My first pinhole shots

[Mark Pope]

Hi everyone,
as it was world pinhole day on Sunday, I decided to give pinhole photography a go. I 'liberated' a metal presentation tube for a bottle of Southern Comfort, drilled a hole in it and made myself a pinhole out of the side of a drinks tin. I didn't bother blacking out the inside, preferring to see what wierd effects I'd get.
I made several exposures using Forte Polygrade RC paper as 'film'. The 'negatives' were subsequently scanned, reversed and inverted using a well known imaging application before being downloaded.
I then took a hand drill to a body cap for a canon EOS (OK it uses 1's and 0's, but it's the spirit of the thing that counts... )
I made several exposures with this, one of which is also included in these pages Dead Link Removed
For a first time effort, I'm pretty pleased with the results. I certainly think I'll be giving this genre another go. I was pleasantly surprised at how sharp the centre of the shots taken with the Southern Comfort camera were, given that I have absolutely no idea what the pinhole size is or hence what the aperture is.
I think it will be worth while getting some matt black spray paint and seeing how blacking out the interior of the camera improves the image contrast.

I'd be interested to know what you think of my efforts.

All the best

 

[Robert Kerwin]

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the offbeat world of lensless photography! Nice photos, I like the reflection effects from the unpainted tube, but it should be interesting to compare the results when you get it painted.

Thanks for sharing these...

- Robert

 

[Mark Pope]

Thanks Robert. Best fun I've had with my clothes on in ages ;-)

 

[downfader]

Thats pretty cool Mark!

I myself am building not one, but three pinhole cameras (one prototype and 2 copies ) Mine are being made with offcuts of ply my father left behind in the shed. So far its cost me about £400 to build these, lol, as we've invested in a cool bandsaw and vaccuum

I would say that blacking out is a great feature. I use B&Q matt acrylic that you use for stenciling. It dries very fast and works a treat. I used it on another camera I made, a 35mm 5x4 sheet film monster. I even found that painting the back of the pinhole is ideal, as long as you use a small peice of wire to re-poke the hole. The paint also fills in the rough edges a little on the hole and will improve sharpness just a little (well in theory I havent seen that much difference in mine but hey it sounds cool )

I tested my first pinhole out with a small peice of grease proof paper mounted on card and slotted on the camera, and a dark cloth over my head to see

Have fun with your new projects!

 

[Mark Pope]

Thanks. I quite like the idea of taking 'household objects' and turning them into cameras (he writes as his wife says 'as if he hasn't got enough cameras...').
I'll give the blackout a try sometime. Might be some time though as I'm in the middle of rearranging my darkroom after having installed a new enlarger.

Cheers

 

[annam]

Hi Anyone,
I am a teacher and have made the oatmeal containers pinhole cameras and am struggling very much with the results. The images are turning black consistently. I think I am doing everything to the book but to no avail. Any suggestions before my next class tomorrow.
Thanks,
Anna

 

[Dave Wooten]

Anna what are your exposure times?

What is the diameter size of your "lens" and focal length?

It sounds like you are over exposing...

 

[Greg_E]

Or that there is a light leak. Had the same happen to a roll of film in a recent experimental pinhole camera:
http://www.f295.org/Pinholeforum/forum/Blah.pl?b-cm/m-1150676255/

You might try black gaffer tape everywhere on the outside of the can (except covering the pinhole.