World Pinhole Camera Day

[olavf]

Couple of tricks: I made mine out of a piece of aluminum can and used a pin to pierce the hole. You want to make the metal as thin as possible (I sanded the aluminum as much as I dared – after I pierced the hole so that I removed the dimple made from the piercing) and the aperture to be as regular as possible (thus removing the dimple). What I *didn’t* do, was paint the backside black, or cover as much areas as possible with the black tape I used for mounting, and I think this interfered with my shots due to reflections within the ‘lens’.

There are also places that sell laser-cut apertures, and some fixed in caps, but my reading has suggested that there’s not much real gain – unless you want to start playing with slits rather than pinholes.

[orionid]

If anyone is interested in this that doesn’t have a way to play along yet, here a a few resources.

Matchbox pinhole tutorial – Inexpensive build that takes 20-40 minutes based on prior experience. Difficulty 3.5/10. Requires 35mm film, but you can take it to CVS for developing.

Bodycap pinhole tutorial – Even less expensive build that takes 10-20 minutes and uses your already owned dslr. Difficulty: 2/10

The Foma Dirkon (PDF) A much more complicated but snazzy 35mm pinhole that can be made from printing on cardstock. Time: ??? 1-3 hours? Difficulty: 7/10.

And, since, believe it or not, I couldn’t find a good online tutorial for a shoebox pinhole, here’s some brief instructions. Time: 10 minutes, difficulty 1/10. Requires photo paper and access to someone with access to a photo lab (ask the high schooler next door if he/she is taking photography and would develop the shot for you).

1) Aquire a shoebox, preferably one with no holes.
2) Cut a one-half-inch square hole in one end.
3) Tape a piece of tinfoil over the hole.
4) Poke a small hole in the tinfoil with the tip of a straight pin or sewing needle.
4.5) Relocate into a darkroom or light-sealed bathroom or closet if not already there.
5) On the inside of the shoebox, tape a piece of photo paper to the wall opposite the pinhole, shiny side facing the pinhole.
6) Tape the box closed. Run a layer of tape along all the seams to prevent/minimize light leaks.
7) Make a “shutter” with a piece of black electrical tape and place it over the pinhole.
8) Go forth and shoot something. Actual exposure time will vary with the length of the box, but a general rule of thumb should be 10 seconds for full sun, 20 seconds for part sun, 30 seconds high overcast, 60 seconds low/heavy overcast, 3-10 minutes indoors.
9) Take the box back to your darkroom / pawn it off on the neighbors teenager. Open in darkroom and develop as a normal print.

[Author]

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