Large Format Pinhole Photography

Over the past few years, I’ve been trying my best to stay with twilight and night photography, as the site is called.  Yet we dislike being stereotyped, including me.  After all, I shoot at all times of day, not just at night.

This post, I’ve decided to show something very different for me.  Recently, I had use for a couple of weeks of an 18″ 8×10 inch “box camera” with no lens, just a little hole where a lens would be, and a place to put the film at the other.  In this case, the “pinhole” was .92mm in diameter, about twice the size of the period at the end of this sentence.  For 8×10 at this focal length, this is the equivalent of around f488 (and you thought f16 was stopping down!)  Exposures in bright sun are around 15 seconds with ISO 100 film.  Because the camera is on a tripod and the exposures are seconds to minutes, I liken the process to night photography.

There is no way to view what you’re capturing, and there are no aids whatsoever on the “box” to help guide you.  You simply put it on a tripod, insert a film holder, point it in the direction of your “view” and estimate the field of view, plumb the camera, open the small cover over the “pinhole”, count to 15, and then close the flap.  It’s quite anti-climatic and a very free-form, seat-of-the-pants type of photography with few, if any, rules.

Because of the cost of 8×10 film and processing, I shot just 15 views.  I found the field of view is similar to 85mm on a 35mm camera or full frame digital.  These are scanned from the one negative I shot of each view.

 

View 3n-140521-810a_600pxAs you can see, the focus is equally “sharp” or “soft”, depending on your outlook, throughout the image in this shot of a jetty.  The blurring on the water on the right is a sailboat in this 15 second exposure.  I like the way the water looks on the left swirling around the rocks.  As you can see, steadying the camera on the tripod to get the horizon straight is a challenge and I almost nailed it, considering I didn’t use a level.  That seemed inappropriate for this sort of photography.

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View 1n-140521-810a_600pxHere is a view from the jetty towards a beached yacht at Playa del Rey (part of Los Angeles).  The surf swirls around in this pocket of beach.  It looked nothing like this to the naked eye.  That’s the charm of this type of camera, as it ‘sees’ differently.

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View 2n-140521-810a_600pxI went onto the beach to get a closer view of the yacht and the surf pounding against it.  I waited a few minutes after I set up for the seagulls to return for some foreground interest.  They were pretty still for their 15 second group portrait!  Considering there is no lens, this is sharper than I thought it would be, both in the closest foreground and the most distant subjects.  Note the blurring people on the beach in the background.  Yes, my feet and the tripod got wet as the tide was coming in.

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View 1n-140509-810a_600pxI tried shooting several types of subjects to see what would work best.  Rocks-and-roots are a common pinhole subject, but I found my versions were staid.  That’s not been my subject matter for many years no matter what the camera.  Here I tried a semi-industrial farm area the San Joaquin Valley (the vertical guy-wires are for a huge cell phone tower).  The clouds were moving faster than I thought, as you can see them blur past.  Below is a shot with my point-and-shoot digital camera that shows the wooden box camera and the view.  The soft grittiness of the pinhole version has it’s own feel.

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View 3n-140510-810a_600pxI went up to Reno/Lake Tahoe for a friend’s wake and ash-scattering and took the camera along.  This view is along highway 50 coming into Carson City.  I wanted to see the close/distance relationship and focusing.  It’s difficult to really see the unique texture and softness at this scale on a computer monitor, as they are only about a quarter of the size of the original negative.  The tonal range was excellent–typical of 8×10 negatives.

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20140510110a blog resHere I was preparing to shoot the Bowers Mansion, a NPS historical landmark between Carson City and Reno.  It was dark overcast and it called for a 5 minute daytime exposure.  Then, in the middle of the exposure, the wind kicked up and it began to snow–in late May, no less!  It was cold, wet and nasty for large format photography and was 30 degrees.  You can really see how primitive the camera is with an 8×10 film holder making the exposure.  Below is the shot I made with the pinhole camera.

View 4n-140510-810a_600pxThe snow didn’t show because of the long exposure and it was only for the last minute of the exposure, at that.  I wouldn’t have started the exposure if I knew it was going to snow!  I think I composed this well, after figuring what the field of view was.  I was impressed that I centered the building as well as I did!  This, like the others are full frame, with no crop (the black rebate edge tells it all).  The softness of the trees moving in the wind softens this already soft image.

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View 1n-140510-810a_LS_600pxI shot this the day after the evening ashes scattering at the end of this pier on Lake Tahoe.  I wanted to have an image as a remembrance to my friend of over 30 years.  With this camera, and only 8-8×10 sheets of film for 4 days, I had to make each shot count.  I walked up the beach and saw these 4 chairs in a backyard.  I didn’t move them, but had to find the right perspective to get the field of view I wanted.  This is a 30 second exposure, as the sun was peeping in and out of the clouds during the exposure.  I desaturated the color by about half to mute the bright colors of the chairs, lake and sky.  This is my favorite image done with this camera and I feel I succeeded in my homage to Mr. S.K.  RIP, my friend.

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If this camera was mine, I would put some guidelines on it for an approximate field of view on each side.  Also, I think a “wide angle” pinhole of about 8 inches instead of 18 inches would be more fun.  One could really show the infinite depth of focus with such a camera.  Again, thanks to Matt for letting me try this camera for something new and different.

26 Responses to Large Format Pinhole Photography

  1. Debra Nakatomi says:

    I especially love the 4 chairs and homage to your friend. Beautiful shot! It reminded me of end of summer visits to Lake Tahoe as a child. Thank you for sharing Tom!

  2. Hi Tom,

    Really lovely and interesting as always. i’m glad you continue to publish these stories.

    i was very struck by the absence of vignetting in any of the images. I seem to recall more in pictures I’ve made with 35mm pinholes. I’m wondering if that’s a result of the longer focal length (I was shooting WA) or something else. Any ideas?

    Thanks,

    Andy

  3. Don Schwartz says:

    Tom, Thanks for sharing a different viewpoint..

  4. Paul says:

    Fascinating, Tom!
    Enjoyed these pinhole shots very much!
    Is it possible you will build a digital pinhole camera next?

  5. kay kenny says:

    Wow Tom, sharpest pinholes i’ve ever seen! So much fun-Is wet plate colloidal next?

  6. Dave Rhodes says:

    Thanks Tom for these images… In these days of photoshop, etc., it is a treat to see how film and real time can be expressed.

  7. Wena Dows says:

    Always a pleasure when you share what you see with the rest of us. Day and night!

  8. Kathy B says:

    The roundness of the silos on the farm is stronger with the pinhole camera vs the standard, everything feels more real, more touchable. Thanks for sharing these, Tom.

  9. David Green says:

    Great project, Tom! The shot with the chairs is my favorite. What a wonderful tribute to your friend.

  10. Richard Newman says:

    more ROCKERS from Mr Pavin!!!!

  11. what an interesting story and soft images. nice.

  12. Dave R says:

    Always nice to read about your adventures, the big format looks like an interesting prospect. Keep up the good work.

  13. Terry says:

    I love the dreamy, almost ghostly effects. Colors get misty. The water goes ‘watercolor.’ It’s beautiful.

  14. Arzell Hale says:

    Very interesting, Tom! These are great pictures, especially with the equipment you used. I love the picture with the four chairs. A great trubute to your long time friend.

    Arzell

  15. James Callahan says:

    Well done, Tom. I agree that the beach chairs are the best of the lot. Interesting how it all works. All the best.

  16. Ann Mitchell says:

    I love that you’re going in new directions. It will be interesting to see where this takes you. Especially like the first image with its strong graphic quality and the last two for their mood.

  17. Jane Brunzie says:

    Hi Tom
    When I was in 6th grade we made a cardboard pinhole camera. Since I lived in Iowa City which used to be the capitol of Iowa, we went to the stand in front of the Old Capitol and took our pictures. I have it somewhere. Maybe I can find it to show you. They came out really good…black and white.

  18. Steve Harper says:

    It appears your sense of design and acute management of the existing light remain innate whether shooting day or night.

    Let’s hope that the constantly evolving technology does not override the Zen experience.

    Thank you for sharing your experiences and your experiments,

    Steve

  19. Barbara says:

    As usual, your photographs are beautiful and always make me take another look – just to make sure that I don’t miss anything. Thanks for showing so many different types of images – I also loved the Lake Tahoe picture with the four chairs – who wouldn’t want to be there and just absorb the beauty and remember your dear friend.

  20. Judy says:

    I love the softness of the mansion, maybe especially with the snow. The Lake Tahoe picture is very poignant.

  21. Kim Cooper says:

    Tom, I always enjoy your photos. I agree with the comments above, but there is no “like” button, as Face Book has. 🙂 I enjoyed all the clouds in the pictures you took. I love clouds against a blue sky…my favorite of these is the beached jetty with the swirling, soft colors of the ocean in the foreground.

  22. Norman A Palley says:

    Tom –

    Thanks for posting these. They are beautiful…

    The last time I did pinhole shots was when I was 11 or 12, with a 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 SLR.

    Norm

  23. Ted says:

    Tom, I like the effect you get with this technique. The last image with the beach chairs is a real winner. Belongs in a gallery somewhere…

    So, f/488 pinhole, midnight, on a deserted pier in Long Beach, 8×10 film in the holder… How long to get your “industrial night” image? (Hey, at least with this rig you don’t need to deal with the pains of getting movements set just so & focusing on a GG in the dark of night, right? :^)

  24. Marie Unini says:

    Love these — so cool!

  25. John Chan says:

    Hi Tom,

    Thank you for your Pinhole Fantasties. I am so glad to see your
    non-stop Paiva’s vision of creativities.

    John Chan

  26. Mark Miller says:

    The gentle focus of these images is dreamy. They’re fascinating. Your innovative boldness never fails to produce unique results. This is art. Bravo, Tom!

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