular moment when you realized you wanted to send these tiny cameras around the world?

AP: I’d been in contact with Holga about remaking the cameras because they were out of production, and I wanted to make a Daily Holga edition. Then I realized they’d be the perfect camera to use for a continuous camera swap via mail. They’re small, easy to use, and relatively inexpensive to send on to the next person. I was going to start with just one Baby Holga traveling the globe; I’d asked Lisa Tang Liu if she’d be interested in starting it off. I then met Kelly Ann Gray at Photo London and passed her the first Baby Holga; after she worked with it, she sent it to Lisa.

Baby Hoga 110 camera image of an entry way by Lisa Tang Liu

©Lisa Tang Liu (@expert.in.nothing), Massachusetts, United States

©Kelly Ann Gray (@kellyanngray), New York, United States

DNJ: Can you walk us through how the project works, from the moment someone receives a camera to when they pass it along? Are there any guidelines for what participants photograph, or is that entirely up to them?

AP: I’ve tried to make it as simple as possible. The costs are minimal: film, development, and one-way postage. The challenge is the same for every photographer: 24 exposures with 110 film using a very limited camera. The only difference will be the choice of film.   The camera is borrowed at no cost; each photographer purchases and develops their own film. Once a photographer receives the camera, they have two to three weeks to shoot a roll of 110 film with the camera. Most people buy two rolls as it takes time to get used to the “rangefinder”, and it can have a fairly low success rate! We stipulate that each participant shoots, develops, and then scans one roll of film before sending it on to the next person. I receive the scans of images and publish them on both the Baby Holga and The Daily Holga feeds on Instagram. The copyright remains with the photographers. We hope then to create a book and an exhibition with the images.

We’ve also had a few people who had their own Baby Holga. I knew that Maureen Bond had entered some images for Holga Week and owned her own, so she sent me the first scans and kicked the project off along with Lisa and Kelly Ann.

Lisa Tang Liu has been fantastic—setting up a participants group on Instagram, helping me to keep track of where each camera is. Casey Davis also made a spreadsheet to help with that process.

Baby Holga 110 camera photgraph of an old gas station and pumps © Maureen Bond

©Maureen Bond (@maureenbond), California, United States

©Paulina Mannisto (@analogue.flaneuring), Finland

DNJ: Were you looking for photographers who already work with toy cameras and alternative processes, or were you interested in seeing what artists from very different photographic backgrounds might do with the Baby Holga? Has this changed or evolved over the months this project has been going on?

AP: I started with photographers and artists I already knew – and mainly it’s been drawn from followers of The Daily Holga, but I’ve had people contact me who I don’t know and are keen to be part of the swap. Lisa came up with the fantastic idea of covering all 50 US states – and we have 49 of them – with South Carolina being the only state we are missing! I wanted it to be global, and so we now have 20 cameras circling the world. Six in the U.S., five in Europe, four in the UK, one in Canada, one in Mexico, one in South America, one in Asia, and one in Australasia.

In terms of subject matter, it’s fairly open. I am encouraging people to take pictures of where they live, but participants can photograph anything they choose.

One issue that came up is that some cameras have stopped working due to jamming, etc., but we’ve managed to fix most of them.

©Kristi Cornell (@kccornell), Louisiana, USA

DNJ: The Baby Holga is an extraordinarily simple camera, with very little control over the final image. What do you think happens creatively when photographers are handed something so basic?

AP: I think that, like me, they’ll still be able to create fantastic images and are sometimes rudely awakened by the camera’s shortcomings!

There is control to be had, but a good photographer will find something interesting and incredible, even if it ends up being only one or two shots on the whole roll! The most creative among them have found beautiful images. I’m thrilled with everything submitted so far.

DNJ: You’ve assembled quite an international group of participants. How did you find the photographers? What has the response been like? Were there any places that were particularly difficult to reach?

AP: The original target was for 110 photographers on 110 film, but we’ve surpassed that. I’m hopeful the project can keep going much longer, with a lot more participants. California has had the most responses. Most have been found because they followed the Daily Holga. In the US, we’ve found the rest through word of mouth or by searching the internet for those missing States. I think we are up to nearly 200 people involved at this point.

We’re still looking for people from South Carolina in the US. Japan, Asia, and Africa have been tricky, too. I want to get more people from outside the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.

DNJ: You’ve essentially created a network of photographers connected by a tiny plastic camera. Has the project developed in ways you didn’t anticipate once those cameras began traveling?

AP: The project evolved from one camera sent around the world over a long period, between people I knew or wanted to work with, to twenty cameras and many requests through Instagram. I did think it had legs – that it was a fun way of bringing the film community together to create something bigger. I was surprised to see so many people interested in being part of the project.

There’s a nice community of participants. Some love to chat, some hate the constant updates, but most have enjoyed the experience. Quite a few have since found their own Baby Holgas!

DNJ: There is a certain amount of trust involved in sending cameras around the world, often between people who have never met. Have there been any unexpected experiences, mishaps, or particularly memorable stories along the way?

AP: Because it’s such a small camera, we’ve been lucky (so far!) that nobody has decided to keep the camera.

We’ve had mishaps. The Swedish Postal Service lost one camera, so we sent another. After the second arrived and the SPS had paid for the lost camera, they recovered the original camera!

Other issues have mainly been with the camera breaking, or a few almost blank rolls of film. The mechanism is plastic and can break, and we are dealing with ten-year-old secondhand cameras, so it is to be expected.

DNJ: As images begin coming in from different countries, are you seeing any common threads in how people approach the camera, or has the work been as varied as the photographers themselves? Has anything surprised you?

AP: It’s been interesting to see how different photographers have handled the Baby Holga’s lack of control and still created beautiful images.

There’s such a wide range of subjects. From flowers to giant snails, old planes, discarded bikes, to portraits.

So far I’ve posted 27 different photographers from different parts of the world, and I’ve seen a couple of common threads.

DNJ: What, if anything, have you discovered about the photographic community through this project that you might not have discovered otherwise?

AP: So far, that it is a wonderful community—one that is both generous and engaged.

DNJ: One of your goals is to persuade Holga to bring back the Baby Holga. Have you had any conversations with the manufacturer about the possibility?

AP: I’m in discussions with the people who make Holga cameras. To make this happen, I need to raise enough money to make 2,000 Baby Holgas. It’s going to be tricky, but I’m looking into Kickstarter (or something similar) to reach an amount where I can guarantee I won’t be out of pocket. I’d likely sell the camera for around $20-25. I think if I can get to 1,000 buyers, I should be able to go ahead, but I’m still working out the exact numbers.

@Jennifer H (@jensfineart), Canada

DNJ: You’re also planning a book documenting the project. How do you envision bringing together photographs made by so many different people, in so many different places, into a cohesive publication?

AP: There would be two books: one US-only, comprising the photographers from the 50 states (and possibly Washington, DC); and one with the rest of the global participants. I’ve preliminarily titled the books Baby, I Love You—110 Photographers Using 110 Film.

The general idea is to have one page per person, with their name, IG tag, a short bio, and a map detailing their location, with one image, possibly one or two more.

That said, I’m also thinking that we could do postcards in a presentation box instead.

DNJ: Beyond the photographs and the possibility of bringing back the camera, what do you hope people will take away from The Baby Holga Project?

AP: I’m most interested in people learning and taking inspiration from what’s around them—from both the old and new—whether that’s a £5k digital camera, a £20 tiny plastic camera, or, conversely and a little hesitantly, something like AI.

I hope viewers take away a few things: first, that you can make beautiful images with a tiny key ring camera; second, that the images will inspire them to make their own images; third, that they might swap cameras or work with others to learn new things.

For the participants, that they’ve been part of a community and taken some images they are proud of.

DNJ: Thank you, so much Alec, for giving us such a broad window into this fascinating project. I cannot wait to see more work from the participants as the project keeps evolving.