Pinhole Photograph with 6-month exposure

[Dick Sanders]

The spectacular picture shows each phase of the sun over Bristol's Clifton Suspension Bridge taken over a six month period. It plots the sun's daily course as it rises and falls over Brunel's famous structure, which spans the 702ft (214m) Avon Gorge.

Incredibly, the eerie image was captured on a basic pin-hole camera made from an empty drinks can with a 0.25mm aperture and a single sheet of photographic paper.

Photographer Justin Quinnell strapped the camera to a telephone pole overlooking the Gorge, where it was left between December 19, 2007 and June 21, 2008 - the winter and summer solstices.

Stunning photographs of landmark captured over six-month period - Telegraph

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[stsinner]

Here ya go, Dick

Pick up the conversation here..

We could have benefited from your knowledge, as you actually do this...

 

[windrivermaiden]

A lovely thing to be produced with low tech.

 

[nrois02]

did he just use a 35mm and keep it open the whole time?

 

[Dick Sanders]

He used an empty soda pop can. You can pretty much make a pinhole camera from anything, including your house. I read once about a guy who turned his VW bus into a pinhole camera. You've heard about kids using oatmeal boxes. I made one from an 8 inch square cardboard box sprayed flat black inside and with a small nail hole in the front covered in black tape. I curved a sheet of 8x10 film against the inside back, sealed up the box, then went outside and pulled the black tape for half a minute. The picture came out -- although it was crude. I called it the "birth of photography." One thing for sure, pinhole photography is really fun. You can learn a lot about it here:

Welcome to the Pinhole Resource

 

[Sw1tchFX]

wow, that's really spectacular to be able to get that kind of an exposure!

 

[Sachphotography]

This proves the statement that it is not the camera. It is the photographer.

Daniel Sach
Sachphotography Fine Art Photography The homepage of Daniel Sach and his photography Company

 

[liltimmy1313]

That really is an incredible shot, it almost seems more like a science experiment than anything else.

 

[christopher walrath]

To an extent, it is. It would be problematic figuring out keeping the scene from being over exposed over a half-year period. But Justin stuck it, didn't he?

 

[Actor]

The pinhole was 0.25 mm in diameter. A soda can is about 120mm high so his aperture would be f/480.

3600 sec/hr * 24 hr/day * 180 day/half year = 15,552,000 sec. Round that to 16,000,000 sec

By the sunny 16 rule film speed should equal shutter speed so he needed an ASA 1/16,000,000 if his aperture was f/16. But his aperture was f/480, approximately 5 stops smaller. His film's speed needs to be 5 stops faster than ASA 1/16,000,000 or approximately ASA 32/16,000,000 = ASA 1/500,000 = ASA 0.000002. If he were using ASA 100 film then he needed a neutral density filter with about 22 stops attenuation.

 

[ClickyPicky]

That is so cool - I have always wanted to give pinhole photography a go for the fun of it.

 

[AfroKen]

Fascinating! Thanks for the link!!!!!

 

[bhphotography]

thats really cool!

 

[TylerF]

"He says the picture allows him to pinpoint the exact location of the sun in the sky at the moment his father passed away."

wow that made the shot even better

 

[Josh66]

By the sunny 16 rule film speed should equal shutter speed so he needed an ASA 1/16,000,000 if his aperture was f/16. But his aperture was f/480, approximately 5 stops smaller. His film's speed needs to be 5 stops faster than ASA 1/16,000,000 or approximately ASA 32/16,000,000 = ASA 1/500,000 = ASA 0.000002. If he were using ASA 100 film then he needed a neutral density filter with about 22 stops attenuation.

You're not accounting for reciprocity failure though, which I bet would be pretty significant on a 6 month exposure.
Plus, at night there wouldn't be much light, if any, hitting the film.

Obviously, the results weren't 22 stops overexposed - so I'd say it worked.