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Rockport Harbor

A Pinhole Experience

by

Kenneth G. Ransom

As part of my studies at the Maine Photographic Workshops in the fall of 1991, I had to submit a 

photo project. I ended up tackling the pinhole camera. A throwback to the earliest days of 

photography, the pinhole is the simplest camera in design. It consists of a light tight container and a 

small hole that controls the exposure.

My choice of construction materials consisted of a round Quaker Oats container, a caffeine free Dr 

Pepper can, and lots of tape. This is a big change from the Leica I normally use. I cut a one inch 

square in the oatmeal container for my "lens." I then cut a two inch square from the aluminum can 

and punctured the square for my aperture. Black photo tape was used to attach the aperture (Dr 

Pepper can) to the outside of the oatmeal can. A small piece of photo tape served as the shutter.

Exposures were made on 7 X 10 sheets of Ilford single weight paper with an average exposure of 8 

seconds in bright sunlight. The paper was inserted from the top of the container and curled along the 

inside to achieve maximum image area. This curling is the reason for the distorted panoramic view.

The paper negative was then developed and dried. Contact prints were made using a homemade glass 

contact holder on to 11 X 14 sheets of Kodak Elite grade 3. Due to the extremes of contrast of paper 

negatives, each print was exposed for the shadow detail and highlight areas manipulated as 

necessary.

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