ANNUAL PINHOLE DAY 2015 (April 26th): please join - WPPD

[DWThomas]

A good outing!

I'd flip a coin between the courthouse and the cabooses (cabeese? )

Ned the object on the pillar looks to me like the classic American Eagle.

The ghosts in the flea market shot are kinda cool. A couple of years ago I was scanning some WPPD shots and saw this weird "something" in the lower left center of one frame taken along a local trail. I was upset that it was some mishandling damage on my part until I finally remembered a guy came by on a bicycle while I had the shutter open. It was a many second exposure, and apparently there was a momentary flash of sun reflected off one of the polished cranks that aroused the silver ions -- nothing else showed up.

 

[bergytone]

Ned and Dave:
You are right it's an eagle on top of the pillar. And Ned, what a keen eye. I went and looked at the negative and you're right, it needs to be flipped. That's what you get when you scan late at night in a hurry. Unless you can actually remember the scene in your head, and there is no printed material to double check, it's easy to forget to flip the negative.

I'm getting into the habit on important events like this to take a photo of the setup from behind the pinhole camera which includes the camera, so I can remember the scene. In this case, the shot is still sitting inside my nikon EM!
Here's the correct view:

You are so right about the shadows.Now the picture actually looks settled. One of the things that was interesting is the gleam of light coming off one of the windows in the shade on the building, almost hidden by the tree. It must have filtered in through the front wondows and reflected off some glass inside. I'm amazed the pinhole picked up on that little stream of photons.

I'm liking the blurry people too. I will try to work on more of these ghostly images. They're fun to compose. Thanks for the critiques guys, I will probably post the caboose photo, since buildings are more commonplace items on the WWPD gallery.

Eric

 

[NedL]

Ha! As soon as Dave wrote "eagle" it snapped into place and now I can't understand why I couldn't see it before.

You are so right about the shadows.Now the picture actually looks settled.

Isn't that the weirdest thing? "Settled" is exactly the right word. The first one makes me feel uneasy and the second one looks just right. Cliveh had a thread recently that got me thinking about this. I meant to mention that little window gleam too, it adds interest and to me makes the photo seem more "real".

 

[NedL]

I made 8 photos on WPPD and had trouble deciding which one to submit.
Here is my WPPD submission.


Laguna Oaks par Ned, on ipernity

You can see the others at my Ipernity page linked in my signature below.
My wife liked Shell Beach Tidepool, and another friend liked Overhang.

Choosing Laguna Oaks caused some conflicting feelings in me, like maybe I was "playing it safe" and partly choosing the one someone else might like, if you know what I mean. The others are more surreal. But there are some things about Laguna Oaks I like and when I first saw it I thought it would be the one.

 

[bergytone]

Ned, you are right.. the Laguna Oaks shot is more 'traditional' and serene where the Shell Beach is more dynamic and contrasty.It almost looks like there's snow on the rocks. I like the Laguna shot myself...

It's funny when you do have to pick one picture, you go with the shot you think others will like, not necessarily what you like. And even though it's not a contest or a "show", you feel you want the world to see your most creative work. The shot of the courthouse was a spur of the moment, hop out of the car and quickly shoot it, where the caboose shot I spent 20 minutes moving to different locations to get the light and angle I wanted.

Interesting note too, while I was timing the exposure for the courthouse and worrying whether the strong wind would mess up the shot, there was a pretty serious (low speed) car crash just to the left of the shot. It was distracting enough to make me almost miss my exposure mark. No one was hurt, I think someone turned the wrong way on the one way street to my left. Happens a lot. Makes me wonder, what does a car crash look like on a pinhole camera?

eric

 

[DWThomas]

Ned, I rather like the "Shell Beach Rocks" but they are all quite nice. Good to see the setups too.

Makes me wonder, what does a car crash look like on a pinhole camera?

Heh, dunno, but one of my first pinhole outings included a shot across an expressway near here, a road that is almost never "empty." It's shocking to look at the picture, a 14 second exposure obviously taken in the daytime, and see four empty lanes of highway -- the car filter works!

 

[NedL]

It's funny when you do have to pick one picture, you go with the shot you think others will like, not necessarily what you like. And even though it's not a contest or a "show", you feel you want the world to see your most creative work. ....

Yep. I try not to do that, but there's no objective choice, it's about how you feel when you look at the photograph, and imagining how others might see it can affect how you feel about it too.

Thanks Dave!

I do use my pinhole cameras all year, but I wouldn't mind having more days like WPPD! It was a lot of fun!

 

[Dr Croubie]

Well, my WPPD was an abolute bollocks of a day, wet and rainy and windy and cold (or as Bert might call it, 'Zomer'), so I didn't even leave the house all day, much less get out to take any pinhole shots.
I was almost thinking of taking a shot inside, but I figured it would be better to spare you all that mess.
On the plus side, I did finish my 19" (matt-board didn't come large enough for 20") x28" camera
(actual max is around 485x715mm)
Finally good enough weather to test it today, but got out too late in fading sun so everything was thin. Tomorrow I'll give it a real run if I can.

(There's my digisix on top for scale, and the lens has a 39mm filter on it).

So maybe next year I'll break it out and actually get something 'on the day'.

I used my Digisix in incident mode and a table generated from Pinhole Designer for exposure. I tried Pocket Light Meter on the phone and it seemed to want more exposure. But of course that was reflected readings for who knows what acceptance angle. Someday I have nothing to do (in the next ten years) I should get out a gray card and do some playing to check that out. It seemed OK for more normal f stops when I first got the app and tried it.

Just a thought, you do know that the digisix has its own inbuilt timer? Goes up to 30 mins, perfect for pinholes. (I've got an L608 so I could sell the digisix, but I keep it around specifically for pinholing).

Oatmeal tin anamorphic with triangular pinhole made from 3 razor blades. 5x7 paper.

Interested, how do the triangular shots turn out?
I was talking to a guy at uni the other day, he says they've got a laser-cutting machine, can cut copper foil and things to test out wearable antennae / flexible circuits and all that.
With a bit of sweet-talking, I can now cut pinholes / zone sieves, slits, whatever shape...

 

[DWThomas]

Just a thought, you do know that the digisix has its own inbuilt timer? Goes up to 30 mins, perfect for pinholes. (I've got an L608 so I could sell the digisix, but I keep it around specifically for pinholing).

Well yes you're right (I re-remember now that you mention it ...), it has a thermometer too, but I find its grand two button user interface a bit of a pain. I'll try next time out to remember my good ol' Timex with sweep second hand -- that's another area where I (with cataract-riddled visual acuity) find certain advantages to analog. And actually, the Photometer Pro app has a countdown timer with a sweep hand -- the hand even does a little bounce at each tick to show how fabulous the graphics are!

I do have an L508 which I use when I need spot metering -- or want to look like an awesome pro -- but the not-even-a-shirt-pocket size of the Digisix makes it my go-to for traveling light. And e-speaking of apps, though it doesn't get mentioned often, the color LCD displays still, even at iPhone 5 level, can be tedious in full sun -- the monochrome LCDs like the Digisix and L508 are far easier to read in random outdoor conditions. Alas, I fear there is yet no magic ...

Oh, that's quite a nice camera project you've got going -- too bad about the weather. I seem to recall in my beginning years of WPPD participation there was about a 4 in 5 chance of rain, or at least threatened rain. This year was a good one weather-wise here, for which I am thankful.

 

[dasBlute]

bergytone: the courthouse is a nice scene, little details give the eye a treat [like the flag]...

NedL: too many images on pinhole day is nice problem to have I like the 'drama' of 'Overhang', those this has a 'secret grotto' feel to it, one of my favorite themes...

 

[sly]

Last year I had no commitments on WPPD. Wandered around with my cameras as long as I liked. This year I drove for 3 hours, attended a family fun run and my son's birthday lunch. Stopped at Goldstream Park on my drive home, and managed a few shots.


Runners

I tried some pinhole crowd shots at the race, but they're just blurry without being interesting. These are my granddaughter's shoes as she rested and refuelled after the race.







These were taken in the park, close to where I parked. One Holga wide pinhole and 2 HarmanTitan 8x10's.
My sentimental favorite is "Runners", but I like the others too. I'll sleep on it before I decide which to add to the WPPD website.

 

[MattKing]

If I had a vote, it would go to Runners.

But they are all interesting!

 

[DWThomas]

I pretty much agree with Matt, although the panorama well captures the deep woods *and* "the essence of pinhole" to me (for the two cents US it's worth!) You got some very nice results.

 

[TheToadMen]

I think I like the panorama best (view and format)

 

[NedL]

FWIW I'm with Matt and Dave, I like "Runners", followed by the panorama.
The panorama has a mystery and glow in the far distant trees that I really like, and that the two from the titan don't have.

It sure is easier to have an opinion about someone else's photos

 

[bergytone]

Sly, runners is my choice more because it's different and not the 'expected shot'. But your bridge shot is very cool and 'traditional'. The shoes tell a story, especially with a title like runner.

Here's another shot I took on WWPD. It's getting some attention on flickr, and again, it falls into that traditional category. The funny thing about this church, it's white with a black roof. So other than the blue sky, this shot wouldn't look much different in color!:

Ned, it's true... its always a lot easier to have feelings on someone else's work. Why is that?
Eric

 

[NedL]

...Ned, it's true... its always a lot easier to have feelings on someone else's work. Why is that? ...

No clue, but it's something I need to think about. I just noticed how few photos I've put online since last year's WPPD... yet in the past year I've made lots of prints. Topic for a different thread I guess

 

[sly]

Thanks for your input, everyone. I entered "Runners" on the WPPD page. Enjoyed browsing the hundreds of entries, many more to see.

 

[DWThomas]

... its always a lot easier to have feelings on someone else's work. Why is that?
Eric

Thinking about this a little, there is a "personal investment" in our own work which may color our thinking. Maybe one of us slogged across two creeks and climbed out on the edge of a cliff to get an exposure. As such, to us the result represents the culmination of a major effort -- we wouldn't dare allow ourselves to feel too disappointed. Whereas some stranger who just walks up to the print might say "too much shadow on those rocks" or worse yet "huh, wonder why he took that shot?" We might get warm fuzzies toward a pinhole shot where we adjusted the exposure on the fly as a cloud blocked the sun -- no one else will know or care!

There is also the problem I encounter with proofreading my own work (I do a newsletter for an art club I belong to). When I'm in the thick of it, it's very easy for me to somehow see what I wanted to be there versus what actually wound up there. If I set the piece aside for a week, or a month, and then pick it up cold, I'll immediately notice "oops, that should be plural" or whatever. (Of course, never ever is there time to set it aside for that long.)

So when we look at our own work, mayhaps the process distracts from the result. We are already programmed as to what the work was supposed to be about, which may allow us to overlook the fact that we didn't accomplish that in convincing fashion. Yet maybe subconsciously we are at least vaguely aware that there is something missing compared with another shot.

When we look at others' work, we are just assessing final results, with no particular preconceptions and no particular insight as to what the photographer went through mentally or physically. We can just consider did it grab our attention (for any of a gazillion reasons) or does it suggest a story, etc.

In selecting my own stuff I have even bent a bit toward the target audience on occasion. As an example, WPPD is global in scope -- remarkably and delightfully so -- so sometimes I will lean toward a subject that is slightly unique to my area -- a historic building or the like. One year I had two shots I really liked, one was a canal and towpath trail curving around the edge of a large hill, very painterly, I thought. The other was looking across the Lehigh River at the blast furnace portion of the old Bethlehem Steel plant. I decided to go with that one because probably fewer people have seen an early 20th century steel mill. (Of course, I admit I also happen to have a penchant for making photos of "old rust." :munch: )

{OK, it's late and I'm rambling .....}

 

[NedL]

...
So when we look at our own work, mayhaps the process distracts from the result. We are already programmed as to what the work was supposed to be about, which may allow us to overlook the fact that we didn't accomplish that in convincing fashion. Yet maybe subconsciously we are at least vaguely aware that there is something missing compared with another shot....

Good thoughts. This one cuts both ways: by knowing what the work was supposed to be about, we might also dismiss an otherwise very good photograph when it doesn't accomplish a particular detail. Maybe a detail that would not matter to most viewers, but matters to us!

 

[sly]

Yup, I usually have to live with a print for awhile, before I'm sure of it. The feedback I get here on APUG is important too. I don't always agree with comments, but I'm glad to get both positive and negative ones (as long as they are not abusive - pretty rare here).

Of course, looking at others work here and on the WPPD site is very instructive, too.

 

[EdColorado]

Nice shots Ned. I like Laguna Oaks a lot but for me Overhang really works. I can see why Laguna was your chosen picture though, and can see your conflict in choosing it. All are great images but I like the dreamy aspect of Overhang. Could be due to my more recent return to pinhole photography but I find I'm very interested in the effects of the very long exposure times.

 

[NedL]

Thanks Ed!

There's something else too: for WPPD, you just have the one day, and do what you can. Sometimes things work well and sometimes they don't but I would post something either way. Maybe that's part of what drew me to MSA too: try to do something with the topic, and maybe it works or maybe it doesn't but it's great fun and you share whatever you tried to do. I need to bring a little more of that spirit to the rest of my photography...

 

[UKJohn]

My contribution to WPPD - Bratch Locks on the Staffordshire Worchestershire Canal. Shot on 5x4 homemade wooden camera of about f264, 10 min exposure using Delta 100 given N-2 dev in PMK Pyro given N-2.

 

[PhotoBob]

I really enjoy this event. I tend to stick with medium and large format for most of my pinhole work. This year I used direct positive 10cm x 12 cm paper in my Harman -Titan pinhole camera.