Cereal boxes, beer cases, and cardboard - Pinhole Photography Time!
A community event celebrating Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day!
April 30 is Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day. To celebrate, Photo Opp hosted a Pinhole Photography workshop led by pinhole enthusiast Nick Dvoracek. Nick has decades of experience making and using pinhole cameras that are commonly made from simple materials, such as recycled cereal boxes, beer cases, or other cardboard packaging. In place of a glass or plastic lens, pinhole cameras simply have a tiny hole in the front of the camera that exposes the film inside to a tiny amount of light.
The workshop was hosted by The Draw and started with a quick rundown by Nick on how to use a pinhole camera. Once everyone had a chance to ask questions, we set off either into the rain outside or down into the shadowy depths of The Draw to shoot the 12 frames that fit on a roll of 120 film. Exposures on pinhole cameras are typically longer than most other photography methods due to the small amount of light exposed through the tiny hole, so exposures ranged anywhere from 5 seconds up to 16 minutes.
Most of us hadn’t shot with a pinhole camera before, so the collaborative experimental energy produced some really interesting photographs. After everyone had their 12 frames shot, we loaded our film onto reels to be developed and scanned in digitally. Everyone that participated was able to take their film and digital copies of their photos home at the end of the workshop, which added a lot to the spontaneous nature of the day.
Folks stuck around as long as they liked to chat, ask questions, take more photos, and just hang out while the film dried. With so many great opportunities for themed events related to photography, we’re looking forward to hosting future events specialized in different ways to take photos. Check out our upcoming workshops, classes, and programming, we hope to see you at the next one! AND hopefully again on Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day 2024!
