Re: Newbie Intro. and a few questions

Hi:

For my pinhole stuff I mostly shoot 8x10, but I use ortho film but develop
it as continuous tone film. My 8x10 film costs me CA$70.00 for 100 sheets
I contact print these images, usually on cyanotype.

This can actually make things very convenient.

I recently returned from a vacation. As an experiment I packed two
pinhole cameras, a pack of 8x10 ortho film, developer, fix a safe light, 3
trays, a small piece of upholstory foam, some large metal spring clips and
some cyanotype paper I had coated.

We were staying with friends. I asked ahead of time if I could use their
laundry room as a makeshift darkroom.

I was able to load my cameras, and process the film in the laundry room.
All I needed to do was plug in my safelight and put the trays on the
counter (a freezer actually). They had a laundry sink as well which made
things very convenient. I dried the film by hanging it from a hanger with
a wooden clothes pin.

To make prints I found a piece of glass and a piece of scrap plywood - a
contact frame. To print I sandwiched the 8x10 neg, cyanotype paper and
foam between the glass and the wood and clipped it together. I then set
it out in the sun for 10 minutes and then developed the cyanotype in a
tray of tap water, and hung it to dry.

I left my friends with a small collection of 8x10 and 4x10 cyanotype
prints. They were enthralled with how one can make fascinating pictures
with the simplest technology.

Large format orhto and cyanotype make for a very simple and convenient
combination. No expensive darkroom necessary - just a room that can be
made dark and the sun :)

Contact printing large pinhole negs gives pretty sharp looking images.

If you want to try alternative processes cyanotype is the cheapest and
easiest.

Gord

On Mon, 12 Aug 2002, Fox, Robert wrote:

> Short introduction: I'm an amateur photographer in the Washington DC area
> shooting mostly medium format on-location portraits and architectural stuff.
> I shoot mostly B&W print, but also use transparencies (usually Fuji Provia
> 100). I am fascinated by the potential of pinhole photography and am looking
> to buy a pre-made camera after seeing the beautiful examples on the resource
> page. I use mostly all-manual cameras, so getting into pinhole feels pretty
> natural. I hate the way modern electronics can get in the way of the image
> making process.
>
> Are there any practical reasons to shoot at 4x5 rather than 8x10? I suppose
> it would be easy enough to do both, but I'm wondering about people's
> preferences for architectural and portrait work. The multi-format Zero2000
> looks like a good starter as well given the choice of formats for standard
> roll film.
>
> I must say I am blown away by the quality and creativeness of the images I
> have seen on the April 28 pinhole day gallery -- really inspiring! One of
> the best photographic events I've ever seen -- simple and powerful.
>
> Anyway, I'm here to learn and am glad to participate.
>
> R.J.
>
>
>
>

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Gordon J. Holtslander Dept. of Biology
holtsg@duke.usask.ca 112 Science Place
http://duke.usask.ca/~holtsg University of Saskatchewan
Tel (306) 966-4433 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Fax (306) 966-4461 Canada S7N 5E2
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Received on Tue Aug 13 01:24:35 2002