Pinhole Photography in 8x10?

[Drew Bedo]

Anyone out there doing pinhole photography with 8x10 format materials?

What is your experience?

[paulbarden]

Anyone out there doing pinhole photography with 8x10 format materials?

What is your experience?

I've done a bit of it. Home made pinhole in thin brass, mounted on my Intrepid 8x10. Mostly I've used FP4 or HP5.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/46825634045_83352af044_b.jpg

From the Flickr post:
I used the Intrepid 8x10 camera and fitted it with a 0.5mm laser drilled pinhole. But first, I made a "preview pinhole" by drilling (with a standard drill bit!) a 2mm hole in a sheet of thin brass, and with that on the lens board I could see well enough to compose an image in bright light. I also "burned and dodged" the light with a piece of translucent plexi to adjust the amount and quality of light falling on the vase and table.
Exposure was 3 minutes at f300
HP5+ processed in Xtol 1:1

[Vaughn]

Here is an 8x10 pinhole self-portrait, printed as a cyanotype. Hand-made pinhole in brass. Litho film.

The 'camera' was a 250 sheet photopaper box instead of my normal 8x10 camera. I had a couple classes of kids make similar boxes. Lots of fun.

I have thought of buying a well-made pinhole or two for use on my 8x10 camera, but not a project high on my list presently.

[Roger Thoms]

I use a Harman Titan 8x10 pinhole camera, primarily on Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day. I always shoot film, usually FP4, and contact print the negatives. I did shoot some color last year but have printed anything. The color was expired 160NC that came in film holders off Craigslist. I really like 8x10 pinhole.

Roger

[Greg]

Basically a thin wooden box with a Burke & James wooden 8x10 back. Went through probably six different pinholes till I found the optimum one in a thin brass sheet with the back side and inside of the pinhole blackened. Inside the camera is covered with black very non-reflective flocking. Still have to fabricate a foldable rear peep sight to use with the folding Linhof? wire viewfinder frame.

[Drew Bedo]

Great Stuff!

I ask because I am thinking of going larger than 8x10 and a pinhole set up would be a less expensive intro to ULF. Posted a similar thread the ULF Forum but got no response.

In my imagination, a camera back and one film holder would be the heart much as Greg has done (thanks Greg).

A different path might be the what some here have called an "Afghan" style of rigid big box camera with side sleeves to allow changing film.

[Tin Can]

Image moved internally to 2021 Selfies


Here is an 8x10 pinhole self-portrait, printed as a cyanotype. Hand-made pinhole in brass. Litho film.

The 'camera' was a 250 sheet photopaper box instead of my normal 8x10 camera. I had a couple classes of kids make similar boxes. Lots of fun.

I have thought of buying a well-made pinhole or two for use on my 8x10 camera, but not a project high on my list presently.

[Tin Can]

I will commit a LFPF crime and post my second LF image I ever made, a DIY 5X7 Oatmeal Box round tube with DIY pinhole

1998 as first assignment in my only photography class ever, first and all assignments on fiber SG as the instructor forbid any RC in his college Darkroom

I used that wonderful DR for 2 years without classes, 24/7, the college is now a grassy knoll

I also pissed off instructor by completing every assignment twice, exactly as he wanted and digitally after this print with a new Nikon Coolpix 100 1.3 MP camera that nobody knew was a camera!

The instructor and I remain in constant contact, we both have enemies here on this forum, he is not a member

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50845083611_c35f4ed6be_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kt1kWB)Pinhole selfie 1998 (https://flic.kr/p/2kt1kWB) by TIN CAN COLLEGE (https://www.flickr.com/photos/tincancollege/), on Flickr

[Chuck Pere]

I've got a Pinhole Resource Leonardo 8x10 super wide. 3" lens on 8x10. Fun to play with but it took me awhile to learn to use it. I've never used anything that wide in any format. Had to get over the initial wow factor. 8x10 pinhole contacts work better for me than smaller contacts or enlargements. If you want to use a longer lens a box 8x10 pinhole gets big. Better to use various pinholes on a bellows camera if you plan to carry it.

[Philippe Grunchec]

I ask because I am thinking of going larger than 8x10 and a pinhole set up would be a less expensive intro to ULF. Posted a similar thread the ULF Forum but got no response.


I use it with my 7x17 camera!

[jon.oman]

Here's one from me:

https://www.gophotog.org/allphotos/pinhole/large_photos/ParkBench1_bw02.jpg

Here is the 8x10 I made, with its 4x5 brother:

https://www.gophotog.org/allphotos/pinhole/large_photos/D7F_1565_nef.jpg

[Jim Jones]

211553
The film was against the inside of a Pringles potato chip can, and the pinhole was centered in the cap. Since the exposure was much greater near the pinhole, the 10 to 100 second exposure was controlled by sliding a tube up the outside of the can. The sidewalk upon which the tripod stood is visible on the right and left edges of the photo.

[Dugan]

That's wild, Jim!
Interesting approach...Bill Brandt would approve. :)

[Havoc]

The film was against the inside of a Pringles potato chip can, and the pinhole was centered in the cap. Since the exposure was much greater near the pinhole, the 10 to 100 second exposure was controlled by sliding a tube up the outside of the can. The sidewalk upon which the tripod stood is visible on the right and left edges of the photo.

Wow... Can you put a photo of the setup and explain a bit because I can't follow very well your explanation of controlling the exposure by sliding a tube on the outside. But this is really psychedelic and looks like great fun.

[Drew Bedo]

Again: Great Stuff!

Anyone doing pinhole imaging in formats larger than 8x10?

Anyone doing pinhole imaging with dry plates?

[Greg]

Anyone doing pinhole imaging in fo[B]rmats larger than 8x10?

11x14" big brother/sister to the 8x10 pinhole camera I posted earlier. Still in the process of shooting with different pinholes to find the optimum one. I use sheets of 4x5" film taped to the inside an 11x14" film holder to save $$$. Film back is also a wooden B&J one off of a process camera that was gratefully purchased from another member of the FORUM. First time I took out the 11x14 hiked to a waterfall (same as the one I posted earlier) and shot 2 sheets of 11x14" film. That evening processed them and both came very, very thin. Checked the camera's pinhole and a minute spec of black flocking or paint was partially blocking the pinhole. So replaced the GG with a clear sheet of plexiglass which now enables me to check that the pinhole is open and clear before shooting film.

[Jim Jones]

Wow... Can you put a photo of the setup and explain a bit because I can't follow very well your explanation of controlling the exposure by sliding a tube on the outside. But this is really psychedelic and looks like great fun.

The camera is long gone. Pringle cans aren't the most durable camera bodies! A tripod socket was mounted in the bottom of the can. In this picture, the top of the can was aimed at a point about 1/2 inch above the top center of the image. Since the film around top of the can was much closer to the pinhole than at the bottom of the can, it received stronger light during the exposure. I blocked this light by sliding a somewhat loose fitting opaque sleeve up the Pringles can during the exposure. At first this blocked the wide angle light from reaching the pinhole and exposing the film near the top of the can. As the sleeve rose higher, a narrower angle of light reached the pinhole. The movement of the sleeve was faster at first and slower towards the last of the exposure at an approximately logarithmic rate. Fortunately, my rudimentary mathematical skill sufficed to calculate this without wasting film. Due to the size of a Pringles can, the film was cut to slightly less than 8x10.

[Vaughn]

Again: Great Stuff!

Anyone doing pinhole imaging in formats larger than 8x10?...

I have spare 11x14 camera that would be fun to set up for that. Not the most stable thing for long exposures though. It won't be anywhere near the top of my to-do list...but an interesting thought...have some questionable film to play around with, too.

[Havoc]

The camera is long gone. Pringle cans aren't the most durable camera bodies! A tripod socket was mounted in the bottom of the can. In this picture, the top of the can was aimed at a point about 1/2 inch above the top center of the image. Since the film around top of the can was much closer to the pinhole than at the bottom of the can, it received stronger light during the exposure. I blocked this light by sliding a somewhat loose fitting opaque sleeve up the Pringles can during the exposure. At first this blocked the wide angle light from reaching the pinhole and exposing the film near the top of the can. As the sleeve rose higher, a narrower angle of light reached the pinhole. The movement of the sleeve was faster at first and slower towards the last of the exposure at an approximately logarithmic rate. Fortunately, my rudimentary mathematical skill sufficed to calculate this without wasting film. Due to the size of a Pringles can, the film was cut to slightly less than 8x10.

Ok, got it! I really like it, think I'll try it. Got enough plastic and metal pipes around to give it a go. When the weather is better, I'm not really an outdoors person.

[Jim Jones]

I have spare 11x14 camera that would be fun to set up for that. Not the most stable thing for long exposures though. It won't be anywhere near the top of my to-do list...but an interesting thought...have some questionable film to play around with, too.

Wide angle LF pinhole negatives make good contact prints. A pinhole is a lot cheaper than a good wide angle lens. It may not form as sharp a image as a lens, but sometimes that is good. A lack of sharpness certainly didn't intimidate Anne Brigman in her lens photographs long ago. As the focal length of a LF camera increases, so does the diameter of the pinhole and the lack of sharpness in the image. This bothers some of us. It only takes a few minutes to make a good pinhole (with a bit of practice). Try it!.

[Vaughn]

I have had kids from 8yrs to 18 yrs making pinhole cameras...just 8x10s, though. Sure had them confused at first...they had no idea what to expect. I showed no examples. They made these strange boxes for a summer photo class, taped in this funny paper in it (dark side towards the little hole they had made in brass), pointed it at whatever...then stick the weird sheet is trays of stuff. Started off slow...then the sheets of litho just started to fly out the door. They thought making cyanotypes in the sun was pretty cool, too.

But for my own imagery, sharpness is generally an intragal part of the piece, thus I am in no rush to pinhole with the 11x14...I have too many 11x14 sheets to process as it is!

My boys...silver gelatin contacts, pinhole, Type 55

[John Layton]

Ha! I once did a pinhole workshop with a class of fifth graders...had them bring their own various cardboard shoe-boxes, oatmeal containers, etc. from home - (big mistake....because we then needed miles of black tape just to seal off light leaks), after which they all went out into a snow storm to try to get some images! You should have seen some of those cameras...how they could just fly away in that wind! Oh...how I can still hear their little voices, pleading..."Mr. Layton, help! my camera...its blowing away!"

[Vaughn]

That's why I made it easy for myself! I saved up 250 sht 8x10 boxes for awhile...we went thru 4 to 6 a semester at the university. The class was only two weeks in the summer...eight 4-hour classes. The first half of the first class was making the cameras (mostly the students making the pinholes and spraying the insides of the boxes black.) The last two hours was making their first couple of exposures. Next day...4 hours of making pinhole negatives. The next two days -- making cyanotypes. The second week we did 35mm cameras, Ilford XP-2 and making prints. Lots of fun.