I am so happy that we are talking about the WHY of pinhole. I have been keeping an eye on this list for a while, and alot of the technical talk is not for me (don't get me wrong, some of it is really helpful if it pertains to what I am working on).
My major Why's fall in to the following 3 topics. Of course there are other reasons but these are the basics. 1) My favorite part of pinhole is it's untechnical side. It's amazing how little it takes to make a photograph. Just a hole poked in aluminum foil taped to a box with some film fitted inside. That's it. The hole doesn't have to be the right size for the optimum focal length, the exposure time can be anywhere within a wide range. Just cardboard and tape hiding the film from leaks. It's like magic. And it can all be done at home. From box to film to print. 2) Making the pinhole image is all about light to me. It's so direct, the light going in the hole on to the film. It's easier to visualize than with a regular camera. Before I take my pictures I always consider what the light source will be, natural or flash, and what that will be doing in the photograph, what it will mean in the context of that photograph. 3) My other consideration in making a pinhole picture is how the camera and film size relates to the subject. I always have one camera for one project. Usually I make the camera from some cool box I have, then I find a subject that utelizes something unique about that camera. I make my first exposures not really knowing what I am going to get. Then I see the results of the first batch and see what I like and work from there. I have no idea from the start what I am going to end up with. I have no preconseved notions, I take what I get along the way and work with it. lisa
