Pinhole explorations

Before we headed home from Goodwood I spent one more day exploring, this time using just my pinhole camera. I started off in Arundel, just following my nose and photographing whatever caught my eye.

The last time I visited St Nicholas’ Church was when I gave a concert here about 20 years ago. It was a little too dark inside for pinhole photography, but the churchyard was very photogenic. Click on any image to see it enlarged.

Across the road, the Cathedral was a sunnier place so I was able to photograph inside.

From the Cathedral I headed back out onto the quiet streets of Arundel.

A dramatic splash of flare from the sun behind the bridge over the River Arun.

Eventually I left Arundel and wandered back via Boxgrove Priory. The interior of the church was catching some beautiful sunshine and I couldn’t resist a ghostly self portrait beneath the arches of the ruined priory.

Photos taken 17 April 2023

Edinburgh through a pinhole

After my adventures in Glasgow my pinhole camera saw some more action around Edinburgh. I had no particular agenda, but followed my nose and photographed what I saw around me.

Elegant University buildings.

On my final day I took a stroll along the Water of Leith.

St. Bernard’s Well

Down by the water’s edge. I hadn’t noticed the whirlpool in the second image until I scanned the negative.

The elegant buildings of Dean Village lining the river.

My final destination of the day was Greyfriar’s Kirkyard. Scottish graveyards are always wonderfully dramatic and perfect pinhole material!

Photos taken 3 April 2023

A stroll beside the Clyde

A pinhole camera came along for the ride for my visit to Scotland at the beginning of the month and one of my first destinations was a jaunt to Glasgow to see my friend Matt. Before I got that far though I took a few snaps on my journey north, including a couple at Kings Cross Station, while I waited for my train. I had this image in mind when I visited in December, but a large TV screen was blocking my way. This time the coast was clear so I laid my camera on the floor and finally captured the photo I’d hoped for!

A longish photo of some of my fellow travellers, milling around the concourse.

My walk to Haymarket Station in Edinburgh threw up a couple of pinhole opportunities - the Union Canal and the trams passing the station.

My pinhole photos from Glasgow all seem to feature bridges in one way or another, starting with the Bell’s Bridge.

Further along the Clyde we found what locals called the ‘Squinty Bridge’ as its curve crossed the road at an angle. I couldn’t find somewhere to capture this quite as I’d hoped as I needed somewhere to prop my camera, but I quite like the result anyway.

My final bridge of the day - the Tradeston Bridge, which features some wonderful lines.

Photos taken 29 March 2023

Pinhole meanderings

Whenever I’ve been out and about recently I’ve taken a pinhole camera with me to capture the scenes around me in slow motion. Last week I took and afternoon stroll in Saffron Walden. St Mary’s Church has always been a fertile ground for pinhole photos so was sure to visit and, sure enough, I found some new angles and views.

Elsewhere in the town this wonderful old building was calling to me.

Later in the week my work took me to Maidenhead and my B&B was close to the River Thames. ON Sunday morning I took a stroll along the river and found plenty of inspiration, including the dramatic Boulters Weir.

I found a vantage point close to the river level and the weir seemed even more powerful from there.

A ghostly self portrait by the Thames.

Photos taken 16 & 19 March 2023

Houses and gardens with style

After my not so successful photos from Nymans last month I returned on my next journey down to Sussex for another try.

The house and Nymans suffered a disastrous fire in 1947, destroying a lot of the internal structure. Some of the rooms were restored, but a large part of the building remains just a shell to this day.

My ultimate destination was West Dean College, where I was due to tutor a recorder course. Naturally my camera got some exercise there too, especially around the gardens.

Two early morning photos of the River Lavant from a stroll before breakfast.

I’ve photographed this huge curving sculpture before but this time I got really close to accentuate the lines - my camera was just a couple of inches from the end of the structure!

A ghostly self portrait under the arch in the garden. In a couple of months time this will be covered in climbing plants.

During our morning playing session my group of recorder players gave me permission to capture a slow motion group portrait, which took forty minutes!

After lunch on Saturday I explored the glasshouses. The first image looks quite bare at the moment, but these strawberry and peach plants will soon be covered in fruit.

A much more verdant scene in one of the tropical glasshouses.

Photos taken 10 & 11 March 2023

Surprises in every negative

Pinhole photography is an unpredictable art at the best of times and sometimes things don’t go to plan. On this occasion a glitch with my camera during a stroll around the grounds at Nymans let me with much stronger vignettes than usual on my photos.

Several of my photos were unusable as a result, but in some cases I really like the dramatic fall off of light - every cloud has a silver lining!

Photos taken 25 February 2023

St Audrie's Bay

Have you ever had one of those days when you can’t quite decide where to go? I had just that experience in Somerset earlier this month and my solution was to open up Google maps and see what jumped out at me. AS luck would have it, this led me to rediscover a pin I’d dropped in the app last year marking St Audrie’s Bay as somewhere I should visit - problem solved!

My reason for saving the location was the waterfall which tumbles off the cliffs there. I’d seen photos which had piqued my interest so I parked up at the caravan part on top of the cliffs and began picking my way down the steep path to the beach. It’s a private beach, but the owners of the caravan park don’t mind welcoming visitors and on this winter morning I pretty much had the place to myself.

The only access from above is a rocky pathway down the side of the cliffs so I was amazed to find a lot of man made structures (albeit in an extreme state of weathering) dotted along the beach. I can only assume the raw materials must have been brought in by boat many decades ago in a futile attempt to tame the sea.

The waterfall comes from a stream which runs down the hillside and simply falls over the edge to the beach below. During the summer months it often disappears entirely, but the recent rain ensured a steady flow of water, which I made the most of in my pinhole photos.

The beach was riven with streams of water, heading for the sea, so I was very pleased I’d put my wellies in the car. To get this photo I was sitting on a small man-made stone wall with my feet in a stream, while shooting in the opposite direction across a rock pool - I couldn’t have done that if I’d be wearing shoes!

I was fascinated by the rock strata breaking through the beach - a very visible glimpse into the way the earth’s crust is pushed and pulled by the forces beneath.

This may look like a deep chasm, but it’s only about 4 inches deep - the magic of getting down really low and really close with a pinhole camera!

I’d brought my large format pinhole camera along too, which gave me a different perspective on the beach’s features, both natural and manmade.

Photos taken 3 February 2023

When things don't go to plan

During my recent visit to Somerset I made a diversion to Weston-super-Mare to walk along the Grand Pier and take some pinhole photos. Well, that was the plan!

I arrived around 2pm and wandered along the beach from my car, making photos whenever the fancy took me.

Who knew mud could sink?!

I inadvertently walked into my own photo with this one (I’m the shadowy figure on the right) - one of the dangers of wide angle photography!

Beneath the pier, enjoying its structure.

The days are now getting longer so I figured I’d have at least an hour on the pier when I arrived there at three o’clock. Sadly that wasn’t to be. They’d already half pulled the shutters across and were actively encouraging people to leave so my stroll along the pier with a fish and chip supper to follow was not to be!

To make up for the disappointment I continued my explorations, heading out of town along the seafront, where I found some dramatic views across the harbour.

Further on I found Weston’s other pier - the Birnbeck Pier. This one has seen better days and is slowly crumbling into the sea, but somehow that made it even more photogenic!

Photos taken 2 February 2023

Six days later...

While I was away in Somerset recently I left my little Puck pinhole camera on the windowsill of my study, capturing life on our street over the course of six days. It uses photographic paper to capture the scene, so lots of light is needed. Fortunately, the sun came out from behind the clouds during my absence so, while people walking down the street are invisible, you can clearly see the path of the sun across the sky.

Photo taken 1- 6 February 2023.

St John's in colour

While visiting St John’s Church in Duxford recently I took the opportunity to finish off the roll of Kodak Portra 400 film I had left in my pinhole camera from Christmas. When I arrived the sky was cloudy but those clouds swiftly parted, allowing sunlight to flood into the church - what a wonderful sight!

These shafts of sunlight threw some beautiful pools of light onto the floor and walls of the church - such a magical effect.

Click on any image to see it enlarged.

Photos taken 27 January 2023