Pinhole PhotograPHY

A pinhole photograph is created using any sort of light-tight box with a tiny “pinhole” serving as the lens, exposing the image onto a piece of photographic paper or film placed inside the box. The aperture (pinhole) and focal length (distance from back of box to pinhole) are set elements. The only control one has is with the length of the exposure.

The resulting images can range from sharp to softly focused to blurred depending on whether the camera is attached to a tripod, hand held for the length of the exposure, or precariously balanced in a bush in the wind. As the exposures tend to be long - 30 seconds, five minutes, an hour or more! -, figures in the scene can take on a ghostly quality.

Light leaks and solar flares are common, lending to eerie, otherworldly results.