Sunday April 27, 2025 Worldwide Pinhole Day - Show Us Your Images!

[darr]

Tomorrow, Sunday, April 27, 2025, is Worldwide Pinhole Day! I hope you'll join in and participate.

Let's use this thread to share what we create. Have fun and enjoy the magic of pinhole photography!

[darr]

I used two cameras, an ONDU Rise 4x5 and an Ebony RSW with a Vist Camera Pinhole Shutter:


https://cameraartist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ondu-rise-2500.jpg

https://cameraartist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/ebony-vist-camera-pinhole-shutter-2500.jpg

Images made with ONDU:

https://cameraartist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tempus-fugit-2500.jpg

1 hour & 18 minutes exposure - there is a second hand on the clock

https://cameraartist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/drift-1500.jpg

11 minutes, 18 seconds exposure'

Made with Ebony + Vist Pinhole Shutter:

https://cameraartist.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/in-the-garden-1500.jpg

~ 17 minutes

I hope to see what others photographed on Pinhole Day!

[Barry Kirsten]

My pinhole day was a disaster. I composed a vase of spent daisies against a black background. Withering petals were orange, the brightest of which which I placed on zone VII, deepest shadows (plenty of them) on II. I made the exposure having previously checked in the darkroom that there was film previously loaded in that holder - Efke 50 2x3. On Monday I set up my trays, only to find that I couldn't get the film out. I checked another similar holder in another room, only to find that it was the bottom of the septum I could feel. The holder was empty, which I confirmed in the darkroom! It was an old wooden holder and I wasn't aware of the open septum end. So no entry from me this year. Last year was similar for me as I was a patient in Melbourne's Eye and Ear hospital with an inflammatory eye condition. I was obsessed with the problem of how to load holders in that situation, completely ignoring that I'd made a 6x6 rollfilm pinhole camera which could have been brought in for me. There were a number of picture opportunities on the first floor, too. So nothing last year either. Bummer!

[darr]

My pinhole day was a disaster. I composed a vase of spent daisies against a black background. Withering petals were orange, the brightest of which which I placed on zone VII, deepest shadows (plenty of them) on II. I made the exposure having previously checked in the darkroom that there was film previously loaded in that holder - Efke 50 2x3. On Monday I set up my trays, only to find that I couldn't get the film out. I checked another similar holder in another room, only to find that it was the bottom of the septum I could feel. The holder was empty, which I confirmed in the darkroom! It was an old wooden holder and I wasn't aware of the open septum end. So no entry from me this year. Last year was similar for me as I was a patient in Melbourne's Eye and Ear hospital with an inflammatory eye condition. I was obsessed with the problem of how to load holders in that situation, completely ignoring that I'd made a 6x6 rollfilm pinhole camera which could have been brought in for me. There were a number of picture opportunities on the first floor, too. So nothing last year either. Bummer!

Barry, even though it didn't go as planned, you clearly still have the heart and spirit of pinhole photography — and that's what matters most.

If you feel like it, you should still shoot a few pinhole images and post them in the thread!
It's about the joy of creating, not the calendar date. We'd love to see what you come up with.

[Nigel Smith]

Nice Darr. The joy of a long exposure it the ability to go and do something else :)

My single effort is #31 (https://pinholeday.org/gallery/2025/index.php?searchStr=&id=31&getid=+go+&page=) in the WPD gallery. Had loaded the B side of the holder but decided what I had was it. I do think my self-made pinholes are sharper than this 'commercial' variant but I'm usually using larger paper which is another variable.

[darr]

Nice Darr. The joy of a long exposure it the ability to go and do something else :)

My single effort is #31 (https://pinholeday.org/gallery/2025/index.php?searchStr=&id=31&getid=+go+&page=) in the WPD gallery. Had loaded the B side of the holder but decided what I had was it. I do think my self-made pinholes are sharper than this 'commercial' variant but I'm usually using larger paper which is another variable.

Thanks, Nigel.

Your image is interesting for sure. Thank you for sharing it.
I have not yet made a pinhole or a camera. I bought 4x5 paper to shoot with, but I need to trim it as it will not fit in the film holders. Any pointers about getting the paper in or better film holders would be appreciated.

I read the smoother the pinhole, the sharper the image. I found the ONDU pinhole is sharper than the Vist Camera one. It id nice to hear your own pinholes are better than the commercial ones you’ve had. Are you using a laser to make them?

[Nigel Smith]

My home made pinholes have been aluminum (Coke) cans with the hole made by a pin/needle and sanding. I think you end up with a thinner pinhole (well the plate thickness) which aids sharpness I think. Have to get the right size too. I have only put paper in 4x5 holders a few times and it is a bit harder to get in than film. Once you get it the right size, then the thickness makes it hard to slide in but at least you can do that under safelight and see what you're fighting with. Most of my pinhole cameras have been boxes without using a DD holder. The camera that I used for my pic has 2 lens cones (one is recessed so you can flip it for wide angle, about 65mm or a telephoto which I haven't measured, the other is flat which gives a focal length of about 100mm) with embedded pinhole plates. They are probably laser drilled but I don't know much about them, they look like brass. The flat one has f256 written on it, but I've never attempted to measure them. Probably should to take out some of the guesswork. It's not built near as nice as your ONDU but it was given to me so not going to complain :)

[Barry Kirsten]

Hi Darlene,

Thanks for your kind words of encouragement. I do love pinhole and have been doing it for many years, and building cameras too. I also love alternative processes. I'll post a few recent ones here and hope people enjoy them. I'll certainly be doing some more soon, but into my 80s things go a bit slower.

L-R, Foma 200 5x7, Kodak dental panorama 5x12 cut down to 5x7, same converted to cyanotypa and toned in lead acetate, 2x3 Efke 50.

[darr]

Hi Darlene,

Thanks for your kind words of encouragement. I do love pinhole and have been doing it for many years, and building cameras too. I also love alternative processes. I'll post a few recent ones here and hope people enjoy them. I'll certainly be doing some more soon, but into my 80s things go a bit slower.

L-R, Foma 200 5x7, Kodak dental panorama 5x12 cut down to 5x7, same converted to cyanotypa and toned in lead acetate, 2x3 Efke 50.

Lovely work, Barry!!
Thank you for sharing. :)