Surprising number of environmental pollutants found in hedgehogs https://phys.org/news/2025-04-environmental-pollutants-hedgehogs.html

Surprising number of environmental pollutants in hedgehogs https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250401131532.htm

Researchers Find Lead, Plastic Additives and Other Contaminants in Hedgehogs https://www.ecowatch.com/hedgehogs-plastic-pollution-contaminants.html

Plant-Based Leather Alternative Contains Zero Plastics https://www.ecowatch.com/plant-based-leather-alternative.html

Microplastics pollution from glitter can disrupt marine biomineralization https://phys.org/news/2025-04-microplastics-pollution-glitter-disrupt-marine.html

The Holga 25mm Lens For Micro Four Thirds Mirrorless Cameras

When I got my first micro four-thirds mirrorless camera, an Olympus Pen E-PL1 with broken image stabilization, it wasn’t to use with ‘real’ lenses but to use with a cheap kit of plastic lenses, the Lomography Experimental Lens Kit. Since then I’ve added several more E-P series cameras to my collection, and now have a whole range of different lenses, including the amazing Panasonic Lumix GF1 camera and it’s now-dedicated 20mm f1.7 lens. 

But one lens I’ve always wanted was a Holga, for micro four-thirds. The snag is that these are quite rare nowadays, and no matter how hard I searched, I have never found one. Until now, that is. Of course, it was in the ‘Not Passed’ category of the Kamerastore website, with, ‘flaws that will affect typical use’. But since this was just that the ‘focus mechanism is stiff and difficult to use’, and it was otherwise functional, at 15€ it seemed like a bargain. 

The Holga 25mm lens is a fixed f8 aperture lens with a manual focus. It’s all plastic and has a plastic aperture hole surrounded by a halo of even smaller holes. I think that this is to give the images the ‘Holga look’ with an obvious vignette. Fitting the lens to the camera is simple enough, and from the front the Olympus looks just like a slightly posh Holga. The camera is best used in aperture priority mode, and like its film equivalent the lens is quite light hungry, so an ISO of at least 400 is recommended if you want a reasonably fast shutter speed.

I mounted this onto the E-PL2 and headed out on a trip to Aveiro. I wasn’t really too interested in the subject matter, and it definitely shows from the resulting photos. Yes, the focusing is really stiff, but it’s smooth and with a firm twist moves quite well. It certainly seems easier to use than the model featured on a Fotodiox video on YouTube. There are actually a few variations of this lens available. The Fotodiox video featured a Holga lens for Panasonic micro four-thirds cameras (although that one was used on an Olympus), but my model is labelled for use with Olympus Pen micro four-thirds cameras.  I don’t really think it makes much of a difference,  though.

But what of the images? I think ‘soft’ is the best description. I didn’t really play with different focus distances, just left it on the mountains (which I guess is infinity) and snapped away. I did like most of the images, and the vignette is certainly pronounced. Oddly, this lens seemed to perform much worse than my actual real Holga camera for 120 film, which has hardly any vignette and is a camera I really love. But then again, perhaps quality was the last thing on the minds of the Holga lens developers at the time.

I’m definitely taking the Holga lens for micro four-thirds out again. In fact, we went out to Nazaré a couple of days later and I took my ‘proper’ Olympus mirrorless camera and lenses with me. It turned out that I hardly used them, and I really missed the Holga lens. Next time, maybe.

If you are on Mastodon, you can now follow this blog directly. Just go to Mastodon and follow my WordPress account at @keithdevereux.wordpress.com. All new posts will be automatically updated to your timeline on Mastodon.

The #Commonwealth Sport King’s Baton Relay continues to bring much-needed attention to ongoing ocean #conservation efforts and interesting new solutions to #plastic waste. https://www.commonwealthsport.com/news/4241130/king-s-baton-relay-highlights-conservation-on-international-day-of-zero-waste

Eating from #plastic #takeout containers can increase #heartfailure risk – study
A new study suggests that frequent consumption of food from plastic takeout containers significantly increases the risk of congestive heart failure due to gut biome changes that trigger inflammation and circulatory damage.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/12/plastic-food-containers-heart-failure

"For the first time, #fracking operations in the US have been linked to ethane exports to Europe through major petrochemical companies and on to globally recognised brands.

#Plastic is a supply-driven issue, the campaigners emphasise.
Despite consumers being guilt tripped over their plastic use, it’s this influx of cheap ethane that spurs on the industry to produce more, she says, and to create new markets when some close."

https://www.euronews.com/green/2025/03/29/coca-cola-and-unilever-among-dozens-of-plastic-brands-tied-to-texas-fracking-investigation

Let’s end the age of plastic! https://www.greenpeace.org/international/act/lets-end-the-age-of-plastic/

Can #microplastics be stopped? https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-agriculture-microplastics-soil-plastic-health-food-34c578dcdcada4abf06b03866d66e607

The global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org

Re-use plastics, be artistic and creative, invent new use-cases for old plastics. Join us at our drop-in plastics workshop hosted by #wirralmakefest on April 12th @ 11am-1pm!

Details: https://wirralmakefest.org/free-drop-in-plastics-workshop/

Coca-Cola’s Plastic Waste Polluting Oceans Projected to Reach 1.3 Billion Pounds per Year by 2030: Oceana Report https://www.ecowatch.com/coca-cola-plastic-waste-oceans.html

Chewing Gum Could Release Microplastics Into Saliva, Study Finds https://www.ecowatch.com/chewing-gum-microplastics-saliva.html

Canadian startups want to reduce plastic waste in healthcare. "Every time you drink water, or eat food, or simply breathe, micro­ and nano­plastics are likely entering your body. In fact, the average person consumes an estimated 50,000 pieces of microplastics every year. But what do these plastics — specifically the ones in medical devices and products — do when they get into our lungs or colons? The short answer is: We don't fully know." #health #environment #plastic https://www.thestar.com/business/mars/can-health-care-s-plastic-habit-be-cured/article_c4332982-f020-44a1-8fd3-85bcb7b2642a.html

One year of #global #plastic #waste visualized

"Over a billion pounds of Coke plastic waste to enter waterways: Study"

#Coke #Plastic #Plastics #Environment

https://phys.org/news/2025-03-billion-pounds-coke-plastic-waterways.html

Os comparto una imagen de Daniel Canogar, de la serie Vórtice de 2011, que me impactó mucho en su momento. Las copias se expusieron en gran formato.
Un buen ejemplo de la sociedad de consumo y el desperdicio. Me interesó de la imagen el tratamiento limpio, sin apenas dramatismo pero que simboliza tan bien la forma de vida que tenemos.

Why is my cantaloupe turning my plastic fork orange-ish? Lightly orange, but orange. Did they add food coloring to my cantaloupe? I bought it precut. So confused and wondering if I should continue to eat said cantaloupe. #food #fruit #plastic #disabled #cantaloupe