Tag Archives: color

Nils Karlson – Earth Stands Still

October 4, 2016 Kier

Friends –
I feel I’ve let you down. You see, I’ve known for a few weeks now that Nils Karlson’s book, “Earth Stands Still”, would be coming via crowdfunding. I’ve known this whole time that it was going to be a triumph of pinhole minimalism. But due to some travel and a mixup, I’m getting this announcement out a few days late. To say the book is flying off the shelves is an understatement, and I’m so happy to see that Nils’s work is being received so well. So for those of you who miss out, I apologize!

You have to check out Nils’s work. What follows is the ƒ/D interview with him, along with some sample imagery. Have a gander, and then head over to his IndieGoGo – and fast! There’s barely any copies left, and it is a limited printing.

All photos ©Nils Karlson 2016[spacer height=”20px”]

ƒ/D: How did you discover your passion for photographing coastal areas in this impressionistic way? Is it a vision that you had been searching for? Did you start with some happy accidents that developed into something more? Something else?
NK: It started out with a rather usual approach, trying to record the scene as it appeared in front of my eyes. But I have never found a true connection to my subject by this. This changed when I stumbled over an excellent book – „Liquid Light“ by Fabien Baron – at the photobook exhibition in Cologne 2014. It featured the most minimal and quiet photos of the seascape I have ever seen: All long exposure images, featuring the horizon dead centre in a vertical frame. This became my starting point for this leg of the journey, and several concepts in respect of technical approach evolved from here.

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What influence has the shore had on other aspects of your life?
As long as I can remember I was drawn to the sea. We used to spend summer vacations at the North Sea, and I was always fascinated by the view, sound, scent, and feel. Today, I love the vastness, when you can see for miles and miles. In the densely populated area I live in, you will not find that. There will always be some kind of obstruction. Also the light has a unique character, especially in the very early or late hours. I travels through a lot of atmopshere, where it gets scattered and incredibly soft. Fortunately, my wife loves the sea, too – and it is a great place to bring our dogs!

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These sorts of minimalist impressionist photos leave so much space for the viewer to explore their own feelings in the scene. What do you find yourself getting from them?
The answer lies within he question – it is space what I am looking for. Vast spaces, where the eye can wander without obstacles. Silence is made of vast spaces bare of distraction, and silence might be the most profound factor i am searching for.

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You quote lyrics from the band No Omega in your book, a passage questioning modern society’s priorities. The photos in the book are like an epiphany of calm, while No Omega is anything but. Can you talk about how you relate this harsh music to your nature photography?
That’s a long, and probably confusing story, but I will try to make it somehow cohesive. Ever since I can remember, I had difficulties to filter sensory impressions, especially noise. This put a lot of stress on me, and the first device to control all these impresions was sister’s first walkman. Wearing headphones, I was able to control sound from the outer world as well as the crippling voice of selfsoubt (latter one only to a small degree). This brought me to music, and to the drums when I was about eleven. The more ferocious and noisy the music, the better it works as a shield – bury the sound under another sound. It was a progression from bands like Iron Maiden, Deep Purple and Jethro Tull over Anthrax, a lot of bay area thrash and death metal. As I found the lyrics of most bands well beyond cheesy, I expanded my vocabulary to hardcore and eventually lots of political grindcore and experimental bands. Listening to all that rather noisy music used to be my safety blanket. But after all these years, it started to wear off. When my wife and me had a vacation on La Palma (Canary Islands) in 2009, it was the first time I was confronted with silence. Actually, this trip was the foundation for pretty much everything I do in the photographic realm these days. Since then, it has become like a quest for me – seeking silence. I seek the most quiet dialogue with the landscape. When I crate these photos, I never listen to music. I don’t need to. The problem is that I do not find that silence where I live. That’s where I fall into old patterns and use music as a suit of armor. But still, I find the lyrical content of music to be a crucial factor, and I am always looking for bands who are passionate and authentic. No Omega is one of these bands, and I find myself in their music to a point which is beyond my means of written expression. Actually I have a quite braod taste in music, with a lot of Indie, old (and oldsounding) Emocore, and instrumental bands with a „cinemascope approach“ balancing the fury. I live in a constant state of contradictions existing simultaneously anyway, and I have stopped believing in the concepts of absolute truth. Embrace Ambivalence.

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There are many studies of the shore in this book, and I’m sure many many that didn’t quite make the cut. How do you choose?
Even in high quality photo books, I often miss a cohesive story, flow, and dramaturgy. My goal was to treat the book like a musical album. Have an Intro, build and release some tension, finish on a a strong, but subtle note. Creating an organic flow of light, colour, and atmopshere was the most time consuming aspect. A lot of strong and beautiful photos do not appear in this book, as they just did not fit into the flow. Other photos, which I found to be just „quite decent“ without context, proved to support the story, leading to a perfect sequence of images. Editing is hard though. Sometimes you have to push your favourite kid off the cliff.

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What technologies did you use to shoot these photos? Were they all pinhole?
For seascapes, I love to work with long exposures, whether in a normal camera or lensless.

In Earth Stands Still, one of the three chapters is dedicated to the vision of the pinhole camera. Isn’t it amazing how the very stripped down to the bare bones concept of the pinhole camera yields such atmopshere and mystery? Throughout the few years I am using pinholes, I have tested a lot of different cameras. The difference in the way they render a photo is stunning, having each a distinct characteristic on their own, just like some lenses. Also, I find it to be fascinating to work without any kind of finder – everything is more of a guess, from composition to the inaccuracy of the manual exposure. The pinhole rules out all the „merits“ of the technical revolution, and becomes much more a part of the person using it.

Another technique I use to depart from the scene in front of my eyes towards the image inside my head, are intentional camera movements. These are inspired by Australian photographer Steve Coleman and other artists he featured on his blog. Ethis technique benefit from happy accidents, though I also practiced different movements with a small digital camera before transferring the knowledge into the realm of film.

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Inspiration

Inspiration Week of 9/5

September 9, 2016 Kier

This week brings a few new pieces to help get your creativity going. Fall is almost here, and this is the time of year that I personally feel the most charged to get out and shoot new work. Seasonality not withstanding, if you are needing a little direction in your creative pursuit, check out the 12 creative challenges we shared a couple days ago!

Low Season
[singlepic id=472 w=600]Low Season, ©Vincenzo Caniparolli 2016[/singlepic]

Vincenzo Caniparoli is the Italian photographer who captured this wonderful beach season, using his homemade 4×5 camera with Fomapan 100. It’s a truly wonderful example of the medium, having captured the spirit of the day. He has a great deal more excellent pinhole and lensed work on his personal website and on his Flickr page.[spacer height=”20px”]

Twenty Eight Point Five
[singlepic id=473 w=600]Twenty Eight Point Five, ©Eric K.F. Li 2016[/singlepic]

This is the second time we’ve shared work by Eric Li, who has an exceptional eye for great photos. Previously we shared one of his pieces on the 7/18 inspiration posting. I highly recommend checking out the rest of his work on his Flickr page.[spacer height=”20px”]

6
[singlepic id=471 w=600]6, ©Konstantin Murashev 2016[/singlepic]

Konstantin Murashev is a talented photographer out of Murmansk. In this scene, he captured a portion of time with 6 of his friends as they gathered in a Moscow apartment. Konstantin has an excellent way of seeing, and I encourage you to look more on his Flickr page, or follow him on Facebook.[spacer height=”20px”]

Inspiration

Inspiration Week of 8/22

August 26, 2016 Kier

This week for our inspirational post we’re happy to bring you something on the more experimental side. Playing with these techniques will usually give mediocre results at first, but with a bit of effort, the work will pay off. Once learned, I’d love to see how you apply these techniques to your own creative vision. Don’t forget to share your new work with us – here’s the submission guidelines!

No Title
[singlepic id=467 w=600]No Title, ©Vanesa Henseleit 2016[/singlepic]

Vanesa Henseleit is a talented and stylistically unique photographer from Santiago, Chile and she made this photo using partially overlapping multi exposures. It’s a wonderful example of the technique! Vanesa also dedicates a decent amount of her energy to her group, Lucky Pinhole, which conducts workshops, projects, and calls for pinhole work. I highly recommend you check out more of her work on her website.[spacer height=”20px”]

Scarecrow
[singlepic id=468 w=600]Scarecrow, ©David Stenström 2016[/singlepic]

David Stenström made this haunting image with a Robert Rigby 4×5 camera loaded with Fomapan 100. The exposure was roughly 2 minutes while the camera was pointed at a friend standing in a field of peas, whom David instructed to move slightly to bring the motion feel. David has some great work on his Flickr profile that is worth looking at![spacer height=”20px”]

Nite Flights
[singlepic id=466 w=600]Nite Flights, ©Andy Martin 2016[/singlepic]

Andy Martin has a great project on display at his website called Nite Flights, combining long night time pinhole exposures and motion to get a visual embodiment of chaos. You can find the rest of these images on his website by clicking here. He also has more great work on his Flickr page.[spacer height=”20px”]

Inspiration

Inspiration Week of 8/15

August 19, 2016 Kier

Welcome to this week’s set of pinhole inspiration! It’s been a busy week – as the Call for Entry came to a close, we got a flood of GREAT work! We’re very excited about this upcoming project. Don’t stress if you entered and haven’t heard back yet – we have some catching up to do!

Low Season
[singlepic id=449 w=600]Low Season, ©Vincenzo Caniparoli 2016[/singlepic]

Vincenzo Caniparoli made this image recently in Sardinia, Italy as part of his work looking at popular holiday locations during the less popular hours. He used his homemade 4×5 camera with Fomapan 100 to capture the reminiscent scene. You can find more of Vincenzo’s wonderful work on his personal website and his Flickr page.[spacer height=”20px”]

Untitled
[singlepic id=453 w=600]Untitled, ©Petr Stul 2016[/singlepic]

Petr Stul provides us this beautiful rushing scene that pulls you in close. You can find more of his work on Live Journal, Facebook, 500px, and Flickr.[spacer height=”20px”]

Lunargraphy in summer
[singlepic id=450 w=600]Lunargraphy in Summer, ©Dirk Ahrens 2016[/singlepic]

Dirk Ahrens produced this lunargraphy photo as a first attempt, and a quite wonderful one at that. The experience has taught him a lot, which he’ll use to produce more. The moon stayed low in the sky because of the summer latitude. You can find more of his work, which will soon include more recent lunargraphs, on his Flickr page.[spacer height=”20px”]

Pordenack Point
[singlepic id=451 w=600]Pordenack Point, ©Mark Rowell 2016[/singlepic]

Mark Rowell made serene this photo with his Zero Image 45 loaded with New55 film from Pordenack Point looking across Zawn Trevilley towards Carn Boel. He has more great imagery on his Flickr profile.[spacer height=”20px”]

Trouville crépuscule
[singlepic id=452 w=600]Trouville Crépuscule, ©Etienne Boissise 2016[/singlepic]

Etienne Boissise likes how “pinhole sets you free from the ordinary eye’s perception” and how holding the camera over a long exposure involves the hand and body in a way that other forms lack. The result in this beach scene is extraordinary. You can find more of Etienne’s work on Flickr.

Inspiration

Inspiration Week of 7/18

July 22, 2016 Kier

Usually I start these weekly inspiration posts with some entertaining banter about the photos, but this week I have something more urgent. ƒ/D exists for two main reasons: to promote the art of pinhole photography and to promote those artists who – regardless of reputation or education – work with pinhole.

However, because of my persistent reaching out to photographers through other sites, I’m at risk of being shut out as a spammer. I need to throttle back on the unsolicited messages, and I need pinhole photographers to meet me halfway.

If you have work of your own or someone else’s that you’d like to be considered for sharing, I encourage you to do one of the following:

Like and message ƒ/D about your new work on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fslashd
Email ƒ/D about your new work at [email protected]
Tweet at ƒ/D about your new work @fslashd
Sign up for my email newsletter (right side of the page) – I haven’t sent these yet, but will be doing so soon

With your help, I can still send weekly updates of great pinhole photography!

Don’t forget our open Call for Entry!

Körök / Circles
[singlepic id=411 w=600]Körök Circles, ©Fitt Tamás 2016[/singlepic]

Fitt Tamás made this dramatic capture with his 6×12 medium format “Natasha” pinhole camera with Kodak Ektar 100 film. Fitt enjoys the super wide angle panoramic format because of the challenge it provides in finding that perfect location and scene. The long exposures and ritual process of pinhole give him the opportunity to observe more of his environment around him. You can find much more great work by Fitt at his flickr page.

Untitled
[singlepic id=414 w=600]Untitled, ©Michael Nelson 2016[/singlepic]

Michael Nelson has a very strong style to his work, which he applied with great results to this pinhole photograph. You can check out more of his work on his Flickr page.

祝金沢開業
[singlepic id=409 w=600]祝金沢開業, ©Takahiro Chiba 2016[/singlepic]

Takahiro Chiba used an Abelson Scope Works Omniscope to make this mind-bending capture of Kanazawa Station, Japan. The Omniscope has an anamorphic feature to it, that allows the light to come in at a 90º angle to the film plane, causing such radical distortion of the image. Anamorphic is also a favorite tool of ƒ/D interview subject, Jana Obscura. I invite you to check out more of Takahiro’s excellent work on Flickr.

My Ninety Seconds
[singlepic id=412 w=600]My Ninety Seconds, ©Eric Li 2016[/singlepic]

Eric Li made this image with an Ondu 6×12 and Kodak Ektar film, with a 90 second exposure over water. This was only his 3rd roll through a pinhole camera – look for great stuff to come from this guy. You can see more of his work on his Flickr page.

Pinhole Photo
[singlepic id=413 w=600]Pinhole Photo, ©Vanesa Henseleit 2016[/singlepic]

Vanesa Henseleit is from Santiago de Chile where she runs a group called Lucky Pinhole. Her group conducts workshops, projects, and respond to calls for entry where pinhole is appropriate. This is a great example of stutter stepping an image – difficult technique to get good results from, but when you do, they’re truly remarkable. You can find more of Vanessa’s work on her Flickr page.

DIY Paper Obscura Camera 6×12
[singlepic id=410 w=600]DIY Paper Obscura Camera 6×12, ©Jason Huang 2016[/singlepic]

Jason Huang made this still life image with a paper 6×12 pinhole camera. It’s an excellent example of the soft and luscious mood that pinhole can give to even simple subject. You can find more of Jason’s work on his Flickr page.

Remember to respond to our open Call for Entry! It’s free!

Interviews

Michael D Hawley – Raw Pinhole

July 13, 2016 Kier 2 Comments

Michael D Hawley grew up in photography. His father lugged cameras, and eventually, so did he. It’s an introduction to the art that I’m sure many of us share – I know I do. I still have my very first photograph sitting around here somewhere – it’s a portrait of my parents and their best friend, all of them laughing and hunched down, because I kept pointing the K1000 further and further down as my 6 year old fingers fussed with the focus ring.

It’s a bond that’s formed with this art form – whether you pursue something else in life or stick with photography professionally – the smell of an old camera still brings back a lot of warm memories. Michael stuck with photography, and made it his career. He lives in Vancouver, BC and works as an independent cinematographer, photographer, and camera operator. I think you’ll see that professional discipline in the work displayed below.

After taking in the interview below, be sure to check out Michael’s website (http://www.mdhphoto.net/), filled with both lensed and lensless images, plus some great motion picture work.

Your bio mentions that you grew up in a family that often had cameras around, and your father lugging the heavy home video equipment of the day for the family goings on. Eventually your mom swapped your pellet gun for a camera. If you had to pinpoint the value you got from this early photographic experience, what do you think it would be?
Yes my Father’s love for capturing experiences was very much my introduction to cameras. He was never very interested in the art of photography but an avid documenter, both with stills and video so the camera was always around. Like many people I was fascinated as a child at magic of freezing time. I use to spend hours scanning over any old black and white image I could find, wondering who the people where in the photographs and what their lives must of been like; It was a time machine for me. When I look back there were a few moments that really turned my interest toward photography. The first was in high school I was never very good at writing so I convinced my teachers to let my friends and me produce short videos on the topic instead of writing essays. With in-camera and deck to deck editing really it was much more work then writing but we had a lot of fun; our classmates loved the videos and hey we got a good mark. The second influential time for me was when I was a teenager and my mom sent me away in the summers to work on my uncles farms. One of the ranches was in a very remote part of British Columbia’s interior called Falkland. It was a very beautiful cattle farm that lay in the bottom of a valley. There was no one around, the town only had about 500 residents and out of shear boredom I picked up my aunt’s video camera and started shooting the farm and surroundings, this was when I really began to observe light and composition even though I probably would not of been able to communicate it at the time. The next and I would say most important time of my development was when I first introduced to a Twin Lens Rolleiflex this of course was when digital had already essentially taken over. I could not believe the look of the images and how beautiful medium format film is. What followed was pivotal to my development was learning how to meter light and really understand exposure. Also shooting medium format restricted me to twelve exposures and really forced me to ask myself why I was taking this image, what did I like about it.

In the Desert
[singlepic id=387 w=600]In the Desert, ©Michael D Hawley 2016[/singlepic]

It’s not often that we see a professional photographer devoting so much of their portfolio and online presence to pinhole. What is it that draws you to pinhole?
After the Rolleiflex I became a camera junkie and with digital taking over I found many cheap sales on incredible second hand film cameras some really wonderfully crafted tools. Which took me all the way to the earliest and most primitive camera the pinhole camera. I instantly fell in love with pinhole it was so raw and basic. To me when the elements all come together the images just feel so surreal, like stepping into a dream. Because pinhole is so simple of a camera with a fixed aperture and self controlled shutter, no focusing, no choice of lenses you can really just think about placement. I have always felt that getting a really good wide angle shot is much more difficult to achieve because you have many more three dimensional elements to consider in composition but can be much more rewarding for the viewer. Since pinhole is super wide angle when you bring your eyes right up to the camera essentially what you see is what you get and with its long exposures I love how the pinhole camera captures motion, like paint strokes on a canvas.

A Perfect Night
[singlepic id=385 w=600]A Perfect Night, ©Michael D Hawley 2016[/singlepic]

Floating
[singlepic id=386 w=600]Floating, ©Michael D Hawley 2016[/singlepic]

How did you discover pinhole photography?
I discovered pinhole photography while visiting my local camera shop Beau Photo in Vancouver. Beau sold Holga pinhole cameras and I thought it would be fun to play around with one and a camera for $50 did not seem like much risk. I love the Holga 120PC the camera is awesome it gave me some of my favourite pinhole shots. I really like the F192 aperture on it allowing for some long exposures. I also picked up the Holga 120WPC panoramic camera and had great success with it. I often found that Holga cameras would either give me my best shots or ruin them with light leaks, backs falling off, forgetting to take the lens cap off etc. so I wanted to find a camera I knew was not going cause quite so many problems. Which lead me to the Zero Image 612F multi format camera. The Zero Image is a handmade camera and it’s polished teak wood finish and brass controls are almost as beautiful as the photographs it takes.

Time Travel
[singlepic id=396 w=600]Time Travel, ©Michael D Hawley 2016[/singlepic]

New Day
[singlepic id=392 w=600]New Day, ©Michael D Hawley 2016[/singlepic]

Do you feel that pinhole improves your professional photography? How so?
Yes I do feel pinhole has improved my professional work. It has really taught me how important camera placement is and further to that it has taught me a great deal about what makes for an interesting wide angle shot. Pinhole has also showed me the benefits to keeping things simple and exploring new mediums. I often wish the professional world would be more open to taking creative risks and trusting an older, slower process.

Kilmainham Jail
[singlepic id=390 w=600]Kilmainham Jail, ©Michael D Hawley 2016[/singlepic]

Siwash Rock
[singlepic id=395 w=400]Siwash Rock, ©Michael D Hawley 2016[/singlepic]

One of the hardest aspects of pinhole photography is the visualization before the shot. The “seeing”, as it were. How do you approach your shot visualization?
I try to approach locations and scenes that will utilize the camera’s strengths which I feel are it’s long exposures and super wide perspective. I will look for things that are in motion and will give the viewer as sense of movement, like clouds, trees or water. I will also look for locations that will create a good sense of depth and height. I always move the camera in a little closer to the scene then what would appear natural to the eye. Pinhole is always a bit of guess work and with time the guessing becomes less.

Saturna East Point Pinhole
[singlepic id=394 w=600]Saturna East Point Pinhole, ©Michael D Hawley 2016[/singlepic]

What do you find to be the biggest challenge with pinhole photography? What stops you?
I do not find many challenges with shooting pinhole photography as the camera is very simple. However since the pinhole camera has many limitations in its simplicity it is not the best tool for many projects. The biggest challenge for me with pinhole is in the printing. The camera vignettes heavily and more so with panoramic, the exposure varies greatly from the center to the edges and I find it is very hard to strike that balance when it comes to the print. However when everything comes together the prints to me are stunning and feel so unique. Another challenge with pinhole and which I think might be its greatest is trying to get people to look at the camera as a legitimate camera and art form, I find it is often dismissed too easily.

Late Light
[singlepic id=391 w=600]Late Light, ©Michael D Hawley 2016[/singlepic]

Palace Window
[singlepic id=393 w=600]Palace Window, ©Michael D Hawley 2016[/singlepic]

You’ve photographed some notable actors – Gary Oldman, Pierce Brosnan – how soon till we see you attempting this with a pinhole? 🙂
I have been fortunate to photograph some very talented people and even though I really love pinhole photography I don’t think I would use it much for portraiture. Pinhole with its wide perspective and warped edges is not very forgiving on the face. Perhaps if the scene called for a dramatic surreal effect, or perhaps I would maybe mix some elements in the post work. There is a pinhole photographer I follow on Flickr Scott Speck who has shot some interesting portraits with pinhole, I enjoy seeing his work.

There are so many talented pinhole photographers out there and I am always excited to see what they come up with next, always an inspiration to me!

In the Morning
[singlepic id=388 w=600]In the Morning, ©Michael D Hawley 2016[/singlepic]

Kilauea Volcano
[singlepic id=389 w=600]Kilauea Volcano, ©Michael D Hawley 2016[/singlepic]

Inspiration

Inspiration Week of 5/30

June 3, 2016 Kier 1 Comment

This week’s inspiration sharing a small set on account of the work we’ve been doing on some larger features. As some of our readers know, we’ve been reaching out to find what you want to learn. Have an article idea? Connect to us on Facebook and send a message! In the meantime, if you need more pinhole goodness to fill your appetite today, check out our Spring recap!

Horseshoe Bend
[singlepic id=342 w=600]Horseshoe Bend, ©Mike Hawley 2016[/singlepic]

Mike Hawley is a professional photographer and camera operator out of Vancouver, CA. This pinhole photo of Horseshoe Bend is but one example of a fine repertoire of pinhole photos that he has on his Flickr site and personal website. We’re looking forward to bringing a larger set of Mike’s work in the near future.

Smoked Ribs
[singlepic id=343 w=600]Smoked Ribs, ©Kier Selinsky 2016[/singlepic]

This photo was taken by yours truly, at Cleveland’s West Side Market, which is America’s oldest operating indoor market. I have a weird obsession with markets – I don’t know why. If you’ve never tried pinholing in a crowd though, give it a shot sometime. The funky camera and long exposures draw strangers in to talk with you about what it is you’re doing. I’ve explained pinhole photography to everyone from kindergartners to cops to retirees to homeless folks – it really gets you some interesting conversations.

Howard Moiser hand held his pinhole camera to make this shot while on his mountain bike. He was on an easy portion of singletrack near Stewarton in Ayrshire, Scotland. Howard can often be found exploring tracks first by mountain bike, and then later retracing by foot to explore further. He almost always has his pinhole camera along for these jaunts, finding his pinhole subject matter as he goes along. You can find more of his exploratory pinholes on his Flickr site

Site News

Spring Wrap-up

May 27, 2016 Kier 1 Comment

After taking a months long hiatus, ƒ/D was roaring back this Spring with fresh pinhole imagery and artists. Here’s a quick recap of what we published:

Inspiration posts – every week we seek to bring some fresh inspiration to help you see the world in a pinholy way. View all of them here.

JC Denis’ Studies in Motion went in depth in how to look leverage pinhole with motion.

Martin Martinsson brought us into his Movements collection and showed his fantastic eye for space.

In her Test of Time series, Corine Hörmann showed us how to take the long exposure to the extreme end, and the wonderful world we find there.

We learned from Brooks Jensen‘s book: Letting Go of the Camera, and how to see more freely.

Steven Dempsey took us to a cinematic place in pinhole and showed us how to create tension in the imagery of transition.

Finally, Olle Pursiainen brought us to his native Finland and inspired us with his images of the rural landscape near his home.

We hope that you’ve enjoyed all of these wonderful works this Spring as much as we’ve enjoyed bringing them to you! And we look forward to bringing you much more in the months to come!

Inspiration

Inspiration Week of 4/25

April 29, 2016 Kier

For this week’s inspiration photos, we bring you five excellent pieces showing some great captures in wide open expanses. The weather in the Northern Hemisphere has warmed up, but the sun is still a little lower, making dramatic lighting more accessible than in the summer. If we do our job right, this week’s selection will get you motivated to get out there and make some fresh pinhole captures this weekend. Enjoy!

Don Pyle is a Washington based pinholer who captured this excellent vantage point of the Hawthorne Bridge in Portland, OR using a camera he builds called the Innova. A number of these Innova cameras are used in the wild by pinhole photographers around the world. The excellent results photographers are making with these cameras can be seen in the Innova Pinhole group collection on Flickr. Don captured this image on Ektar 100 film in 120 format. You can find more of his photos on Flickr.

Pasha Apletin is a talented photographer from St. Petersburg, Russia who’s been working on a series about the ships there. He made this photo during an early summer morning at the banks of the historic center there. He captured this on 5×7 film, which he sometimes uses for cyanotype printing. You can purchase this print here, or learn more about him and his work at his website, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, or Flickr

Andy Werner is as equally talented behind the camera as he is building one in his cabinetry shop. He made this photo of Jack’s Rake – the diagonal path running across the face of the rock – in the Langdale Valley in the Lake District, UK. The rock is known as Pavey Ark, and you can see the camera he used here. Andy has been shooting and building pinhole cameras for about ten years. So far the cameras have been for his own use primarily, and is currently working on selling small batches of his cameras.

You can find more of Andy’s work on his website, Facebook, and Flickr. His cameras will soon be available here, or you can get updates on Facebook.

Photograph After Visiting My Mother’s Grave
[singlepic id=309 w=600]Photograph After Visiting My Mother’s Grave, ©Cameran Ashraf 2016[/singlepic]

I love this powerful landscape capture that Cameran Ashraf made using his Zero Image 2000 pinhole camera on Acros 100 film. He made this photo while reflecting on his mother’s life and passing, and provided the following text to accompany:

“I took this photograph after visiting my mother’s grave on what would have been her 70th birthday. She had long feared growing old, never did, and passed away at 67. I didn’t say much to her at the grave, and though it had been years since she passed, I was still angry she didn’t stick around.

In the mountains north of her grave, I sat on this long dead log and let the day reach its close. The silence of the setting sun strongly called me to take a photograph, and as set up my pinhole camera I began to weep and said many things which my heart had desired to say to her.”

You can view more of Cameran’s excellent work on Flickr, Instagram, or follow him on Twitter.

Marie Westerbom made this awesome, ephemeral capture using IR film in her Zero Image 2000. She hand held the camera while making the photo over a 2 minute exposure. The result is a practically translucent impression of the field in a breeze. You can see more about the background of this photo on Marie’s blog, or see more of her work on Flickr.

Inspiration

Inspiration Week of 4/18

April 22, 2016 Kier

This week’s set of inspiration photos explore spaces that we get to know well. These photos explore some great opportunities that lie within our daily lives. Whether still life or layered action, photographing the everyday just takes a bit of seeing.

Dan Smith captured this unique scene while on a trip to London that he planned for his birthday. Dan and his son explored the Barbican Centre and the surrounding estates, which he found to be a real architectural treat. They had half an hour or so to kill before they headed home, and the limited light allowed Dan only a couple exposures as each was about 15 minutes. Dan used an Ondu Multi Format 6×12 loaded with Fuji Acros, and developed in Rodinal 50:1. More of Dan’s work can be found on Flickr and he can be followed on Twitter.

This unique image was created by a guy who goes by the nom de guerre of LitterART, in Gorky Park, Moscow. The photo is composed of 2 pinhole photos from Gorky Park with a Fujifilm X-series camera fitted with a SKINK pinhole lens. LitterArt describes the rink as:

“The largest ice rink in Russia and Europe. Built using cutting-edge technology, the rink is open from October to March, and is one of the must-see places in Moscow. 59 000 sq feet of the smoothest ice the world has seen, 4 changing pavilions, cozy cafes, great music and a magical atmosphere.”

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

Studies on perspective lines: Piano
[singlepic id=303 w=600]Studies on perspective lines: Piano, ©Jari Savijärvi 2016[/singlepic]

Jari Savijärvi hales from Jämsä, Finland, and became interested in Pinhole photography after seeing the results of his friends’ pinhole efforts. He was particularly impressed by how the pictures were simultaneously sharp and smooth, how the depth of field was amazing deep, and how the format provided the possibility to have super wide angle view without distortion. For someone who enjoys strong perspective lines in his photography, it’s a format that works well.

Jari started planning and designing his own camera with a goal towards Worldwide Pinhole Day 2014. He experimented with cardboard and various formats before deciding on 4×5. He fashioned his camera to use standard 4×5 film holders, and made the pinhole out of aluminum that he installed in a shutter to help control precise exposure times. Jari realized some fast success with the homemade camera and format when his 1st real photo with it was published by the Washington Post. You can see more of Jari’s work on Flickr, Facebook, and his personal site.

Jesús Joglar made this photo with a camera he calls “ladybird”: a 6×6 format Digna camera produced in Spain in the 1950’s by CERTEX that he hacked to convert it into a pinhole camera. He took apart the lens and fitted it with a pinhole, finishing it with a ladybug magnet for the shutter (thus the name). For American audiences: the rest of the world apparently refers to ladybugs as ladybirds – who knew?

Jesús’s ladybird camera has a 0.15 mm, focal length of 32 mm, f/213 value which all comes together to give a nice wide 104º view angle. The photograph was taken in the Pub “Rain!” of Manchester (UK) with Kodak Ektar 100, exposed for 50 minutes. Jesús developed in Tetenal C-41 chemicals and scanned the negative with an Epson Perfection V700 Photo scanner. You can find more of his great work on Flickr.

Exploring the Art of Pinhole Photography