Pinhole

A pinhole camera is a very simple light tight box, it doesn’t have a lens, just has a very small hole in the side. The pinhole is what replaces the lens, when the light passes through the hole the image is created. Pinhole cameras aren’t as sharp as pictures made with a lens but the images created look great. Pinhole cameras are very easy to make, you can make them out of a can or box, all you need is photographic paper and the chemicals to develop the pictures.

 

 Justin Quinnell 

 Justin Quinnell was born in Bristol, he has been practising and teaching photography for over 20 years. He uses several types of cameras for his work, he uses different points of view in his pictures and his work is very unique. I like his work because he has out of the box ideas, his pictures and strange and intriguing.

This image taken by Quinell is set inside his mouth, looking outward past his teeth as a finger reaches inside towards the camera. It s a slightly unusual, disturbing setting based on its location and it's use of the finger, one of the most prominent features of this image. Extra emphasis is placed on the fingernail which appears in the foreground, it looks slightly distorted increasing its size and presence to the viewer. This photograph is taken in colour, although the background is mainly black and there is little colour in the image, I believe the use of colour highlights the gums and finger adding more depth and realism, increasing the unusuality of the image to those who see it.

Steve Irvine

  

Steve Irvine combined his two biggest interests, photography and pottery, by making fully functional ceramic pinhole cameras. I like how Steve has incorporated both photography and pottery into his work.

In this image Irvine has captured a man sitting within a living room, the man appears slightly transparent, almost like a ghost, which adds a haunting sense to this particular photograph. The photo has been taken from a relatively low height, looking at the ghosted man the viewer is on a very similar height as if they are sat in the room and see him. The contrast within the picture is quite high, with some areas perfectly white with others completely black, it has been exposed well however with many fine details such as the texture of the furniture captured crisply.

My attempt at pinhole photography

As you can see, I exposed the photo paper for too long or the area I was in was too bright. I tried twice but my first pinhole picture was completely black, in this one you can see something in the corner at the bottom, I'm not too sure what it is though.