B (184)

57

B+W



working with a pinhole film

camera – lengthy exposures,

soft focus, vignetting – can all

be achieved with digital

cameras or software techniques,

why bother?

As I said in the first article

(B+W 173), I couldn’t think of

a logical reason for using film.

But in the intervening months

I have noticed a shift in my

relationship to image making.

My approach is more conscious

and considered – more

respectful. I’m less inclined to

take things for granted – like

last week, when the 10x8in

images I shot for this article

were ruined by mottled,

factory-damaged film. I was

leaving for Scotland the next

day and I had no chance to

re-shoot. What should I do?

The only option was to take a

pinhole camera and some 5x4in

film I happened to have.

Sometimes it’s good to let life,

rather than software presets, do

the choosing – to let the

accident participate.

I

f you’ve never shot with a

pinhole film camera, would

I recommend it? Absolutely!

I’d say embrace the

unpredictability and

uncertainty – the real joy of it.

Digital photography and

software solutions have

encouraged us to believe we can

THE PINHOLE IMAGE

This is a scan and Lightroom file of one of this week’s 5x4in pinhole

pictures. It’s not how I see the print, though. You have to imagine it

on uncoated, handmade, Japanese Gampi Vellum paper that a photo

workshop participant made. I’ve been waiting for the right image to

print on it. The first platinum print I ever sold was also a pinhole

picture on Gampi Vellum.

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