Pinhole photography project
Having finally worked out how to put a shop on my website, I’m pleased to announce that I have giclee art prints for sale!
This project began during 2020, when I became even more curious about the Big Questions in life (what’s it all about, what are we doing here, y’know) and noticed on reflection just how many of the images I’d been taken were of community landmarks, places where people would gather for communion, be it for spiritual reasons (churches and cathedrals and the like) or for exhanging of goods (Wymondham’s market cross).
I had quite a collection of home made cameras made out of tins and beer cans and loved the effects they had on the images. Of course, when you’re shooting with a can, you can’t see what you’re getting so much of the composition evolved as each collection of images was developed in my mock-up dark room. I got used to getting the cans perfectly level for straight horizons and although I have issues with maths and exposure times for these crude cameras, using my intuition/guesswork, many of these images became my favourites.
I even tried extreme exposures indoors of still lifes of flowers picked from the garden. Some were very underexposed, but I loved the effect! There’s so much to be said for experimenting, having been in photography for 20 years, this kind of work forces you to free yourself up and let the images happen, and let go of them if they don’t work out…such a relief after so long in digital photography! Of course, there’s less pressure when you’re making art out of curiosity than providing a service for a bride and groom at their wedding!
Later, I had a go at cyanotypes - a few of these worked out, my favourite being an abstract I made from cutouts and an ohp transparent print of sea water in the sunshine…this was a triple layer piece that I tried in many different ways, and the best is for sale here too…
This particular project is now finished, put to bed. As is the alternative photography process I’ve been using. Since the chemicals can be toxic and harmful, I’m on the go already experimenting for my next project…which will likely take me into the new year of 2025, and beyond! It’s likely to be more abstract, and I’m working on ways of these pieces giving a nod to photography in its most raw form, using pure sunshine and mother nature…watch this space! In the meantime, here’s a shot of one of my best cameras:
One of my favourite beer can pinhole cameras, made from two beer cans found in the hedgerow not far from home…there are so many free cameras to be found on the roadsides!
