Studio practice

Pin hole cameras 

Last Tuesday we took part in a pin hole photography workshop, constructing the box cameras and then developing the photographs.

We created the cameras with cardboard boxes, first checking for light holes and sealing all the hole with black tape. We cut  a small stamp sized square in the front of each box, then covered the back of the squares with tin foil, we used a needle to put a tiny hole through the tin foil. We put pieces of  photographic paper in the opposite side of the box and sealed them completely so no light could get into the box. We used what we called a “lense cap” or another piece of black tape to cover the “lense” or pinhole until ready to photograph. These cameras work by housing photographic paper in a completely light proof box, when the lense cap is removed for a matter of seconds the paper inside is exposed to the light through the pin hole and reverts the image onto the paper ready to be developed . I constructed 2 different sized box cameras and then went out to get photographing. I took my objects along with me in a bag and found places I thought made them work well, like ornate church railings and moss covered areas. Although not all of photos worked as I hoped I found that an exposure time of 1 minute worked the best. I enjoyed this process very much, I love the ghostly effect of the photos which I think links well with my current theme, this idea of past objects. When I return back to the studio after the holidays I hope to try this process out again.