Tag Archives: portland

Artist Feature

Darius Kuzmickas – Multi Pinhole

It’s not that pinhole photography is a more creative embodiment of photography. It’s that pinhole photography nudges the photographer out on the creative ledge a bit more. Pinhole necessitates experimentation. Constantly infinite depth of field and long exposure times are the first couple steps out towards the ledge. Maybe the realization that one can build their own camera is another step. From there, with a new perspective, experimentation take on a more personal path down that creative ledge.

Last week I posted a 12 part creative challenge. To continue the analogy, that post might be the boot kicking you out there. One of the techniques I encouraged was step exposures – where you slowly increment the film over multiple exposures. Darius Kuzmickas is a master of step exposures, but he doesn’t accomplish it through film increments like most of us do. He has two distinct differences from most of us.

Darius’s first difference is that he has architectural experience under his belt, and his passion for exploration of space radiates from his photography. Architectural experience is incredibly beneficial when photographing urban spaces. We’ve seen this before here on ƒ/D, such as Martin Martinsson’s work featured before.

Darius’s second difference is that instead of incrementing the film in his pinhole camera, he achieved a step exposure system through multiple pinholes. Darius collaborated with master camera maker Kurt Mottweiler, who’s cameras and other pieces are works of art in and of themselves. Darius designed the camera and Kurt brought his master craftsmanship. The result is breathtaking. The steps in overlapping exposures, being perfectly aligned, make the architectural subject matter sing.

 

Darius Kuzmickas has an incredible body of work at this point. The photos shared below are but a fraction of everything he has to offer. After checking out these pieces, I highly recommend that you take a look at his Flickr page for more work. Additionally, he has a project online called Camera Obscura: Outside In(n), which is just awe inspiring.[spacer height=”20px”]

[singlepic id=474 w=600]Benson Polytechnic High School, ©Darius Kuzmickas 2016[/singlepic][spacer height=”20px”]

[singlepic id=475 w=600]Castle in the Sky, ©Darius Kuzmickas 2016[/singlepic][spacer height=”20px”]

[singlepic id=476 w=600]Extended Stay, ©Darius Kuzmickas 2016[/singlepic][spacer height=”20px”]

[singlepic id=477w=600]Fences and Bridges, ©Darius Kuzmickas 2016[/singlepic][spacer height=”20px”]

[singlepic id=478 w=600]Pettygrove Medical Center, ©Darius Kuzmickas 2016[/singlepic][spacer height=”20px”]

[singlepic id=479 w=600]Portland, OR, ©Darius Kuzmickas 2016[/singlepic][spacer height=”20px”]

[singlepic id=480 w=600]Riverfront, ©Darius Kuzmickas 2016[/singlepic][spacer height=”20px”]

[singlepic id=481w=600]Rogue Hall, ©Darius Kuzmickas 2016[/singlepic][spacer height=”20px”]

[singlepic id=482 w=600]The Abigail, ©Darius Kuzmickas 2016[/singlepic][spacer height=”20px”]

[singlepic id=483 w=600]Under the Fremont Bridge, ©Darius Kuzmickas 2016[/singlepic][spacer height=”20px”]

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.

 

 

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[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

Get Inspired – Pinhole 970, Bridge

Today’s featured pinhole sends us into the abyss.

Pinhole 970, Bridge
[singlepic id=126 w=600]Pinhole 970, Bridge, Zero Image 2000, Fuji Reala, ©Darius Kuzmickas 2015[/singlepic]

Darius Kuzmickas provides this wonderful perspective of the St. Johns Bridge in Portland Oregon. He used his Zero Image 2000 loaded with Fuji Reala to capture the way the fog blankets the scene in typical Pacific Northwest fashion.

More of Darius’s work can be found on Flickr, 500px, or his portfolio site. In addition, we highly recommend you check out his project, Camera Obscura, Outside In(n).