Re: Pinhole anecdotes

Hi Jim and All,

Using tape as an exposure marker is a good idea. When I load tin can and cigar box cameras, I put a blank strip of 3/4" or 1" masking tape on them. Then as I make exposures, I'll either take the tape off, or write the date, subject, exposure time and anything else that fits, literally, on it. At home, the tape can be placed on a piece of paper as a permanent record of the excursion - or transcribed for legibility, if preferred.

For an anecdote... One of the first pinhole cameras I made was fabricated from the fabled oatmeal box. One winter day, I went to the top floor of a parking ramp to make a mid-level skyline photo of downtown Minneapolis. The top floor was slippery and a sheet of ice near the edge, so I was on hands and knees as I placed the camera at the edge to make the exposure. In mid-exposure, a gust of wind slid the camera off into an eight story drop to the sidewalk below. The box lid popped slightly at the seam, and the light streaks actually enhanced the image. I still use the camera occasionally, which now has one extra piece of electrician's tape on it. The incident also got me in the habit of carrying a small brick to put on top of the box to stabilize it during exposure. (If I would have purchased the scanner mentioned in a recent email, I'd post the skyline photo... probably will when I do buy one.)

Parking ramps are a great place to photograph cities. You're above street level, which prevents some of the distortion that happens photographing buildings from street level. You can take an elevator to the top without passing building guards and can photograph reasonably high up without having to shoot through window glass.

Tom

----- Original Message -----
  From: Kosinski Family
  To: Pinhole Discussion List
  Sent: Saturday, December 30, 2000 8:25 AM
  Subject: [pinhole-discussion] Pinhole anecdotes

  Hello everyone,

  Here are a couple of things that happened to me on recent pinhole excursions... you have a lot of fun when you carry a paintcan camera around.

  I was sitting in a courtyard cafe with the camera on the table and the couple at the next table turned around and asked me "Hey, what color do you have?" I told them "I have all the colors of the rainbow in there!" Then I showed them how it worked and we ended up having a very nice chat about pinhole photography.

  Another day I was walking down Main St. in Cooperstown carrying 2 cameras and the driver of the rural transportation bus (Gus the Bus) pulled over and opened the door. "I bet you're goin' to do some paintin' today!" he yelled out the door (this is a very rural area and we can be a friendly folk). "Heck no, this is a camera and I'm takin' pictures" I responded. He drove off scratching his head.

  I don't think making dumb mistakes is all that crazy, but it's amazing to me to see how smart we can be after all that schooling and experience. Like this week, I figured out how to take a lot of cameras out and cover up their number with black tape after I made the exposure in order to tell which ones had been used. I forgot to cover a few up and they became double exposed and way too dark to print. Must still be high on the learning curve...

  I'd like to collect more interesting anecdotes if you have any...

  Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

  Jim Kosinski
  www.paintcancamera.com
Received on Sat Dec 30 10:08:02 2000