Worldwide Pinhole Day 2015 - Closeup with the Nikon Df and Finney Pinhole Cap

Sunday, April 26, 2015 was Worldwide Pinhole Day. (Click Here) to learn more about this fun event.

My friend, Bill, and I went out to the National Arboretum for some pinhole shooting on that day. Because I like to shoot black and white film in my Reality So Subtle 6x17 panoramic pinhole camera, I decided to also bring along my Nikon Df DSLR, fitted with an f/180, 50mm focal length pinhole bodycap.

 

My pinhole cap was made by a company called Finney; I'm not sure if they still exist. I bought it some years back, and have used it very little. On a sensor as small as even the full-frame Nikon Df, pinhole makes very soft images. Now, pinhole photography isn't about sharpness, but the large format film pinhole cameras I normally use make much sharper images. Anyway, I brought it along so that I could capture some spring color.

 

Here are some images I captured closeup with the Df and pinhole body cap:

 

Dandelions, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Finney f/180 Pinhole Body Cap

iso 3200, 1/60 sec.

 

As you can see, I was able to shoot handheld with the Df, since I cranked the iso up to 3200. With my film pinhole cameras, I usually shoot iso 100, which requires serious stability. Exposures are in whole seconds to sometimes even hours.

 

Pinholes have extremely small apertures, which means lots of depth of field. In this case, that means that everything, no matter how far from the camera, is the same degree of blurry. But, I do kind of like the effect.

 

Here's another shot, showing another member of the dandelion micro environment, a wasp.

 

Dandelion and Wasp, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Finney f/180 Pinhole Body Cap

iso 3200, 1/60 sec.

 

Worldwide Pinhole Day only allows each entrant to post a single picture. I haven't selected my single best image yet, but will continue to share several others that I made with the Df on that day.

 

I find it very interesting that low tech can actually add interest to my images. I'm seeing it more and more, and find myself taking the technical edge off of much of my work. I know it's not for everyone, but hey, I'm doing this for my own creative development. And I'm enjoying it. If you're stuck in a photographic rut, I highly suggest that you step back, relax, and take some blurry pinhole images. It can be rewarding.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com