Pinhole Photography Project

 

Pinhole Photography Assignment

Reflection

Overall I enjoyed the assignment and felt that I learned a handful about the photographic process and gained a new appreciation for photography. My mind was blown by how simple yet complex a pinhole can be and that essentially anything can be a pinhole camera. The photos you get when using a pinhole camera have such a unique look, and I think that's what I like most about pinhole. The grunginess of the photos really leans itself to my style of photography; people often will use photoshop to get this look, but though trial and error, pinhole just does it for you. In conclusion, I would happily do pinhole again and think I could vastly improve upon my previous designs and photos with the knowledge I gained during this assignment. 

"Where my eyes cannot go" 

For this photo, I was inspired to try and replicate what it might look like if you could see through the world and everyone walked on glass. I had my subject on a ledge with one foot stepping outward, trying to hold as still as possible whilst I went underneath my pinhole camera. In theory, I really like this picture and this concept, but with how long the exposures had to be, I just couldn't get it to be sharp. I appreciate how sharp the university in the background is and how it frames the subject in the corner. 

This photo is my favourite of the lot. The concept was to put the camera in the garbage and use the garbage lid as the shutter. I love how high the contrast is between the background and the subjects and how you can't make out the faces, but you know they are there. The photo reminds me of a ubiquitous shot seen in movies whenever the actor's characters are on screen. It's almost the reverse of what you'd expect, as typically, their faces would be glowing (Pulp Fiction Briefcase), but in my shot, they are entirely black.

Self-Portrait

I enjoy this shot of myself, and I feel it has some nuances that separate it from the rest. The biggest thing for me in this photo is that the development process is almost revealed in the textures and grit in the photo. There are so many scratches, wipes and fingerprints in this photo that it reveals a sense of the process. Process-based work is some of my favourites. It's always fun to look into the imperfection of a photo that reveals the technique of the artist. 

Duration

This photo was the most fun to make as it combined the written word and one of my pinhole negatives. I took a long exposure photo that lasted about 2 minutes and did four different positions. I wanted to represent "killing time" and just the different things you do whilst doing that. Interestingly enough, my camera was only able to get two of the subjects in the frame, but it worked out so perfectly. I then showed David what the scan looked like including the text, and we both decided that the written word that showed my process added a level of duration that completed the photo.