Self With Pears

I started a "Sheet A Day" pinhole project a couple of months ago, in which I shoot one sheet of 4x5 film a day in my Zero 4x5. I want to really get to know this camera and I thought this would be an interesting practice to help me with that. I have been enjoying the project for the most part! I did finally run out of steam last week on day 46 though. But I kept on going anyway. 

As I go develop the photos i do a rough scan with my iphone and a light-box to see what they look like. I am uploading them all on my Flickr here (If you are interested in seeing them let me know. we will need to be Flickr contacts. They are not fit for public consumption!) It has given me time to decide which ones I want to scan on the V700 at Newspace. 

This is one that I really liked. I feel like there is something here, but am not sure what that "something" is. I like what is going on with the pears, for example. I like the sort of mundane self portrait in the background. I feel like there might be a project in here somewhere. I just need to suss it out somehow...

Film swap with Square Peg Pinhole, Round 2

Several months ago I did a pinhole film swap with Square Peg Pinhole (you may recall). While I was shooting my roll of Portra, he was working on a roll of Acros to send to me. This would be my first black and white film swap! I really like the results! Here are my favorites from the roll. Again we used a Holga WPC on the 6x12 mask. The last photo in the gallery made Flickr Explore, which is always kind of an ego boost. 

Check out Herschel's wonderful photography on his blog or Flickr!

Zero 45 experiments

I have been spending a lot of quality time with my Zero 45 lately. A few weeks ago I took it up to The Witches Castle in Portland and shot several frames with both 4x5 and 120 film. I thought it would be interesting to shoot the same scene, one with no extension frame (25mm) and one with 1 extension frame (50mm). I was actually quite shocked when I saw the results. It's crazy how wide the 25mm configuration is compared to the 50mm. In the photos below my camera is in the exact same spot. The only change was the extra frame. The photo on the left is the 25mm configuration. The photo on the right, the 50mm configuration.  I actually like the one on the left better. It is more interesting to me. 

WPPD film swap with The Old Penfold

As I mentioned before, on Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day I met up with several of my fellow pinhole photography friends in Amsterdam. When we stopped for lunch we put a roll of 120 film into a hat - a roll of pinhole that we shot before we left for Amsterdam. Then we passed the hat around and picked a roll. I picked Alex. I had to figure out what to do with his 6x17 photos on the roll.  I finally decided to shoot 6x6 and do a triptych over his shots. For each triptych I did a self portrait, a shot of the "landscape" and a shot of some flora in the landscape I was in. 

You can see more of Alex's great work on his Flickr stream or his website. 

Click the images to see them in their wide angle glory. 

Next Best Thing Pinhole Project

Swimmers at Trillium Lake

I am humbled and honored to have been chosen by Herschel Pollard (AKA Square Peg Pinhole) to be one of the pinhole photographers to represent the Pacific Northwest of the USA in his Next Best Thing Pinhole Project.  You can read more about the project at the website. Here is my  submission for the Summer/Landscape image. It was taken up at Trillium Lake a few weeks ago. Visit the blog entry for more info about it.

New Dawn

New Dawn

Here is another photo taken with my Zero 45, this time using a Graflex "23" 120 roll back and Velvia film. This is the first time I have actually used slide film for it's intended purpose and not cross processed it. I really love the results. I have always kind of been afraid of it, especially with pinhole, because I know it is less forgiving than color negative film. But I'm glad I took a chance with it.

I am still struggling with this camera's wide angle. It's hard to wrap my head around it.  

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pappergank/1...

Time

“Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.”
— Pink Floyd. Time.

I have a large format pinhole camera that takes really, really wide angle shots. I have been struggling with it since I got it. I can’t quite figure out how to compose a shot, or even what the best kind of shot is for this camera. So I decided to burn film through this mutha so I can maybe learn something about how it works. I’ve spent a lot of quality time with this camera lately.

A few weeks ago I was in a “Dark Side Of The Moon” mood and listened to this album several times from beginning to end. This song, these lyrics, really stood out for me at that time.  As these lyrics were rattling around in my mind I came up with the idea for this photo I was curious to see what would happen if I pinholed a clock’s arms moving around in a circle. So I tried it. My original idea was to start the photo at 11:11 (I have a thing about 11:11) and I did do that, but the shot turned out over exposed. This was the second shot and it came out better exposed.

Is this the best photo I have ever taken in my life? No. But I learned some things from it. I learned that having a theme, or an idea in your mind is a good way to get inspiration. I may kick around more photos around “time” as a theme.

I also learned that for this camera you have to get in very, very, very close. This was close and it wasn’t even close enough. Also, I like the way still life looks with this camera (using 4×5 sheet film), as opposed to landscape. I think the crazy vignetting works well with still life. So. Note to self.

Waiting

img020.jpg

I am continuing to explore self portraiture with pinhole photography. I am not sure what I love about self portraits. I don't think I am narcissistic. I think they just fascinate me. Especially pinhole self portraits. 

This was taken with my Schlem P6*6 and Ektar 100. I think it was exposed around 3 minutes?

Incidentally, this photo made Explore on Flickr, which is always kind of an ego boost. However my ego was soon kicked in the ribs upon discovering that it was put into a gallery called, "Explore...WHY?!?" I had to laugh at that, actually. I have said the same thing about many photos in Flickr's Explore. My big photography pet peeve is HDR and I have not been afraid to say so publicly, in probably a not-so-nice-way. So I yeah. I think I deserve this little bit of karma. 

Fog on the water - photo made with a 3D printed camera!

A few days before I left for Amsterdam I ordered a Schlem P6*6 3D printed pinhole camera from Todd Schlemmer. Todd lives in Seattle, a mere hop, skip, and Jump away from where I live near Portland. So I fully expected to receive the camera via mail after our trip. However, Todd was planning on going to Amsterdam as well so he offered to deliver the camera on WPPD in AMS! It was very exiting to receive it on this most special day. My husband used the camera that day and enjoyed it very much. I wanted to use up the film before we left Amsterdam so I shot the last few frames, the one above being one of them. You can see my husband's WPPD submission with this wonderful camera here in the WPPD gallery. 

I really loved using this camera! I love that it has a lens cap, it makes exposures less shaky (see this post about that trick). There are other awesome features too: A cover for the red window in the back (to prevent light leaking through the paper, causing marks to appear on the negative), and a clip to hold the film roll together to prevent light leaks when you remove it from the camera. 

Plus, it just looks bad ass. I mean, look at it! It's freakin' cool!!

I can't wait to use it more! I am going to run some color film through it very soon. 

You can order one pre-made by Todd by going here.  You can download the plans to print one yourself by going here.  (assembly required). Todd is very awesome and accessible and if you  have questions he is there to answer them. 

A pinhole camera printed by a printer. Technology is amazing. 

I am pinholeing myself etching my pinhole camera at Rembrandt's house

One of the museums my husband and I visited while we were in Amsterdam was Rembrandt's house. It was one of the best museum experiences I have ever had and well worth the cost of admission. Usually they will have people doing demonstrations throughout the house of paint making and print making. Sadly, the day we went there were no demonstrations. however, the disappointment was erased when we went to the studio at the top floor and found an etching workshop! We made and etching of our own onto plexiglass and then made a print from our etching - all of which we could take home. It was a fantastic experience! 

I decided to draw a picture of my pinhole camera and make and etching and a print of that. And then as I was drawing it I decided it would be kind of awesome to open the shutter and make an exposure while I was doing this. The pinhole photograph isn't the best but it was a fun little experiment.

Here is a photo of a print of the etching that I made. I am not very good at drawing, as  you can see. But still, it's fun to do. Printmaking is another fascination of mine that I would like to explore in the future. it was kind of fun to mesh two of my interests together. 

My WPPD Entry

I am back from Amsterdam and had an unforgettable week there. I am still trying to process it all. I've been enjoying going through all of the photos I took. I thought I'd get back into my blogging routine by posting my submission for WPPD. Here is a shot of our group in the Jenever bar Inge took us to. This was exposed for about 30 minutes with my Zero 2000 using Ektar. It was hard to choose just one but I picked this one because for me the highlight of the day - and the trip - was meeting this fine group of folks. Pinhole people are the best! 

I'll write more about my trip in the coming days. I have lots of great photos to share. 

Alex wrote a great post about our day on his blog Pinholista. 

You should also check out the WPPD gallery from our group at the pinholday website. 

A good spot

Today's image is from Seaside, Oregon over Christmas. I enjoyed sitting here for a few moments while my husband explored the rocks. 

And this concludes my week of pinhole fun! I am about to board a plane for Amsterdam where i will spend Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day with some of my friends.  I hope you enjoy the day (Sunday) as well. If you are not a pinhole photographer, consider using this day to explore this wonderful form of photography. Check out the WPPD website on how to participate for the day. Also check out their resource page. 

Camera: Holga WPC (6x9 mask)
Exposure time: 5 seconds
Film: Kodak Ektar 100
Pinhole: 0.3mm
Focal Length: 40mm
ISO: 100
Aperture: f135
Dev: C-41 by lab
Scan: Epson V500

Street Fair In Astoria, Oregon

I love what pinhole photography does to crowds and people. In many instances, the long exposures will remove a crowd from a busy scene. In this case, my exposure wasn't very long and so I got motion blur. 

 

Camera: Holga 120 PC
Film: Kodak Ekar 100
Pinhole: 0.25mm
Focal Length: 48mm
ISO: 100
Aperture: f192
Exposure: 5 seconds
Dev: C-41 Lab (Blue Moon Camera)
Scan: Epson V500

Pinhole Film Swap with Aware Of The Void

As I mentioned a few posts down, I became interested in doing pinhole film swaps several months ago when I discovered people were doing them. As I thought about pinhole film swaps I came up with an idea. What if a person just sent an entire camera with film re-rolled to another person? My Pinholga is lightweight and cheap, so if it gets lost in the mail it's no big deal. Also, using the same camera would ensure the frames matched up. So I asked my friend Brendan if he would be interested in trying this and he was! I spent the next few weeks shooting a roll, then I sent it overseas to Ireland. I have to say, it was really fun seeing my little Holga on location in Ireland on Brendan's IG feed every now and then. And I am now thinking my little Holga needs more Transatlantic adventures...

I really love how the shots came out! I am really liking the way pinhole film swaps turn out in general and I really want to do more of them. The weird, dreamy nature of pinhole works well with the serendipity the double exposed image. 

Here are my faves. Click the thumbnail for bigger. 

I will get my camera back next week in Amsterdam - with a fresh roll ready to expose -  so stay tuned for a round two! 

You can see more (previous) film swap results from Brendan and I on my Flickr. 

You should definitely check out Brendan's wonderful photography. You can do so on his Flickr or his blog, Aware Of The Void. 

The North Side Of The Lake

Today's pinhole shot was taken at Trillium Lake. This lake is a favorite destination for Portlanders in the Summer, for good reason. It's a cool, alpine lake located in the shadow of Mt. Hood. The location is peaceful and beautiful. Most of the shots I get here Mt Hood is looming over the water. This was taken on the other side of the lake. 

Camera: Holga 120 PC
Film: Kodak Ekar 100
Pinhole: 0.25mm
Focal Length: 48mm
ISO: 100
Aperture: f192
Exposure: 5 seconds
Dev: C-41 Lab (Blue Moon Camera)
Scan: Epson V500

Red Mist

Today's pinhole shot was taken in June 2013 during a pinhole class I took with Zeb Andrews at Newspace. If you ever have a chance to take a class with Zeb Andrews I highly recommend it. He is a fantastic teacher. Some of the day was spent in a classroom where he went over technical aspects of pinhole photography, and then the rest of the day was spent on a photo walk around Portland with Pinholgas that were passed out in class. This is a photo of a couple of classmates watching ducks while a crowd of people passed by. 

Camera: Holga 120 PC
Film: Kodak Ekar 100
Pinhole: 0.25mm
Focal Length: 48mm
ISO: 100
Aperture: f192
Exposure: 5 seconds
Dev: C-41 Lab (Blue Moon Camera)
Scan: Blue Moon Camera

Candy Colored Sunbeams

Today's photo was taken last summer at another of my favorite places, Trillium Lake. I used my Zero for this and probably Ektar 100 but I haven't a clue how long it was exposed for. 3 minutes maybe? I remember my husband wandering up the path for quite a ways while I sat here in this spot. 

I LOVE what the pinhole does to sunbeams. Love the candy colored stripes. 

Pinhole Film Swap with Square Peg Pinhole

I really enjoy doing film swaps. I love the collaboration between my fellow film photographers and I love the serendipity that occurs. At some point I realized that people were doing pinhole film swaps. Of course I needed to do one too. It combines two things that I love! So I let fate decide who I was going to do my first pinhole film swap with. One day in January I mentioned on Twitter that I wanted to do a pinhole film swap. Within moments my buddy Herschel (AKA Square Peg Pinhole) said, "Yes! Let's do this!" I was thrilled! I've admired Herschel's pinhole work for quite some time and so doing a film swap with him would be quite an honor. 

He suggested that we both shoot a roll and send it to each other and that we both use Holga WPCs. We decided on the 6x12 mask. I shot my roll that weekend and sent it off to Nashville where he lives. A few days ago I received the results via email (click thumbnails to see them in all of their wide-angle glory):

I am very pleased with how they came out! The pinhole aspect adds to the dreamy nature of film swaps in general. 

The film we used for this was Portra 160.

You should totally check out Herschel's work. You can find him here:
Flickr
Website

And now that I've done another film swap I am wanting to do more! I've missed doing them. If you are interested in doing a film swap  with me - pinhole or otherwise - let me know! It's a lot of fun! 


Chinese Garden

img007.jpg

This past weekend I thought I would take my new toy to the Chinese Gardens in Portland, Oregon. I was testing the 120 roll holder for the camera. I felt kind of ambivalent about the results. I think I like color film for pinhole photography best - for myself personally. I love it when others do it. I think it just doesn't work with my vision (whatever that is. Still not quite sure about that. I guess I will know it when I see it). 

Camera: Zero 45 with 1 extension frame. Graflex "23 Graphic" 120 roll holder
Exposure time: 5 seconds
Film: Fuji Acros 100
Pinhole: 0.28mm
Focal Length: 50mm
ISO: 100
Aperture: f178
Dev: Home developed in Diafine
Scan: Epson V500

My foray into Large Format Pinhole photography

I'd been eyeing this camera for a couple of months. For some insane reason I have had this bug to do large format pinhole photography and have been shopping around for cameras. I have also been interested in zone plate photography so, hands down, the Zero 45 won the in the "WANT" department. So when I came upon some extra cash I bought it! It was a birthday present to myself. 

Since my Zero 2000 has the same wide angle as the Zero 45 without an extension frame I added one to my setup. I thought it would be nice to mix things up a little bit and have options. 

My very generous friend Jeff sent me an amazingly awesome magazine contraption that holds six sheets of film! And I received a pack of Arista 100 for my birthday. So I was set! 

I spent the week trying out all of the various settings. I shot a couple with the extension frame, without the extension frame. I shot a few using the zone plate settings. It didn't take long to get through six sheets. 

I ordered a Mod54 and developed them Friday evening. Since I don't have a scanner that will scan 4x5 I went to Newspace to make prints of them. 

The whole process has been fun and a great learning experience. I am not sure what to make of the actual photos concerning subject matter and composition. I suppose I will get a handle on this the more I use it. Practically I have a lot to learn. For example, I really scratched the negatives getting them into the tank and I will need to be more careful next time. Another consideration is to load my tank in a light proof room as the dark bag is a bit too small for all of the stuff inside of it. 

 

Pinhole, no extension  frame (25mm). 4 minute exposure. 


Zone plate with one extension frame (50mm). 4 minute exposure.

Pinhole. No extension frame (25mm). 1 min. 25 seconds.