INTRODUCING: BRUNO CIECHORSKI

PHOTO: B CIECHORSKI

Here's my favourite piece from the haunting Rio Mare series by Bruno Ciechorski. Over to Bruno...

The camera was a birthday gift from my friend - Martin. He knew that I'm inflicted by pinhole so he decided to end my misery by building a perfect camera. It's a "Vermeer" with my name engraved at the back. Of course I use it with "my way". I put inside 35mm film instead of 120 roll. The reason was quite simple - it had to be panoramic.

I usually use cheap negative films for pinhole. Fomapans, or colour - Kodak plus, Fuji superia. Why? Cheap negatives are more tolerant for over exposure, that's the main reason. Things like grain or "lack of sharpness" just don't matter in this case.

Of course the Vermeer isn't even close to perfect camera... so my misery continues...

About these photographs? Rio Mare is a compromise translation. The Polish name of the set Was "Morze stoi otworkiem" - it is the Polish idiom/saying. A literal transposition would be, "the sea stands pinhole". It's some kind of word game.

Inspirations? Literature. In this case it Was S.Lem's Solaris, and the paintings and sketches of Z. Beksinski.

INTRODUCING: CHRIS METTRAUX

PHOTO: C METTRAUX

Chris Mettraux is a photographer whose feel for perspective is clear to see in this panorama, "Lac", and in much of his work.

It's not easy to capture the desired composition when working with pinhole cameras. Whether you're using a rudimentary viewfinder or relying on eyesight alone, achieving the optimum framing, depth and dynamics demands patience and experience. It's hard not to feel disappointed when a photo for which you had such high hopes is invaded by an object you were sure was well outside the FOV, or ruined by an error of judgement positioning the tripod.

Chris Mettraux defeats these challenges spectacularly. Thank you, Chris, for getting involved.

"Lac" was taken with a Holga WPC camera on Shanghai GP3 100 ISO film.

INTRODUCING: DELIOTO

PHOTO: DELIOTO

Here's "The Anamorphic Library", a debut contribution from pinhole extraordinaire DelioTO.

We'll be seeing much more of Delio's work on pin.pan next year.

The computers room at the local library.

6x17 Anamorphic Panoramic for 120 negative film, Acros 100, 16min.

If you want to see the camera, click.

INTRODUCING: JOHN KITTELSRUD

PHOTO: J KITTELSRUD

John Kittelsrud has produced some stunning pinhole panoramas and this is just one of them.

Watch this space for more of John's work, coming soon!

This was shot in San Francisco in the summer of 2010 and was down by the docks at Crissy Field. There was a couple that was getting their wedding photos done and I decided to help myself to a few photos. I was using some out of date Ektachrome 100 that day and if I remember right the exposure was 1/2 of a second. It was sheer luck that I was able to catch the flash going off.

I used my first pin-o-ramic camera to make this image. It has a curved film plane (seen here) to eliminate fall off and reduce distortion and produces an image on 35mm film that is about 28mm x 75mm. The angle of view is somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 degrees. the f stop is apx 170. I have a few 3D images that I took while building it here.

INTRODUCING: JEABZZ

PHOTO: JEABZZ

This is probably as near as a photo gets to a tequila sunrise.

It's a sultry scene shot by our latest featured photographer, the Paris-based and lomo-loving jeabzz.

It was taken in Sicily during summer 2010 with a Sharan wide pinhole cam and Lomography redscale 100 ISO film.

The sun was shining and the cam was on a little tripod. The exposure time is short, less than 1 second.

INTRODUCING: KRISTOPHER COOKE

PHOTO: K COOKE

Never has a barbed wire fence looked so good! Kristopher Cooke shot this unusual landscape by the Hana Highway on the island of Maui, Hawaii. His weapon of choice was a Sharan Wide 35 with Kodak Ektar film.

Thanks for contributing, Kristopher. I hope we get to see some more Mauian panoramas before too long.

INTRODUCING: TOM BROGAN

PHOTO: T BROGAN

American photographer Tom Brogan makes his debut with this fantastic landscape. Thanks, Tom!

I took this image during a family trip to see a Space Shuttle launch in April of 2010. We were pleasantly surprised to find such a nice beach area to spend an afternoon during our trip. Taken at North Beach, Florida.

Camera: Holga 120WPC
Film: Kodak Ektar 100

INTRODUCING: SKEEL LEE

PHOTO: S LEE

Another photographer joins the pin.pan ranks! Skeel Lee's first contribution is this image entitled "Jello Attack". Wondrous stuff.

Skeel explains...

Attack of the jellyfishes! Multiple exposures taken along Marina Bay during the i Light Marina Bay Festival. It is an outdoor event in Singapore that showcases some sustainable light artworks, complemented by the mesmerising cityscape around that area.

To be really honest, I forgot to advance the film 3-4 times after exposing it. Each exposure took about 20-30 minutes and I thought I had wasted about 2 hours of work. Little did I realise that I would end up with a great mixture of car trails, beautiful landmarks and creative art decors, which uniquely blends together to portray the sights and scenes of Marina Bay at that point of time.

It is an accidental collage of multiple exposures, but it is this kind of effect that we are using film for, right?

Taken using a Gakken panorama pinhole camera, Fujifilm Provia 100f, cross-processed.

INTRODUCING: VILSONIUS

PHOTO: VILSONIUS

This Holga capture of Portitsa Bridge in Northern Greece was taken by pin.pan's latest contributor, Vilsonius. Superb.

Holga WPC 120 6x12 panoramic camera, Ilford XP2 400 film.

INTRODUCING: DUNCAN HOLLEY

PHOTO: D HOLLEY

Yet another accomplished artist to welcome to the blog - Duncan Holley.

It's brilliant so many photographers have expressed an interest in displaying their work so early on. Thank you, everyone, and keep taking the pinhole panoramas...

Duncan's thoughts on this great shot of Buscombe Pier:

What a beautiful day it is/was today - so hot there were plenty of folk in the shade, as this pinhole reveals.

Actually there were people strolling in the sun but they moved too fast for this 13 second exposure.

INTRODUCING: EFFIXE

PHOTO: FX LANTRUA

A warm welcome to photographer FX Lantrua - a.k.a. effixe.

Effixe's work is featured on CK Pinhole Photography Resource and you can also find him interviewed here. He lives in Marseilles and builds all his pinhole cameras.

This photo is entitled "La Sièste".

Sténopé 6X11
F=36mm
f/171
pinhole : 0.21mm from sténocaméra
120 roll film

TRINDADE, BRAZIL: GOING TO SEA

PHOTO: A ELGUETA

Here's another brilliant panorama from Alicia.

"Going to sea" is a picture taken with a matchbox pinhole camera. E100G Kodak film cross process with an exposure time of 1 second.

It is a holiday in Brazil, in a beautiful town called Trindade, a day of new year!

INTRODUCING: ALICIA ELGUETA

PHOTO: ALICIA ELGUETA

I'm delighted to welcome the work of another pinhole photographer - Alicia Elgueta - with this panorama entitled "Petropolis!"

In Alicia's words:

"Petropolis!" is a panoramic photo composed of three exhibitions, one following another. I advanced the film until I captured the whole environment around me. It was captured with a matchbox pinhole camera, E100G Kodak film cross processing.

It is on holiday in Brazil, a city in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro called Petropolis. It is the view from the top of the viewpoint of the Virgin of Fatima. A beautiful place to visit and photograph.

LONDON: MILLENNIUM BRIDGE

PHOTO: GONZO

Taken with the Gonzorama Mk5 pinhole camera.

You can see more of Gonzo's Millennium Bridge photos here.

INTRODUCING: GONZO

PHOTO: GONZO

Good news: the work of talented pinholer Gonzo will now be making an appearance on these pages. Big thanks to the man himself.

This was taken with the Gonzorama Mk7 pinhole camera on Polaroid 100 35mm film.

LONDON: CHINATOWN FREE PAPERS

PHOTO: M HODGSON

On Gerrard Street there's a large selection of foreign language free papers stacked against the wall and scattered about the pavement. A constant stream of eager readers make for great subjects. Here's an alternative shot.

LONDON: ASCENDING...

PHOTO: M HODGSON

...to Tottenham Court Road. A 15 second exposure on the escalator handrail.

LONDON: EYE

PHOTO: M HODGSON

I read somewhere that pinhole cameras "suck in time". If that's the case, neutral density filters boost suction. Placed in front of an aperture they allow for longer exposures in bright conditions, allowing the passage of time to make its mark more extensively on a single image.

There's two planes of movement here: the clouds being propelled by a strong east wind towards the camera, and the London Eye on its barely perceptible, incremental rotation. A minute and a half of movement is sucked into one image and imposed on the immovable skyline of the South Bank.

Long exposure is nothing new in photography, but usually it's very difficult to achieve with a pinhole camera in daylight. These filters are great because they open up a whole range of possibilities for subjects and settings.

Technical details:

The photograph shown here was taken as usual with my Pinhole Sharan Wide 35 but with two Cokin ND 8x "P" type filters and an exposure of minute and a half.

The second shot - actually my favourite - was given the same exposure but occurred in slighter brighter conditions.

For the third photo I used four filters and doubled the exposure time to three minutes. The result was a vivid, blood red complexion. This could be used to interesting effect with an appropriate subject and the right amount of light.

LONDON: LAUNDRETTE

PHOTO: M HODGSON

My friend Alex spotted this laundrette near Russell Square tube and suggested I take a photo. A 20 second exposure did the trick with the lighting, but I hadn't expected the old woman sitting on the bench to be in the photo at all. If I'm honest, I barely noticed her when I took the shot. The strange blurring lends her an ethereal quality that might lead a more superstitious photographer to believe she was never really there at all.

This taught me an invaluable trick: a panoramic camera without a lens captures much more of its surroundings than the casual observer might expect. If we spy a photographer pointing a camera, we assume quite reasonably it has a lens and is focused on a particular point at some distance. I've discovered that it's easy to stand right next to a stationary subject with a pinhole camera - feigning to shoot past them without offending their perceived personal space - when in fact the whole scene is exposed to the film, their curious or oblivious face included.

LONDON: VOLVO

PHOTO: M HODGSON

This Volvo Amazon was captured at Strand on the Green, Chiswick. I'm usually the last person to swoon over classic cars, but my parents once drove a Volvo 340 and I was surprised to see living proof they weren't always so ugly.

My grandmother was born a couple of terraces from here, when the cafe on the left was still a pub. She and my grandfather held their wedding reception here in the '50s. "The Steam Packet" is just visible in flaked letters on the side wall.

Strand on the Green was once a fishing village and several of my grandmother's older relatives worked on the river. The site of an old repair dock is still obvious by way of the great beams of wood on the river bed nearby.

LONDON: FROM WATERLOO BRIDGE

PHOTO: M HODGSON

PARIS: BASILIQUE DU SACRÉ COUER

PHOTO: M HODGSON

January in Paris didn't present ideal light conditions for pinhole photography, but in this case the bright white stone solved that problem.

PARIS: LA MARAIS

PHOTO: M HODGSON

Drinks with friends in Paris.