World Pinhole Photography Day (on 4x5 film!)

Well, it looks like another World Pinhole Photography Day has come and gone. I certainly can’t be the only one when I say that it is hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that it is currently the year 2023. Where on earth did the last three or four years go? I suppose COVID happened. That accounts for some of the whiplash. But still… I guess I’m just quickly hitting that age when time speeds up and the world around you moves faster than you’d like it to.

Photographed with an Ilford Titan Pinhole camera and Ilford HP5 large format film.

Perhaps it is for that reason that pinhole photography feels more important than ever in my life, and why I made it a point to go out and make some pinhole photographs on World Pinhole Photography Day. I’m no different than most people in that I spend the vast majority of my day in front of a computer. I even use that term “computer” very loosely. In reality I spend my day in front of a laptop with three screens, two smart phones, and several televisions pumping out 24 hour cable news. It’s mind numbing to say the least. Would I prefer to have far less screen time? Absolutely yes! But alas, I need a paycheck just like everyone else.

The simplicity of pinhole photography feels like a natural reaction to that unfortunate fact. It is my opportunity to slow it all down. To turn off every single screen. To work with a basic tool that requires slow and methodical interactions. Measure the light. Make an exposure calculation with my notebook. Compose. Open the “shutter”. Wait. Sometimes wait for a long time. Breath the air. Take in the silence. Repeat. It’s a refreshing experience to say the least. There are times when it actually feels like magic.

This year I decided to take out my Ilford Titan Pinhole 4x5 camera loaded up with Ilford HP4 film. I’ve been really happy with that camera ever since I bought it. While it might not be the most elegant looking of cameras, in practice it operates perfectly. It’s nice and light weight which means more room in my pack for film backs. Anyone who has ever worked with sheet film out in the field can understand the value of keeping the weight you carry with you to a minimum. Plus I like the focal length quite a bit. Equivalent to about 20mm on a 35mm camera the angle is nice and wide which is great considering composition is a guessing game with pinhole cameras.

Exposure time on this image was about 25 seconds metered at ISO 400. Negative was developed in Rodinal with a ratio 1:50 at 20C for 11 minutes.

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8x10 Pinhole Camera and Double Exposure

I haven’t done a lot of work with a pinhole camera lately but looking at this image makes me feel inspired to break out the 8x10 pinhole camera and take it for a spin. This image was made under bright sunny conditions on an 8x10 piece of Ilford RC paper. I metered the exposure at ISO 3 and exposed for about ten seconds with the model in the frame, and then another ten seconds with the model out of the frame.

Photographed with an 8x10 pinhole camera and Ilford RC paper.

Pinhole photography has always been very hit or miss for me. For every frame that I enjoy, there are probably about twenty that I don’t. That might sound a little defeatist but in a way that is something I actually like about it. The bad images can be a little discouraging, but when I get an image that I really like it feels like I did something extraordinary. Plus it can be really nice working with paper negatives. It keeps the costs down to a minimum which allows a bit more freedom to experiment.

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Zero Image 6x6 Pinhole Camera at Five O'clock

I’m one of those cliche photographers who always has a camera with me. Typically it is a 35mm compact camera that I use as a sort of daily diary. Just something I can pull out of my pocket and take the occasional snapshot that catches my fancy. I hardly ever consider the work particularly purposeful or note worthy, but I think it is important to do it all the same.

A few weeks ago however I decided to mix it up a bit and I carried around a Zero Image 6x6 Pinhole Camera around with me instead. The camera can do 12 exposures on medium format film and it is small enough to fit in the breast pocket of the coat I wear on most days. A little different maybe? Yes, but sometimes we all have to mix it up a bit to keep the creative juices moving in our brains.

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Photographed with a Zero Image 6x6 Pinhole Camera and Ilford Delta 400 film in 120.

I usually start walking to work shortly before 6am. I tend to be an early riser in my old age, something I never thought I would say out loud. That means for a good chunk of the year I start walking before the sun even comes up. I knew that might make for some interesting opportunities, and interesting challenges with a pinhole camera. My exposures certainly weren’t going to be short!

This image was exposed over a period of about fifteen minutes. I set the camera directly on the ground and pointed it toward an intersection with a car dealership hoping there would be enough light. Even after a fifteen minute exposure the negative came out a bit thin and underexposed, but good enough to get a decent scan and share it here. Long pinhole exposures are a bit of guess work at best and this was no exception.

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Pinhole Photograph with a Zero Image 6x6

It’s been a little while since I’ve put any focus in my pinhole photographs. For some reason this morning I woke up with the desire to change that.

According to my notes this was a five minute long exposure. I recall the scene being very dark as I was standing in a dense forest on a very cold winter day. I’m surprised the leave in the center of the frame came out as sharp as it did.

Not that sharpness is ever really my goal with pinhole photography.

I’ve always liked the Zero Image camera. Granted with pinhole work I tend to prefer something larger, like 4x5 or 8x10 sheet film. But the Zero Image is a great little design that comes in very light in weight that works perfectly when I’m carrying other cameras. I have the Back To Nature version, which I actually think looks nicer than their regular model even though it is cheaper.

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Pinhole Photograph and Downtown Portland

The desire to get out there and do some creative work has been strong lately. I’ve been braving the outdoors here and there, walking in isolated areas, and of course bringing my camera along with me. However, the desire to do a proper photoshoot is growing more and more which is making me anxious and wanting all of this COVID-19 business to be over. Don’t worry, I get it. Social distancing is important. Some days it is just a lot easier to do than others.

This photograph was made using an 8x10 pinhole camera with Ilford FP4 8x10 sheet film. The location was the inner east side of Portland near all the train yards and industrial zones. For a time a rented a studio space in that area and quickly found that on the weekends the entire area was abandoned, which basically made it my playground and a whole lot more interesting than the studio space itself. If memory serves,

I recall the exposure time was around three minutes long. That is incredibly short for large format pinhole photography and I’m sure anything longer would have required a different pose from the model. As it stands I’m still surprised to this day that the image turned out as sharp as it did.

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