an odd experiment

ga_shooter · May 21, 2008

My uncle gave me a pinhole lens a few months ago and i just got around to playing with it. I had no idea what to expect and now have no idea how to improve. Any suggestions on how to get better pics this way would be most helpful.

Steph · May 22, 2008

What do you mean by better pictures? What camera did you use? Film or digital? What do you expect from your pinhole photography?

Battou · May 22, 2008

Steph said:
What do you mean by better pictures? What camera did you use? Film or digital? What do you expect from your pinhole photography?

The ones shown above appear to be digital but I could be mistaken.

ga_shooter · May 22, 2008

They are digital. I have no idea what to expect, or if this is it. If it is, i have to wonder, why is my uncle so in to this?? I guess i thought i was just missing something and that there was more to it then what i got.

Battou · May 22, 2008

ga_shooter said:
They are digital. I have no idea what to expect, or if this is it. If it is, i have to wonder, why is my uncle so in to this?? I guess i thought i was just missing something and that there was more to it then what i got.

No you are right, there is more to it, But I am not a pinhole phhotographer, I don't know what and or how.

Steph · May 22, 2008

ga_shooter said:
They are digital. I have no idea what to expect, or if this is it. If it is, i have to wonder, why is my uncle so in to this?? I guess i thought i was just missing something and that there was more to it then what i got.

Well, part of the fun of pinhole photography is that most of the time you are not quite sure what you are going to get until you get your pictures developped (or until you see them on the screen of your digital camera). Also, the subject is important for successful pinhole images: usually simpler compositions work best.

What you can expect from pinhole picture is almost infinite depth of film (the sharpness should be the same from near to far). Pinhole pictures also tend to be soft (the lack of sharpness depending on the size and shape of the hole).

Here, here and here are some examples of pinhole images I posted on TPF a while back (if you do a serach you will also find quite a few by others). There are many sources on the Internet for pinhole pictures: have a look at the galleries at Zeroimage or have a look at f295.com (a forum dedicated to pinhole photography and alternatibe processes).

Take your pinhole out and experiment. Take a lot of pictures in different locations, of different subjects, in different light coniditions... and see if you like some of them. You might get hooked or it might not be for you. The only way to find out is to try it!!