Tag Archives: ektar

Inspiration

Inspiration Week of 7/25

Welcome back, friends, for the latest installment of our photos to get you inspired for the weekend. Just a short set this week as coordinating things for our open Call for Entry took up a chunk of time. Hope you enjoy this set! When you’re done, there’s lots more to check out at the past features gallery! Use the newsletter signup on the right side of the page to get these updates mailed to you weekly!

Look Back
[singlepic id=425 w=600]Look Back, ©Dirk Ahrens 2016[/singlepic]

Dirk Ahrens made this photo as one of his first pinhole photos. Before this, he was working a lot with solargraphs until he picked up a Sharan Wide 35 and loaded it with Agfa APX 100. This foggy scene is from 1850 meters up in the Alps, at the passage between Kanzelwand and Fellhorn as rain fell in the valley. You can find more of Dirk’s Alps photos, solargraphs, and other work on his Flickr profile.[spacer height=”20px”]

GW Metro
[singlepic id=423 w=600]GW Metro, ©Scott Davis 2016[/singlepic]

Scott Davis is an experienced photographer in historic printing processes, and has recently started to work in pinhole for additional inspiration. He’s developed an appreciation for the simplicity of pinhole and how it lets him focus on the image, not the equipment. As he states: “Working with cameras that don’t have lenses or shutters per se, or at least that have primitive ones, means that serendipity becomes important in my work…What interests me is the capture of whole seconds, minutes and even hours of time in a frame, contrasting the things that move in the scene with things that remain static.” I encourage you to learn more about his work and processes at his site, dcphotoartist.com [spacer height=”20px”]

 

Lake Erie
[singlepic id=424 w=600]Lake Erie, ©Kier Selinsky 2016[/singlepic]

I made this photo of Lake Erie from the shores of the small city of Avon Lake, near Cleveland, OH, at about 8PM as the sun got low in the West. It was an exceptionally calm day, and my family and I enjoyed just basking in the warmth. I made this photo with my Zero Image 69 and Kodak Ektar film, exposure was about 9 seconds.

Inspiration

Inspiration Week of 6/20

For this week’s inspirational set, we bring 4 movements, all from Europe. Which is appropriate, I suppose, since the whole world is looking to Europe today due to the passage of the Brexit. No matter your political leanings on the issue, we think you’ll find these works inspiring. If you need more, as always, you can check out our recap galleries!

Pinhole No.1
[singlepic id=370 w=600]Pinhole No.1 ©Christian Schaus 2016[/singlepic]

Christian Schaus wielded his Zero Image 2000 loaded with Ilford Pan-F to make this image at Jervaulx Abbey Park, in Yorkshire Dales, England while on holiday in August last year. This trip was his first time using a pinhole camera, where he fell in love with the simplicity of it, and he hasn’t used any other format since! You can find more of his fantastic pinhole images on his Flickr page.

 

Stockholm Central Station
[singlepic id=371 w=600]Stockholm Central Station, ©Gunnar Eld 2016[/singlepic]

Gunnar Eld loaded his Ondu 6×6 with HP5+ for this scene of the Stockholm Central Station, and as a result of the 6 minute exposure, most of the people have vanished from the image, which “adds another dimension to images where only things more permanent stay visible. Perhaps a thought that applies to other things in life as well.” Indeed. You can find more of Gunnar’s work on his Flickr page.

 

Machina
[singlepic id=369 w=600]Machina,©Zoltan Adam Varga 2016[/singlepic]

Zoltan Adam Varga made this abstracted detail of a washing machine with his homemade 6×6 pinhole camera and Kodak Ektar 100. His camera is made of LEGOs, plastic sheets, a mouse pad, and aluminum beer can for the pinhole. Something to remember if you ever lament not having the shiniest and newest camera! You can find more of Zoltan’s remarkable pinhole photography on his Flickr page.

 

Untitled
[singlepic id=372 w=600]Untitled, ©Maciej Mucha 2016[/singlepic]

Maciej Mucha made this impressionistic capture in London with a homemade box camera loaded with Ilford IVMG paper. He held the camera for 25 seconds while making the exposure of skyscrapers. A creative boldness that has paid off very well in this case! You can find more of Maciej’s excellent pinhole work on his Flickr page and on his portfolio website.

 

 

Inspiration

Inspiration Week of 6/13

Today’s inspiration is in 3 movements: the scenic, the abstract, and the impressionistic. I love all 3 and, when out shooting my own pinhole camera, often get twisted up trying to decide which to do. The following are some fine examples, to help open your eyes for the weekend. Need more? Check out our galleries of prior inspiration!

Untitled
[singlepic id=360 w=600]Untitled, ©Sarah Taft 2016[/singlepic]

Sarah Taft made this soft scenic capture in North Carolina while visiting family in the Fall of last year. She made the capture with her Zero Image and Ektar 100 and the result is some very creamy colors. You can check out more of Sarah’s work on her website and on her Flickr page.

 

Walt Disney Concert Hall
[singlepic id=361 w=600]Walt Disney Concert Hall, ©James Thorpe 2016[/singlepic]

James Thorpe caught this abstract scene with his RealitySoSubtle 4×5 pinhole camera at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Due to the harsh lighting in Los Angeles, James was challenged with finding a color film slow enough to get the time effects he desired. He made this capture with Fuji CDU II Duplicating stock – a film originally made for darkroom duplication work – which has an ISO of 4. James has examples on his Flickr page of other experimental films, such as Kodak Vericolor II from the 70’s, also with an ISO of 4.

 

Osterseen xiv
[singlepic id=359 h=600]Osterseen xiv, ©Michael Richter 2016[/singlepic]

Michael Richter captured this impressionistic scene of a forest by vertically panning his “beast” of a homemade pinhole camera, named “Vivian”. Vivian has a focal length of 35mm and was loaded with XP2 for this photo. You can check out more of Michael’s work on his flickr page or on his blog (in German).

 

 

Artist Feature

Olle Pursiainen – Finland

Last year we were honored to bring you a sample of Olle Pursiainen’s work. He is a photographer who has a solid track record of producing dramatic imagery from his native Finland. As his Flickr and Lomography galleries show, he’s become very skilled at finding great images to collect in his own neighborhood. As we’ve seen before, Finland works very well in the pinhole format.  

Olle started his photographic journey while studying Statistics and Mathematics at University in the 1970’s. He learned to develop film and work a darkroom on his own, and continued analog until the early 2000’s. After a brief stint with digital, he went back to analog – preferring to stick with his roots. He’s often lugging several of his many many pinhole cameras – from small format to 4×5 – as well as point and shoots and SLR’s. I have the same problem – so long as there’s room in my pack, I’ll stuff it with another camera.

He is drawn to pinhole because of the “freedom to control everything and nothing.” Indeed, this is one of the largest attractions of pinhole, and has been mentioned by other photographers as well. In addition, Olle is drawn to the pinhole format by the “wide angles and warped perspectives,” which offer a degree of creative outlet unrivaled by any other photographic format.

After enjoying the scenes from Olle’s work below, you can find a lot more at his Flickr page and on his Lomography home.

 

Pack Ice
[singlepic id=329 w=600]Pack Ice, ©Olle Pursiainen[/singlepic]

 

Brändö Sund
[singlepic id=325 w=600]Brändö Sund, ©Olle Pursiainen[/singlepic]

 

Double Sun
[singlepic id=326 w=600]Double Sun, ©Olle Pursiainen[/singlepic]

 

 

Sandö
[singlepic id=330 w=600]Sandö, ©Olle Pursiainen[/singlepic]

 

Self Sufficiency
[singlepic id=331 w=600]Self Sufficiency, ©Olle Pursiainen[/singlepic]

 

The Southern Customs
[singlepic id=333 w=600]The Southern Customs, ©Olle Pursiainen[/singlepic]

 

Korsholm Church
[singlepic id=327 w=600]Korsholm Church, ©Olle Pursiainen[/singlepic]

 

Observation Towers
[singlepic id=328 w=600]Observation Towers, ©Olle Pursiainen[/singlepic]

 

 

Vaasa Mill
[singlepic id=334 w=600]Vaasa Mill, ©Olle Pursiainen[/singlepic]

 

Silos
[singlepic id=332 w=600]Silos, ©Olle Pursiainen[/singlepic]

 

 

Inspiration

Inspiration Week of 4/25

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!

 

Evening
[singlepic id=306 w=600]Evening, ©Don Pyle 2016[/singlepic]

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.

 

 

*
[singlepic id=305 w=600]*, ©Pavel Apleton 2016[/singlepic]

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

 

Jack’s Rake
[singlepic id=308 w=600]Jack’s Rake, ©Andy Werner 2016[/singlepic]

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.

 

Impressionistic Field in IR
[singlepic id=307 w=600]Impressionistic Field in IR, ©Marie Westerbom 2016[/singlepic]

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

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.

Hall 3
[singlepic id=301 w=600]Hall 3, ©Dan Smith 2016[/singlepic]

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.

 

Moscow Gorky Park Ice Rink
[singlepic id=302 w=600]Moscow Gorky Park Ice Rink, ©LitterArt 2016[/singlepic]

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.

 

Pub Rain
[singlepic id=304 w=600]Pub Rain, ©Jesús Joglar 2016[/singlepic]

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.

 

 

 

Inspiration

Get Inspired – Bull Island

Editor’s note: The daily pinhole photos are curated and shared to inspire and elevate the pinhole photography artform. Do you have a photo you’d like considered? Tell us about it.

Today’s featured pinhole photo is a gentle view on a sunny day.

Bull Island
[singlepic id=168 w=600]Bull Island, Reality So Subtle, Kodak Ektar, ©Fran Morrin 2015[/singlepic]

Using a Reality So Subtle wide angle camera pointed at the sun, Fran Morrin captured this warm scene on Bull Island. It’s an image that stirs memories of perfect summer days with nothing to worry about.

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

 

Inspiration

Get Inspired – Atlantic II

Today’s featured pinhole image is a calming shade of blue.

Atlantic II
[singlepic id=166 w=600]Atlantic II, Twinings Tea tin cam, Kodak Ektar ©Artūras Meškauskas 2015[/singlepic]

Artūras Meškauskas, a Lithuanian photographer from the city of Panevezys, made this wonderful image with his homemade pinhole camera that he fashioned from a Twinings Tea tin and expired Ektar 100. I’ve got to say his appears to be the best tea tin camera I’ve seen. This scene was captured in 2014 on an autumn holiday in Gran Canaria.

You can find more of Artūras’s work on Flickr and Facebook.

 

Inspiration

Get Inspired – 1961 VW Bug

Today we feature pinhole’s take on an iconic car.

1961 VW Bug
[singlepic id=124 w=600]1961 VW Bug, Zero Image, Kodak Ektar, ©John Thomas 2015[/singlepic]

John Thomas produced this pleasing capture from the interior of a 1961 VW Bug using his Zero Image pinhole camera loaded with Kodak Ektar. It’s a combination that seems meant to be – the notorious palette of Ektar, soft focus of pinhole, and vintage perfection of the Bug – I wouldn’t want this any other way!

You can find more of John’s work on Flickr.

 

Inspiration

Get Inspired – Blue Lake

I want to sit by the edge of this small lake all day…

Blue Lake
[singlepic id=122 w=600]Blue Lake, Zero 45 w/Graflex 23 back, Kodak Ektar, ©Moni Smith 2015[/singlepic]

Moni Smith made this wonderful capture at Blue Lake, Portland, Oregon – a city that surprises with so many quiet places of understated beauty such as this. She made this shot with her Zero Image 45 in the 25mm configuration and a Graflex 23 back loaded with Kodak Ektar 100. For a long time I’ve shot Fuji color, but something about the tonality of Ektar these days has got me rolling in that direction now.

More of Moni’s work can be found on Flickr, her personal blog, and her pinhole blog that she runs with some friends, Pinhole Obscura.