Through the Pin-hole - Reflecting on Assignment #2

Pin Hole Negatives, J.W & Katrina Rane Smith

Initially, J. & I had planned to use this assignment to tackle self-portraiture, selfies, and cell phone culture with high school students.  As a result, I decided to make small, hand-held cameras that would be decorated the way that students decorate their cell phones.  In the end we altered our plan and turned towards the exploration of Architectural photography and the elements of line and shape; however, were able to use the small cameras nonetheless. I made my 2 cameras from Tetley Tea canisters with snug fitting lids.   The Tea canisters seemed like a good solution to the pinhole camera for a few reasons: the tight fitting lid, the metal bottom, and the hand held size (because of this we actually skipped the tape flap and used our fingers as the shutter).  Because the hole was in the bottom of the canister rather than in the side, the paper stayed in place much better and did not create the distorted edges that occur when the paper is inserted into the cylinder sideways.  The fact that they provided a circular canvas, which strongly contrasted the straight lines of the architectural features we ended up photographing, was also a benefit.  

We shot over 30 more-or-less successful photographs focusing on the intersections of pipes, duct work and lighting in the ceiling of the photography lab, as well as the Montreal architecture right outside the windows!   Using the university environment was not only logical in terms of how we had designed our lesson, since students would be taking photographs of their school environment, but also allowed us to use our time efficiently by being close to the darkroom.

Pin Hole Positives, shot 2, J.W. & Katrina Rane Smith

Although many of the photographs feature similar features we chose the three final prints because of a) their quality as photographs including better contrast and sharper lines, and b) their use of the elements of design and composition to create visual interest as stressed by our lesson plan (line, shape, movement, contrast etc.).

 

Pin Hole Positives, shot 1, J.W. & Katrina Rane Smith

 Overall, it was an interesting process to go through.  J & I agreed that because of all the variables which can be discussed during the process of using pinhole cameras, this type of activity lends itself well to collaboration, and we agree that if we were to use this project with our students we would maintain the collaborative approach.  That being said, we do feel that partnerships are more functional than larger groups.  As partners we were able to really share in all aspects of the process, whereas groups of 3+ seemed to use a divide and conquer approach.

 

Pin Hole Positives, shot 3, J.W. & Katrina Rane Smith

 Our main concerns if we were to tackle this with our students would be addressing the amount of variables, time constraints, and access to a dark room or chemicals within the high school setting.   Using a Light Meter Ap for calculating starting exposures, and Pre-making/ pre-testing the cameras could save time, while using a scanner instead of a darkroom could alleviate the darkroom/chemical issues, although we feel that these modifications could take all the magic out of the process and result in students, who already value digital over analog, being less engaged with the activity.