Just received my Pinhole Pro… a multiple aperture pinhole that attaches to my Fuji X-T1 like a lens. I bought it through a Kickstarter page, but it's now available through Thingyfy. I have always had a great interest in pinhole photography… my Masters thesis was all about it. But as with all things, I got busy with other projects in my life and haven’t explored pinholes for years. The Kickstarter campaign gave me an excuse to start again in the digital age. Sure, I could have bought a body cap and created my own pinhole, but the clean lines and multiple apertures of the Pinhole Pro intrigued me. And at $50, who could say no?
So what is this product anyway? Well, according to the Thingyfy specs, it's an anodized aluminum alloy body with a focal length of 50mm, it comes in multiple camera mounts (Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc.), and has a ring of multiple apertures, from 0.10 to 0.80 in size. The camera meter doesn't work with the Pinhole Pro attached, so I needed to consider exposing images without it. I had to determine the f/stop for each of the apertures and convert that into an exposure time. The first issue… was it actually 50mm? I have a mirrorless APS-C camera, and I was unsure if the 50mm body size was actually 50mm on my Fuji. It has been a long while since I had to think of film planes and nodal points, and, honestly, I’ve forgotten more that I remember. I knew that angle of view equivalents to 35mm (full frame) were about 1.5 times for APS-C. Would that mean the length converted to 75mm or 33mm? Or did it matter… 50mm is 50mm. Ah, the trials and tribulations of getting old and addled. I finally decided it was all rather moot… I just had to go out and take some test images. But me being me, I wanted to know at least an approximate exposure time. So I make a quick chart based on the sunny f/16 rule. You know the one… subject lit by a bright sunny day should be exposed at f/16 at a shutter speed equivalent to the reciprocal of the film speed. Everyone knows that, right? So anyway… my I.S.O. was 200, which meant my exposure was close to 1/250th of a second. All I had to do was find out the f/stop for each aperture. Easy. Taking the 50mm length and dividing that by the apertures sizes gave me the following, rounded to the nearest one-third f/stop: 0.80 = f/64 0.50 = f/102 0.35 = f/114 0.30 = f/160 0.25 = f/204 0.20 = f/228 0.15 = f/320 0.10 = f/512 So, on an f/16 day (subject in bright sun) at I.S.O. 200, my exposure times in seconds would be: 0.80 = 1/15 (+4 stops) 0.25 = 1/2 (+7 stops) 0.50 = 1/8 (+5 stops) 0.20 = 1 (+8 stops) 0.35 = 1/4 (+6 stops) 0.15 = 2 (+9 stops) 0.30 = 1/2 (+7 stops) 0.10 = 4 (+10 stops) Notice the 0.30 and 0.25 exposures are the same (1/2 second, or +7 stops). This is because I’m rounding everything off to the shutter speeds I have on my camera. Cameras with 1/3 shutter speeds, (and very picky photographers behind them!), can be exposed more accurately. But let’s face it, this is a pinhole we’re talking about, and I’ve already "techified" it enough. It was time to go take some real photos… But that’s for next time.
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I have discovered Lightroom on my smartphone. Now that may seem a little dimwitted of me, but give me a break... I was born when computers were giant building-sized overheated monstrosities that everyone thought a miracle because they were able to add two numbers together. I now carry a device that not only adds two numbers together, but uses numbers to keep phone records, uses numbers to manage my accounts, collects numerous news articles of interest, connects me to social media, stores my music and books, and, I don't doubt, goes on a vacation to Paris and sends me e-postcards on how much fun it's having, all the time wishing I was there.
So anyway... I have discovered Lightroom on my smartphone, and do I love it. I have been editing images with it on my laptop, and knew that it existed on my phone, but had no idea of what it could do. I see all my RAW images, edit them on the smartphone (slightly more limited than the laptop, but give it a break... it just got back from Paris and is jet lagged!), save them as JPEGs and even post them on social media. Oooh La La! C'est magnifique! Comment pourrais-je vivre sans cela pendant si longtemps?* (Sorry... all my phone wants to do is speak in French and eat crepes all day. But I digress...). The thing is, now that I can use my smartphone to easily post my images on Instagram without having to export, resize, log into Instagram and do whatever I have to do on a laptop, I find that I'm getting a lot of 'likes' and people are starting to follow me. I've posted images before, and even sent links to the images on this website, but haven't seen much traffic until now. What has changed? Is the immediacy of an image on social media more effective than a link to the same image? Since I can more easily post more often, does that keep me in the minds of other users? Did my phone really just send me a bill for a night out at the Moulin Rouge? I need to start keeping tabs on my devices. As a result of all this activity, I get excited when I see that little heart on Instagram go red. I'm noticed! I'm liked! I'm followed! In any other context, that could sound rather menacing, but not in the social media world. We seem to crave being recognized when it comes to social media... and that is saying a lot for someone who likes to stay at home and veg in front of the television all day. How did I become someone that wants to be noticed? What does it say about me as a person or us as a society? Is it important for our self esteem to have lots of 'likes' or is this just the new role we play in this 21st century technological age? It is an odd thing being constantly reviewed by your peers and even more so when it comes from total strangers. Why should anyone care what someone else thinks about a tweet, an image, or a blog post? Could this indicate something missing in our lives? For me, this is a realization I'm able to reach and process through this journal and through my image creation. I began writing this post just to talk about how strange it was that I liked getting 'likes', but it has turned into a self-reflection on the need for a sense of connection, a way of communicating feelings that is somehow missing otherwise. If this is truly the case, is the best solution really to crave more and more 'likes'? Sounds too much like an addict thinking just a little bit more will make them feel better and able to cope with reality. Maybe the best thing is to find other outlets that allow us to connect with the world. If we start creating images that are less reliant on self-centered motivations and more about contributing to others, then we would gain the recognition that we are truly craving... that of making a difference. Although this one small change doesn't remove the need to be noticed, it helps us realize we need to be needed. And that's what life is all about. *: By the way... my phone may speak French, but I, regrettably, do not. I make no claim as to the accuracy of the translation! In the last post, I said it was time to broaden my horizons, photographically speaking. I also mentioned outlining a plan on how this might happen. So for what it's worth, here's a plan for change.
1. Comfort isn't all it's cracked up to be I tend to photograph the landscape, not because of its beauty or the challenges of photographing in the wild (anyone who knows me knows that isn't true!). No, I do it because I don't have to deal with people. Trees don't interrupt, mountains don't move about. It is comfortable to be on my own, not having to deal with other human issues. It is an escape from day to day frustrations, and that's not a bad thing, but it's also an escape from everything, and that is dangerous. To escape from everything is to hide from everything, and that can leave one empty and alone. It's time to experience life in all its diversity by leaving the comfort zone of landscapes. 2. Letting go of absolutes I am stuck in my ways, partly due to my age, but also because I've ALWAYS been stuck in my ways! Taking time to understand how others think and feel can open my eyes to the fallacy of absolutes. For instance, when I was younger, I placed the black and white image on a pedestal, Nikon was the best camera, film would never die. These were absolute truths, unchanging, unyielding, and the right view. Look at me now... I shoot digital color (and black and white), I use a Fuji camera (and an iPhone), and I don't shoot film (in over a decade)! These changes came about not because I necessarily wanted them to, but because I had stagnated, gotten lost, had stopped photography altogether. This happens when you are not open to the idea that change is a part of life... in fact, change is life. Nothing is permanent, everything changes. It's time to embrace those changes, to let go of what I believe is true, of what I think the way things are supposed to be. 3. Connection is paramount When I'm on my own, I'm comfortable, but I lose that connection with humanity that is so important to life itself. Without that connection, I become isolated and detached from humanity. I become ignorant about how other people live and interact with the world. That's how you get old and disconnected from what is, preferring a made up world that is safe and generic, one I don't want to live in. The grass was NOT greener "back when"; building walls does not protect your way of life; living in isolation leads to fear of anything that isn't you. This disconnection results in lost opportunities -- making a connection with others -- learning and sharing knowledge and experience. It is up to me to make those connections, and in so doing, appreciate their understanding of our world. 4. Accept the validity of the other view Others have different realities than mine, which have led them to views I may not agree with. I strive to be open minded, not categorizing everything as either right or wrong, and try to accept the alternative view as a legitimate one. To open oneself to that possibility is the first step towards understanding that the world is not made up of what I decide it's made up of. That is not to say I have to agree with the view, since views are formed from experiences, and those change from person to person. But I do need to accept that someone can reach a different view than mine because of those experiences, and accept that view as a valid one. This opens up avenues of understanding new ideas and realities. 5. Communication has a purpose To experience life in all its infinite combinations shapes who we are and who we can become. To create images that communicate that experience shapes the world we live in and what it can become. This is what it means to communicate with purpose. Improving one's photographic practice can lead to better communication, while listening, learning and accepting other views creates connections that can be powerful and long lasting. This in turn makes our photography more powerful, allowing us to capture a moment that not only records, but communicates with purpose. This is the road I have walked on all my life, even when I did not realize it, and hope to expand on as I connect to the world that is and the one that can be. Will I succeed or fail? By taking a first step is already succeeding, and that can lead to vistas never imagined. I plan to be there to photograph them! |
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