Well, some of you probably have never heard of “Holga”, “Lensbaby”, “key hole camera” or even “Polaroid”. New York’s Soho Photo Gallery was able to create a cult of forgotten and thrown out photo cameras having introduced “Krappy Kamera” international contest and photo show which is held annually at Soho Photo Gallery.

The show features images that have been produced using equipment from the low end of the   technological scale. The concept underlying this show is that in the hands of an artist, any piece of equipment can be used to create engaging photographs. The “Krappy Kamera” includes well-known names such as Diana and Holga as well as obscure junk-store finds and homemade pinhole jobs. It now also includes images made with regular cameras fitted with Lensbaby or Holga-style lenses.

With the competition now in its 15th year, 180 photographers from 40 states and 12 foreign countries submitted some 1,200 images for this year’s juror, Christy Karpinsky, the founder-editor of F-Stop Magazine. She selected:

1st place: Chris Cranford, Little Rock, AR
2nd place Christopher W. Luhar-Trice, Jacksonville, FL
3rd place Christa Blackwood, Austin, TX
Honorable Mentions: Marky Kauffmann, Milton, MA, Christian Kelly, Brooklyn, NY
John Murphy, Athens, GA

Our congratulations to the winners!