test 1
In the Beginning...
test 3
After plenty of testing, and eventually being released from rehab, I finally decided on a design type for the Series 1 pinhole camera.
Series 1 is the first series of a series of series that we have given out to people who will participate in the pinhole project. It is a simple design made for ease of use and developing. Many other series will follow. Camera 1, of Series 1, was handed out in Key West Florida and the last one will be handed out when I have received 50 negatives back.
Specifications
Can type = empty
F-stop = f-140
film size = 35 mm
film type = colour negative
film speed = 100 ASA
Exposure Time = 1 second on bright sunny day and 3 seconds on cloudy day
Instructions = Stabilize can (do not hold in hand) and pull tape back from pinhole for proper exposure time and then tape back over hole. Go get it developed at the nearest photo store that will do the job.
HOW DO YOU BUILD ONE OF THESE THINGS ANYWAY?
Note: The number one problem people experience with pinhole photography is a blurred image due to movement of the camera during exposure. Keep it steady folks. Tape it, bolt it, glue it, put a dictionary on it... just make sure it is steady.
I used a size 18 pin and regular 35 mm colour negative film taped with electrical tape. Simple as can be. The following is a sample of my first hundred or so shots:
Needless to say exposure provided a certain problem for me. I eventual determined that the f-stop is about f-140, not that any light meter will give you a reading for f-140. I determined a simple rule of thumb... expose for 1 second on a bright sunny day and 3 seconds on a cloudy day. If you are inside its a gamble. I have exposed for 8 minutes successfully in a dark dingy bar with hanging pool lights. The following is an example of another type of screw-up:
If you shake your new pinhole camera and you hear a jiggling noise, the film has come undone inside and your picture is going to turn out like this one. It is not your fault. It is the fault of the person who inserted the film improperly. That would be me. You can try shooting it anyway. This particular photo is of the police officers who were politely removing us from the street where we were selling the cameras illegally. Who knew? Although we told them it was by donation only and mostly we were giving them away, they were not moved. After some more questions they turned out to be our most curious customers and by the end of it there were 20 people gathered around while they posed for a photo. They decided it might be imprudent to take a camera for themselves but they wished us luck and said farewell. The next photo was my first successful shot:
This a photo of Curtis. He was a photographer at one time in his life and he new exactly what the pinhole was all about. I told him that I would give him a copy of the print the next day and he told me I could find him here on the street or around the corner on the street. If he wasn't in either of those places he said I could find him in jail. He was in neither of those places and the police officer from the above photo confirmed that he was indeed in his alternate location. To see more photos and find out how many have participated so far, check out the Gallery.
