Pinhole Assignment
Be sure to look at all the notes and examples before
finishing the assignment.
Final Submission
Hand in all materials in a 2-pocket folder, which you can
get from me. As usual, put your best and your
"good" images in one pocket, along with the required printouts. In the other side, include images which you
don't want evaluated, but that show evidence of you doing experiments and tests
that didn't quite work out.
On the "good" side should be:
- At least 5 good developed images –
more if you’ve got them. Write a
descriptive title on the back if you're referring to them in your writeup. Mount and title two of your best. Also
mount one beside a printout of the positive scan. (same titling as for
Photograms: Title, year, technique, your name(s))
- As
well as the mounted inverted scan, scan
at least one more which you just save and print but not mount. All scans must be trimmed, inverted, cleaned, flipped
horizontally (Image menu). Click here for scanning
instructions. For the
one(s) you print, print on the laser printer, removing most of the
surrounding black first (pure black prints poorly and wastes ink). Save the scan files as JPEGs (NOT psd’s) from Photoshop.
Put them in a folder named G:/AWT3/Pinhole.
Here are the filenames I expect to see for each of the 2 scans:
- the
original scan (negative) e.g. graveyard scan- your name.jpg
- the
cleaned up inversion e.g. graveyard positive – your name.jpg
- a digital photo shot from the same position as one of
your shots, preferably with your camera in it.. Borrow a digital camera from me if you
need to. This would be a good way
to demonstrate that you achieved a wide angle shot with the pinhole. Save this in your AWT3/Pinhole folder, and print it too.
- Writeup:
Make a short Word
document describing in point
form for each image (you can stop at the best 5 if you’ve shot
more):
- its title (e.g. Graveyard
Ghost) Also write the title
and your name in pencil
on the back of the prints.
- what
and where the subject was (e.g. tombstones and me, Mt. Albert cemetery)
- lighting
conditions and exposure time (e.g. cloudy,
dusk, 4 minutes)
- anything important about how it was shot. For instance, camera on ground looking
up; subject moved to 3 different spots; whatever makes it unique, or
things I might not notice, especially how long subjects were in the image
for "ghosts"
- which
categories the shot fulfills (see below)
- brief
comments on how it worked out – pluses and minuses
Categories (You
might cover more than 1 category with one shot)
- Indoor – the subject must be
indoors. Easiest if illuminated by
window light or STRONG artificial light.
- Ghost experiment - Use the long exposure time to
“see through” your subject by moving him/her/it part way through. Make
sure there’s a textured background that you’ll be able to see through your
ghost subject. Example
- Optional:
Away from school - take a
loaded camera home for one shot; optionally bring more cut photo paper
ready to use in a dark bag, and re-load in a TOTALLY black room e.g. a
basement bathroom , all lights in the basement
off, towel under the door.
- Portrait of a person – portrait
means a close shot that concentrates on the face. Do it outside so your subject doesn’t
have to sit still for as long. They
have to be absolutey still, so set them up so
they can lean on something to steady themselves. – example of portrait combined
with fisheye
- Closeup –
small details in a small area – maybe a “still life” arrangement of
plants, dishes, or objects that look great and mean something to you. Bring in some props!
- Landscape (can include
buildings). This is a good thing to
combine with a wide angle shot.
- Deep Depth-of-Field
Pinholes rule in this category! Include a shot that demonstrates how
objects mere inches away from the camera will be in focus at the same time
as objects many meters away. Here’s
a link that explains Deep and Shallow
Depth-of-Field.
- Very wide angle or fish-eye, along with regular angle of the same shot. Choose one of your best regular
shots. Shoot it again from exactly
the same spot and exposure, but this time attach the paper close to the
front of the can, and/or bend it.
See the examples. Even better, do the same shot with the
paper bent concave, then convex. What will the difference be??? Make sure you label and write up these
shots so I know which ones belong together.
“Look-Fors”
- Interest – we’re always looking
for photos that make you want to
look at them. Some of your efforts
here will just be technical experiments, but a few of them will hopefully
be good artful shots. Use your Artistic Eye – how can you best use this
medium to express yourself? What
makes a good composition?
- Clarity of image – small details
are crisp. This requires a perfect
pinhole, good light, no can movement, and patience.
- Exposure: good range of grays, black & white –
not too washed out or underexposed (difficult!)
- Innovation – did you invent or use
unique techniques? Are your angles
and subjects unusual? Did you try
something new like a double exposure?)
- Good use of deep depth-of-field
(Pinholes are awesome for having very close and very distant objects
equally in focus. Compose some
scenes that include part of the subject only inches away as well as elements
in the more distant background)
- Good demonstration of wide-angle
(close objects that are wide work well.
A comparable digital shot helps show how wide the field of view
is.)
- Scan and Photoshop work done to best
effect. Ask me for help if you
need it.
- Concise, thoughtful write-up
- Attractive presentation
- Good
productive use of time.