Author: Alan Meek

Worldwide Pinhole Day this year was on Sunday the 29th of April. Everyone interested in pinhole photography was encouraged to take a picture on that day and post it on the official website. Details are on   http://www.pinholeday.org

I went to Saltburn with the Nikon D610 full-frame camera to which I’d fitted a commercial laser-cut pinhole of 0.2mm. Exposure was 1/4″, ISO 800. No lens at all!

Worldwide Pinhole Day this year is on Sunday 30th April. Everyone interested in pinhole photography is encouraged to take a picture on that day and post it on the official website by 31st May. Details are on   http://www.pinholeday.org

In preparation I’ve taken a photo with a standard 50mm lens on a Nikon D610 full-frame camera. Exposure 1/500th at f/4, ISO 400.

I bought a Nikon body cap with a hole drilled in it and it’s supposed to act as a pinhole but the hole is too big so the image is very blurred. Exposure 1/25th, ISO 1600. By coincidence the angle of view is about the same as the shot with the lens.

I drilled a bigger hole in another body cap and fitted a plate with a tiny, laser-cut pinhole over it. Exposure 1/2 second, ISO 1600. Much sharper.

Then I put three extension tubes between the body and the pinhole to extend the effective focal length This is like using a tele lens. It looks less sharp but actually shows the same amount of detail, just bigger! Exposure 4 seconds, ISO 1600.

All of the pinhole pictures were lacking contrast and I needed to adjust that in Photoshop. My next task is to fit the pinhole to a larger camera, one that uses film.