The childlike playfulness of this post's title was chosen with just that feeling in mind. Because that was what it was like to watch my first pinhole images come off the developing reel ...... and even more so getting the first glimpse of the positive images after the rapid prescan.
A sort of amazement that it could actually work.....pictures with no lens, who are you kidding.? Sure, I know the physics of it and had seen other pinhole shots, but they seemed so foreign compared to anything else that I had done. So when making various exposures with my Zero Image pinhole camera, I half expected nothing to be there when I developed the film. But lo and behold, when I pulled that filmstrip off the reel there it was:
BoardwalkCopyright Howard Grill
Sure it required a bit of contrast adjustment etc. after scanning, but the information was all there. Now, I am not saying this is necessarily the most dynamic image in the world; it was meant as a 'proof of concept', at least to me. So, yes, it really does work! And, yes, it really was fun! Go ahead and give it a try, you might like it. My prior post lists lots of pinhole resources.
4 comments:
Like magic! I really love this shot in its simplicity, suits the lo-tech approach too. What I'm enjoying is the revelation you're finding in being more spontaneous and open to experimentation, which has been a theme for some time in your posts. I suspect that prior to this you planned each shot and they were all carefully composed - these ones are full of delightful surprises!
Thanks adiemus. What you say, by the way, is certainly true for the Holga. The pinhole is somehwere in between as the exposures are long and so I used a tripod. I think this was about a 30 second exposure on ASA 400 film during the daytime. In addition I did take a meter reading to know the ballpark exposure and take a few shots bracketed because of film reciprocity at these 'shutter speeds'. So the Holga is very spontaneous and this less so. I suppose I could handhold and experiment with the resultant pinhole blur from trying to handhold....that might be interesting. Exact composition is hard as there is no viewfinder on the pinhole camera!
Hi Howard -
Lovely image. What film are you using? I've found Fuji Acros to have superb reciprocity characteristics.
Cheers,
Joe
Hi Joe...Thanks very much. I have been using Kodak Tri-X 400 and Ilford Delta 400. This shot is on the Tri-X. I will have to look into the Fuji Acros as neither of the IUlford or Kodak I am using seem to have good reciprocity characteristics out over a minute or even less best I can tell, so I have been bracketing (I have only shot two pinhole rolls so far). Thanks for mentioning it!
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