Development of practice Zo Damage Development of practice Zo Damage

Pinhole photography

Expand on notes for Contemporary pinhole photography; What is pinhole photography; Making a pinhole camera; Film or paper; Field of view workaround; Light metering formulas; Contemporary pinhole and zone plate photography exhibition

While it can be very time consuming to find online photography resources, it is worth the investment. Pinhole cameras do not have a viewfinder. As such, one of the biggest issues of image capture with a pinhole camera is composition. The formula for estimating the field of view of a pinhole camera provides a reliable estimation (Henson 2020, 06:09).

Calculating field of view for pinhole camera
First measure from the inside left of the film gate to the outside left of the camera and transfer the measurement marking with a small dot on the top of the camera. Repeat for the right side. Next measure from the centre of the pinhole to the outer edge of one (left OR right) side of the camera body and make a small dot. As the pinhole in many cameras is not at the ‘true centre’ is it best to measure one side only. Using a ruler, join the measurement marks to make a ‘V-shape’ (Figure 1). Repeat the steps above on side of the camera to determine the height of the field of view.

Figure 1. Marking field of view guides on 4x5 pinhole camera

Exposure times (general)

https://www.alternativephotography.com/determining-exposures-for-the-pinhole-camera/

http://www.martinwinfield.co.uk/pinholetech.html

https://www.lomography.com/magazine/69260-holga-wide-pinhole-camera-wpc-user-review-exposure-table-and-more

https://www.lomography.com/magazine/10960-applied-mathematics-to-holga-cameras

Exposure times

Figure 1. Pinhole exposure times (PinholeCamera n.d.)

Keywords

Pinhole, Field of view, MFA, Studio 1

Bibliography

“Pinhole exposure times”. pinholecamera.com. Accessed April 10, 2022. http://www.pinholecamera.com/exposure.html.

Hammond, Mary Sayer. 1986. "THE CAMERA OBSCURA: A CHAPTER IN THE PRE-HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY (PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY, ASTRONOMY, DRAWING MACHINES, KEPLER, PERSPECTIVE)." Order No. 8703552, The Ohio State University. https://login.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/camera-obscura-chapter-pre-history-photography/docview/303482885/se-2?accountid=13552.

Henson, Martin. 2020. “Pinhole photography, all about” Martin Henson. May 22, 2020. YouTube video, 09:51. https://youtu.be/nuI5l0t9PHg.

Hymer, Karen. 2021. "Layered Light: Contemporary Pinhole And Zone Plate Photography". Light Art Space. https://lightartspace.com/exhibition/layered-light-contemporary-pinhole-and-zone-plate-photography/.

Madison, James. 2020. "Shooting 8x10 On A Homemade Pinhole Camera With F/264? Why Not?". Fstoppers. https://fstoppers.com/film/shooting-8x10-homemade-pinhole-camera-f264-why-not-508286.

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