Monochromatic pinhole photography

[psmithp]

The optimal pinhole size depends on the wavelength of the light, meaning that if we shoot with daylight, our pinhole will never be as good as if we used monochromatic light and a corresponding hole diameter.
Has anybody tried, e.g. using a yellow or orange filter? Was it better?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Better in what way? I've used a #8 yellow, and the only difference I could see was a slight increase in contrast. The increase in contrast is what made it better than the unfiltered shot.

 

[retina_restoration]

The optimal pinhole size depends on the wavelength of the light, meaning that if we shoot with daylight, our pinhole will never be as good as if we used monochromatic light and a corresponding hole diameter.
Has anybody tried, e.g. using a yellow or orange filter? Was it better?

On paper, your idea has potential. But in practice, I don't think you'd see a measurable difference when using filters. The only time I have used a yellow filter with pinhole work is when I make paper negatives, using Multigrade paper. The yellow filter reduces contrast of the image, making it more "full scale", which is very useful when making paper negatives.
With a panchromatic film, however, filters (yellow, orange, red) will boost contrast of course, and that may give an impression off increased sharpness.

All that said, "better" is in the eye of the photographer. If you're looking to optimize image resolution/sharpness, then work with an image size as large as you can. 8x10 pinhole negatives can be remarkably "high-res".

 

[joho]

Infrared rollie 400 red with 29F worked great for me...
pinhole F/226 [34mm] on 6x9cm.

 

[psmithp]

Thanks to all!

 

[Rich Ullsmith]

In general, any filter is going to give more acuity simply by limiting what wavelengths come through the hole. Less variance in wavelengths, less distortion. All my pholes have R25s permanently glued on, for the purpose of long exposure and sky/cloud movements/separation. Not very good for acuity or sharpness or whatever, I assume because red lets in this very long wavelength, whereas maybe a blue would be sharper.

 

[Taylor Nankervis]

The question is a bit left-of-field to me...

Yellow, orange, green and red filters (for the adjustment of tonal values in B&W film) have been used with Zero Image pinhole cameras; in my case, a small, frame-sized glass offcut (yellow), with blackened edges, placed behind the pinhole inside the camera. Much later (current generation) Zero Image cameras can take any manner of front-mount, over-the-pinhole filters.

I think, not off the top of my head, there is much more to the design of a pinhole (the actual plate and its position) than wavelength.

 

[Sirius Glass]

A filter will affect the the contrast, possibly making the clouds whiter and the sky darker, but I will neither hurt no help the pinhole qualities.

 

[cliveh]

Because of the diffraction characteristics of pinhole cameras, any filter should be placed near the focal plane.

 

[xkaes]

Just treat filters in pinhole photography like you do in regular photography. The most important thing is getting the size of the pinhole and the focal length correct -- if you are concerned about getting the highest resolution.

Do you worry about filters ruining your photos in general photography?

 

[RalphLambrecht]

On paper, your idea has potential. But in practice, I don't think you'd see a measurable difference when using filters. The only time I have used a yellow filter with pinhole work is when I make paper negatives, using Multigrade paper. The yellow filter reduces contrast of the image, making it more "full scale", which is very useful when making paper negatives.
With a panchromatic film, however, filters (yellow, orange, red) will boost contrast of course, and that may give an impression off increased sharpness.

All that said, "better" is in the eye of the photographer. If you're looking to optimize image resolution/sharpness, then work with an image size as large as you can. 8x10 pinhole negatives can be remarkably "high-res".

I've seen 11x4" pinholes and they had a resolution of 7 lp/mm. That is as much as the eye can resolve at a normal viewing distance!

 

[Patrick Robert James]

If you use filters make sure they are spotlessly clean.

 

[Andrew Keedle]

Oh boy! Don't use colour filters like Red, Green or Blue for monochromatic pinhole. It's does something seriously weird to the images
Echo Patrick's comment. Super clean filters for pinhole. They see everything.

 

[Taylor Nankervis]

Oh boy! Don't use colour filters like Red, Green or Blue for monochromatic pinhole. It's does something seriously weird to the images
Echo Patrick's comment. Super clean filters for pinhole. They see everything.

The purpose of pinhole photography — in and of itself an arcane, unconventional form of capturing the world around us, is to unleash one's dormant creativity — anything goes, and there is no need to adhere to textbook methodology for using or exposing film, filters or exposure, other than grasping the basics so that one doesn't come back with a blank negative! Scarce are the rules that one (even me!) apply to pinhole photography, whether I'm using colour or B&W — I enjoy the wild, wacky and wasted as a change from the clinical precision of film and some digital photography I am involved in.

Something else that irks me is that there are people who are striving to make pinhole photographs as sharp and as clearly defined as possible, dammit — think LF pinhole cameras especially; since when did pinhole photographs have to be razor sharp to the point where they no longer exhibit the characteristics so well recognised of a pinhole camera? This is a travesty that goes beyond any suggestion, good or bad, as to what filters should be used.

The pic you posted, a trichrome, is stirling proof that creativity brings rewards. I love it!

 

[xkaes]

This is a travesty that goes beyond any suggestion, good or bad, as to what filters should be used.

The pic you posted, a trichrome, is stirling proof that creativity brings rewards. I love it!

That picture is a testament as to how colored filters compliment pinhole photography. Add on a polarizer, too!

 

[MattKing]

The purpose of pinhole photography — in and of itself an arcane, unconventional form of capturing the world around us, is to unleash one's dormant creativity

One of its purposes, not the only one.
Sometimes I like making pinhole images that are very pinhole-like in their sharpness:

Sometimes I like to take advantage of the pinhole's strength with respect to point of view:

Blue Swoosh!

• MattKing
• May 2, 2021
• 7

WPPD this year was grey and slightly drizzly. So I headed to the playground, and loaded 25+...

And sometimes I like to see what sort of technical qualities that pinhole can offer:

Burns House - WPPD 2023

• MattKing
• May 14, 2023
• 5

A pinhole exposure made on worldwide Pinhole Photography Day-April 30, 2023. This is the Burns...

The purpose of pinhole photography is to make of it what you want.

 

[Andrew Keedle]

The purpose of pinhole photography — in and of itself an arcane, unconventional form of capturing the world around us, is to unleash one's dormant creativity — anything goes, and there is no need to adhere to textbook methodology for using or exposing film, filters or exposure, other than grasping the basics so that one doesn't come back with a blank negative! Scarce are the rules that one (even me!) apply to pinhole photography, whether I'm using colour or B&W — I enjoy the wild, wacky and wasted as a change from the clinical precision of film and some digital photography I am involved in.

Something else that irks me is that there are people who are striving to make pinhole photographs as sharp and as clearly defined as possible, dammit — think LF pinhole cameras especially; since when did pinhole photographs have to be razor sharp to the point where they no longer exhibit the characteristics so well recognised of a pinhole camera? This is a travesty that goes beyond any suggestion, good or bad, as to what filters should be used.

The pic you posted, a trichrome, is stirling proof that creativity brings rewards. I love it!

Thank you. I love that image also. I do disagree somewhat in that I don't think there is an inate purpose to pinhole photography. It's mearly a tool in the arsenal for making the images you want to, the way you want to. Pinhole does not have to be rough and ready with loose exposures. It absolutely can be and the results can be amazing. I use it for Trichromes as it's an easy way to long exposures with 3 stop filters and reciprocity. Quickly gets in into > 3 minutes per exposure. These long exposures lead to the wacky colours for these Trichromes. The image was incidentally made with a 5x4 Harman TiTAN, which is by far the sharpest pinhole camera I have come across. It is my favourite for the character of the images it can produce, minimal vignette, not super wide, sharp, light and compact and super simple.