Pin hole photography

[Mr. Bear]

I'm wondering if anybody here has played around with pin hole photography. It's really intriguing to me from both a nostalgic and optics perspective. I've seen some really nice photos taken using this method. I'm interested in how difficult it is to get into this and what equipment I would need.

P.S. I've been totally inspired seeing all the great photos posted here. I admit that I'm not much of a photographer, but I work with optics a lot as an engineer and I would love to make this hobby a reality instead of a dream. Photography seems like the perfect hobby to me: fun, creative, plenty of opportunity to be a techy, great for the mind, gets you outdoors, makes you more observant and appreciative of nature, can make great memories for the family, and really not that expensive compared to a lot of other hobbies. Digital SLR here I come. (Yeah, try to get that one past my wife. )

[Steve Foss]

Mr. Bear, you are right on about how rewarding photography can be.

I've known two pinhole camera shooters. Both made their own. But I don't know their Web sites and can't find their business cards. I met one of them a couple years ago along the North Shore.

Try a google search on the topic. I'll bet you find a lot of good stuff. "Kodak" and "pinhole camera" will get you a site that tells you how to build one out of an oatmeal container.

[buzzsaw]

Mr. Bear, I'm not positive, but I was talking to Tom Wilson on this site a few weeks ago and he made mention of possibly upgrading his equipment in the near future (He's into some professional stuff) and I know he may or may not be interested in selling his equipment. He has a Nikon D70 and some lenses that I'm not exactly sure of what they are.... I could be wrong, but it might make some sense if your looking at getting into the photography thing a little or alot more.

[Mr. Bear]

Buzzsaw, if the equipment comes with his knack for capturing the perfect shot, I'm all over it.

[Steve Foss]

Upgrades are one thing, and I can see getting rid of non top glass, but do you really thing Tombo will part with his D70? Makes a nice backup for the higher resolution body he's looking at.

[Tom Wilson]

Mr. Bear,

I am indeed selling some equipment that does include the D70. I think the rules of the forum prevent me selling stuff without going through the proper channels, so that is all I think I should say. If you are interested you may contact me personally at [email protected] and I will be more than happy to give you any info that you'd like to know. I don't acquire my new equipment until the 22nd, so I haven't been in a hurry to sell it yet--I'm still using it.

Steve,

I got a line on a "just back from Nikon" D2H for a really good price, and they are going to hold it for me. I am going to go ahead and sell the D70 and have the D2H as the backup. Hard to beat that kind of deal. Then I'll have the absolute best of both worlds.

Tom Wilson

[Tom Wilson]

Oh Yeah,

and that would for sure come with all of my expertise and in camera training already completed. My guess is, that you would be able to leave it in the car on accident, and still get good photos.

[buzzsaw]

Glad I remembered correctly Tom, I wasn't positive.

[Steve Foss]

Tom, the D2H is a 4.1 Mp pro camera, if I've got it right. That means you've given up a bit of enlargement capability to trade for all the rugged construction, speed and longevity of a professional body — and that's just for the backup camera! Your main body's going to be the 12.4 Mp D2x? Have I remembered that right?

That's a fine combination, and you have my congrats.

As for selling your other gear, you're right, we don't allow for-sale posts anywhere but in the appropriate for-sale boards. That makes it clean and easy for people looking to buy and sell, so they don't have to scroll through all the boards looking for those types of ads.

[Tom Wilson]

Yeah Steve its 4.1, but its photo capabilities are far more advanced than the D70. 8 frames per second and the fastest auto focus system available is why I'm buying it. I can print absolutely flawless 8x10's from the 4.1 meg file, and with just a little post processing help it will make a flawless 11x14. I am going to be using it for shooting fast action Horse / Rodeo events and I have never had a call for any prints larger than that. The D2X will give me the ultimate rig for high output very large files that will be used for all of my wildlife / nature stuff. While the D2H is capable of fine prints, the files are usually not considered large enough for large publications (ie, full page or two page spreads). This is my goal and I need the equipment to get me there. But in either case it is the autofocusing systems that are the root of my upgrades. The glass is a given. I am starting with the 70-200 VR, and the 300mm F4 AFS. Hopefully by the end of the summer or for sure the start of next spring I will be able to move to either the 200-400VR, or the 600mm AFS. I will be focusing my priorities on the photography and making sure that everything I do helps me get to where I want to go, and making this well spent money.

Tom

[Steve Foss]

Sounds to me like you've thought it through perfectly.

Ahhhh, the 600. Talk about lens envy!!!

I'll be borrowing Canon's 600 from Canon Professional Services (free loans of all Canon equipment for CPS members) for some loon shooting this spring. Hatchlings and adults. Can't wait! Wish I could buy the sucker. But if I bought the three bodies and three lenses I'd really like, I'd be about at the amount we spent buying our house last spring.

[Slyster]

WOW! Does that term 'pinhole photography' ever bring back amazing memories!

When I was growing up... perhaps age of 10-13 or so... my dad was really into his darkroom and I also really got it... after getting good at developing film and prints.. I started making pinhole camera's out of shoeboxes. I would simply tape in regular photo paper.. and I figured out the proper exposure for different lighting situations... and got some really neat negative images.

Those were fun days!... buying large 100 foot rolls of Plus-x and Tri-x... and getting to know how to use my bulk loader unit and black reusable 35MM cartridges... and all that... I must have many thousands of B&W negative pictures... very few of which actually made it to prints... I remember the dark room... loading the film into the reel... pouring the chemicals in and out.. and the anticipation of wondering if the roll will turn out or be ruined for unknown reasons!

Now I am totally digital.. sad in a way.. Although I get my darkroom and B&W fix.. since I advise our districts science club each year and we do a lot of darkroom teaching... so I (and 10-15 students) get the B&W darkroom fix. Great stuff.

Wish I had time to do stuff like that these days... all I have time for now is printing my photos to the color printer.. or perhaps uploading them to Sam's Club some good old wet-chemistry prints.

[Steve Foss]

I'm with you Slyster. I used lots of BW film when I got into newspapers 15 years ago at a weekly. All the bulk film and re-usable cannisters, the darkroom work, the printing.

I had a chance to pick up a whole darkrook setup last year for under $50 and almost went for it just for old times' sake, but realized it would just end up gathering dust in the basement. These days when I want to shoot BW, I just use photoshop to completely desaturate a color digital image and WHALA!

Those were the days.