Previously on pinhole photography: A New Chapter, a New Book - Pinhole Photography, Film Pinhole Photography, Seaside Pinhole Photography, Lake Erie Lakeshore on Pinhole, Erie Basin Marina on Pinhole, Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day 2017, The Final Six, Large Format Pinhole, Large Format Pinhole by Cargill Pool Grain Elevator, Large Format Pinhole of Orchard Park Train Depot
A black and white theme for this rainy Thursday showing my progress with the large format pinhole camera I introduced in the last couple posts on the topic (see links above). To help with the strong contrast I experimented with pre-flashing the photo paper. What's pre-flashing? I briefly exposed the paper to diffused dim light from a flashlight. I metered the light falling on the photo paper and cut the exposure down to a 1/3 of the metered exposure time. Then, on location, I subtracted that third from that reading to insure I would not overexpose.
Orchard Park Train DepotLensless 4x5" Pinhole Camera, Ilford Paper
This method allows the dim light from shadows to register on the photo paper where there would not be enough light otherwise thus revealing more of the dark areas. Retaining detail in highlights becomes more challenging thus the need to lower the scene exposure based on the pre-flash.
Alright, one more technical detail I'd like to share today, even though that one is more for fun. Why can photo paper be developed in a darkroom illuminated by a dim red light (or green in some instances too)? Because it is only sensitive to blue light. So, what happens when you try to use a red filter to darken blue skies as one would do with a black and white film? Yep, you guessed it, you'll get a blank image.
I feel a bit silly telling you but I actually did this. I was standing there by the Orchard Park train depot thinking of creative ways to further improve the photo, pulled out the filter, opened up the shutter of the pinhole camera, and thought, "what am I doing? This can't work, Can it?" I completed the exposure adding time for the filter factor and later developed the paper with the expected result :-) Rules of physics prevailed.
Enjoy the Beauty that Surrounds You! (#etbtsy)
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