We began to construct our pinhole cameras during 1st quarter and will be shooting with them during second quarter! I am ambivalent towards this project. I am nervous because I have heard Pinhole horror stories from upper class men about the multitude of light leaks and the minimal photos produced. But, I am excited for this challenge and opportunity to see the magic work with such a simple camera. It is actually eye-opening that just a cardboard box is sufficient to produce pieces of art. Below are some photos that I found taken with Pinhole Cameras from the website http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/07/25/the-showcase-of-beautiful-pinhole-photography/ :
This photo was taken by Andrew Watson and titled
The Calmness of Blue. This photo really does a great job of contrasting different shadows of blue to highlight this idea of calmness. The lights in the distant of the photo add an element that is especially aesthetically pleasing the the viewer and provide a shadow over the water. This photo encompasses both sides of a city. The calm, blue water shows a relaxed element, while the bright lights in the distance show a busy and lively element. The idea of placing the lighted part of the city in the back may show what the photographer feels is the most vital element of the city, adding a sense of precedence.
This photo was taken by A. Wallis. The symmetry of this photo is what makes it so aesthetically pleasing. The obscure angle of this photo adds a mysterious sense to this photo, which intrigues the viewer and makes he/she want to look at it more to figure out this mystery.
This photo was taken by Mackenson. The photographer's use of blur adds a sense of illusion and makes it almost dream-like. If you look closely, it looks like a road with grass on either side and a mountain in the far distance. The white lines on the road are what draw the picture together and get narrower as the photo gets more distant adding a sense of culmination. Although he used fairly similar colors, they complement and contrast each other very well.
This photo was taken by Zeb Andrews. The idea of placing the subject to the side of the photo and not centered adds this idea of lack of symmetry, but also shows that others things are occurring at this time and the subject is not the focus of the action. But, the subject succeeds in grabbing the viewer's attention immediately with its array of vibrant and enticing colors. The idea of lighting up the nighttime sky is prevalent in this photo,
not only with the Ferris wheel, but also with the street lights in the
far distance of the photo.
Lastly, this photo was taken by Danielle Hughson. The center of this photo is of a spider-like machine that I am unsure of its identity, but it is used as a divider and focus of the photo. It separates the contrasting colors of blue and red. The reason she chose blue and red could be anything, but I interpret it as choosing hot or cold. The machine could be some kind of air-conditioning machine or thermal energy machine that can not decide whether to choose hot or cold, so it stands in the middle and lets nature decide.
