Category Archives: Inspiration

Inspiration

Get Inspired – The Two Towers

Today’s wonderful photo highlights some wonderful instant technique!

The Two Towers
[singlepic id=57 w=600]The Two Towers, Impossible Project PQ 8×10 emulsion lift onto watercolor paper, ©Herschel Pollard 2015[/singlepic]

Herschel Pollard made this remarkable image in Nashville, TN. Those who’ve played with instant films much will recognize the use of emulsion lift technique. In this case, Herschel used 8×10 instant film from the Impossible Project company – a company that was started after Polaroid went out of business, with the goal of continuing the production of Polaroid films. This is a wonderful example of combining alternative techniques – first with the capture via pinhole, and then with the final “print” via the emulsion lift.
Herschel has been shooting pinhole for about ten years. You can follow him on Twitter, or find more of his work on his Square Peg Pinhole Blog, and on Flickr. In addition, he’s been working on a major project called Next Best Thing Pinhole, which has been featuring some great pinhole work, including some great pieces by Scott Speck.
Inspiration

Get Inspired – Carrousel à la Place Ducale – Charleville-Mézières

Today’s featured photo is dizzying in it’s energy!

Carrousel à la Place Ducale – Charleville-Mézières
[singlepic id=56]Carrousel à la Place Ducale – Charleville-Mézières, Zero Image 2000, TMax 100, ©Joël Lintz 2015[/singlepic]

This wonderful capture of a carousel in the French town of Charleville-Mézières was produced by Joël Lintz. We love the use of pinhole to grab the motion and energy of this fun childhood memory! Clearly, as we’ve seen before, one can get some fantastic results when the fair is in town!

More of Joël’s work can be found on Flickr.

 

Inspiration

Get Inspired – Poppies & Flare

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Today’s featured pinhole photo is exploding with color.

Poppies & Flare
[singlepic id=55 w=600]Poppies & Flare, Ondu 6×12, Kodak Ektar, ©Steven Boelaars 2015[/singlepic]

Steven Boelaars captured this wonderful image by pointing his Ondu 6×12 directly into the sun. The subject matter – the red poppies, is perfect for the effect because of the way they bleed with the flare of the sunlight. This is a common side effect of shooting a pinhole straight at the sun – without a lens to tame the sun’s rays, things stay raw and uncontrollably vibrant.

More of Steven’s excellent pinhole work can be found on Flickr.

 

Inspiration

Get Inspired – The Spells of the North Wind

Sometimes the best inspiration is a different perspective.

The Spells of the North Wind
[singlepic id=54 w=600]The Spells of the North Wind, 6*6, MO pinhole camera, Riga, Latvia, ©Inga Dinga 2015[/singlepic]

In this fine example of pinhole photography, Inga Dinga shows us what joys come from finding different angles with your pinhole camera. Because of the near infinite depth of field of pinhole photography, the format frees you to put your camera in any odd place and find some wonderful new results.

You can find more of Inga’s work on Flickr and the Facebook Pinhole Group.

 

Inspiration

Get Inspired – Old Tree No. 4 (In the fog)

If you’ve spent much time in the country, you can identify with today’s featured pinhole photo.

Old Tree No. 4 (In the fog)
[singlepic id=53]Old Tree No. 4 (In the Fog), Zero Image 6×7, Delta 100, ©Daniel Guy 2015[/singlepic]

Daniel Guy captured this wonderful image with his Zero Image 6×7, showing a tree that has been the subject of his pinhole photos a couple other times as well (here, here, and here). Often it’s wonderful to capture the same subject multiple times from different angles and under different lighting or weather conditions.

As Daniel explained to me, he shoots for narrative rather than for the spectacular. Shooting the same subject over days or months is a great way to tell a narrative about that subject, and perhaps about the viewer. He is surprised to find that this is often the favorite view of the tree, when his favorite view is often #1 – a preference and perspective that says as much about us individually as it does about the subject.

More of Daniel’s work can be found on Flickr.

 

Inspiration

Get Inspired – Blick auf Alster II

This moody pinhole photo of the day comes Germany.

Blick auf Alster II
[singlepic id=52]Blick auf Alster II, Bomboo pinhole camera, Fuji Velvia 50, ©左眼對焦 (Cheng-I Chien) 2015[/singlepic]

This wide angle water scene was produced by Cheng-I Chien in the waters of Hamburg, Germany. The choice of Velvia, which normally has a blue cast in longer exposures, is perfect in the way it brings out the subtle marks of red on the boat.

More of Cheng-I’s work can be found on Flickr.

Inspiration

Get Inspired – Pinhole Egg

Today’s featured pinhole photo is a masterwork of simplicity.

Pinhole Egg
[singlepic id=51 w=600]Pinhole Egg, Zero Image 6×9, ©John Healey 2015[/singlepic]

John Healey provided an excellent description of his creative process:

I usually use my pinholes for landscapes and outdoor shoots but this pinhole picture was developed for one of Zack Aries’s Dedpxl assignments call The Egg. I had shot many photos of eggs using a wide rage of cameras,mediums and lighting set-ups but nothing was jumping out at me so I loaded my Zero 6X9 and stripped down the lighting to the bare essentials and got to work. Using a daylight balanced CFL bulb with a 12″ reflector  clamped to a chair I lit the egg from above and behind and then underexposed the film to give the image a dark and moody feel. I developed the roll and found two images that I thought would print and scan well. A little tweaking and I had the photo.

I learned that reducing an image down to it’s simplest elements can help clarify your vision and once again that being persistent can pay dividends.

Pay dividends indeed! One of the many joys of pinhole photography is the way in which it forces you to think simple.

More of John’s work can be found on Flickr.

 

Inspiration

Get Inspired – Elves and Reindeer

Olle shows us the magic of miniature in today’s featured pinhole photo.

Elves and Reindeer
[singlepic id=40]Elves and Reindeer, Reality So Subtle 141, Kodak 400TX, ©Olle Pursiainen 2015[/singlepic]

Olle and his dear wife made these elves and reindeer with their grandchildren while waiting for Santa this holiday season. The adorable little figures are set in a scenic Finnish hillside. Looks to me like the children made a wonderful Christmas memory with their grandparents.

We chose to highlight this photo because it exemplifies the wonderful way in which pinhole’s infinite depth of field can be used to build scenes with both tiny and large components.

Olle can be found on Flickr.

 

Inspiration

Get Inspired – Tied Up

Gunnar Eld brings this maritime scene from the icy shores of Stockholm.

Tied Up
[singlepic id=39 w=600]Tied Up, Ondu 6X6, Fuji Acros 100, ©Gunnar Eld 2015[/singlepic]

When I lived in Seattle there were many days that were cold, drizzly, and hazy. It was like a blanket everywhere, but especially by the water. Gunnar’s image evokes that chilly yet comforting sensation perfectly.

You can find more of Gunnar’s work on his Flickr page and personal site.

 

Inspiration

Get Inspired – Höfn

Today’s featured pinhole photo was taken in the amazing Icelandic landscape.

Höfn
[singlepic id=38]Höfn, ©Patrick T O’Reilly 2015[/singlepic]

Usually I write up the synopsis of these, but Patrick O’Reilly did a pretty good job himself when he sent in the photo:

Last summer I boxed up my cheap 80’s Peugeot bicycle and flew from France to Iceland with the plan of seeing how far I could ride in 2 weeks. I met up with an English friend of mine at keflavik airport and we started riding along the south coast, taking on the rain and headwinds, and wild camping along the way.  After 4 days of riding my knee got the better of me so we found a car, threw bikes in the back and continued the adventure on 4 wheels.

We chose this photo because of the painterly effect that pinhole lent to the wonderfully craggy landscape of Iceland. Well done!

Patrick can be found on Flickr.