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Pinhole photography works like the eye in bright light. An image passes through a tiny hole, and is <a style="text-shadow: none;" href="https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-03/09/scientists-discover-a-way-to-send-light-through-objects?page=all"> projected on to the photo paper</a> at the back of a box.
Eric Renner, director at the Pinhole Resource in New Mexico, says: "Pinhole is not instant art, it's mysterious, like a dream."
\1) Take a tin with a lid, or a shoebox -- anything you can make "light-tight" and paint it matt black inside. Make a 2cm hole in one end for the lens.
\2) To make the pinhole, take a small square of thin metal from a drinks can and make a 0.5 mm hole in it with a needle. Sand down the metal on both sides to give the hole a smooth edge and tape it across the lens hole with black vinyl electrical tape. Then put tape over the pinhole -- this will act as your shutter.
\3) Run black tape around the edges of the lid and the tin/box so that they fit flush and don't let any light in.
\4) Load the <a style="text-shadow: none;" href="https://www.wired.co.uk/reviews/cameras-and-camcorders">camera</a> with photo paper (Renner recommends Ilford Multigrade IV RC Pearl).
Use a darkroom or a photo changing bag. Then put the lid back on snugly.
\5) You're ready. Experimentation is part of the fun. Exposure times depend on lighting, but 30 to 45 seconds is a good place to start when shooting in daylight. Renner advises resting your camera on something. "Don't hand-hold the camera," he says. "Hand-holding gives less of an idea of exposure time."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
