The Digital Pinhole
By Steven Lambeth
6 May 2008
About six months ago I was inspired by the article "Pin Prick" by JPG's own Darren C. in which he explained his process of creating a pinhole camera. I have lived on the same campus for two years, and after photographing around campus constantly, it seemed to have little left to offer me. I figured that by using a pinhole I could start to make fresh pictures, and show my campus in a new way. However, as many of the photo classes make their own pinhole cameras I decided to take a new approach: the digital pinhole. I shoot with a Canon Rebel XT, and for the cost of a soda can to use as the lens I created an incredible new experience.
Digital Pinhole photography is a style unlike any other. With long exposures and no viewfinder, every photo you take will give you a surprising result. Make sure you bring a tripod with you! I have found in the photos I have taken that the digital pinhole really accentuate the colors in my photographs, sometimes to a ridiculous extent. My reds are redder, and my greens greener, and so on. There is also an impurity about all of the photos that makes them interesting
to view. My photos are never sharply focused, and in many cases small blemishes will occur in my pictures. This gives the photos an interesting texture, that is sure to make people take another look as they pass by your photos.
Making the lens is a relatively painless and incredibly cheap process. Although I have read that brass works best, I only used a soda can, an extra body cap I had laying around, and a drill, pin, fine sandpaper, and lightproof tape. Start with the body cap, and drill a hole in the center of it. It does not matter the width of the hole or how clean of a cut it is. I think I used an quarter inch drill bit. Now that you have the base of your lens, cut about a 2X2 inch square from the soda can. With the metal square flat on a table or hard surface, carefully prick a hole in the metal with a push pin or something comparable. Rotate the pin between your thumb and index finger as you make the hole to insure a clean cut hole. The smaller the hole, the sharper your photographs will be. Once you have made the hole, the back surface of the metal around the hole will be slightly raised. Take the sand paper and carefully sand it down on both sides until it is smooth. Now tape the sides of the metal square to the body cap so that the pinhole is centered and no light will be able to enter from the sides. Attach the body cap to your SLR and you are ready to start shooting.
Feel free to experiment with different shots with your digital pinhole. I found it particularly interesting making self portraits with mine. The long exposures will allow you to put yourself into the picture for only parts of the exposure to make you appear transparent. Also experiment with colorful backgrounds and surfaces, and the digital pinhole will record these colors in an unexpected way. The possibilities are really endless with your new digital pinhole lens!
You can find Darren C at (http://www.jpgmag.com/people/dcsnaps)
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