Holga Blog

I’d never used a pinhole camera before, so I was excited for Holga Blog’s Pinhole January.  I had big plans to make a 120 pinhole camera from scratch and present you with the schematics and results, but it turns out building one takes work, dedication and time commitment, all of which are in short supply for me lately.  After spending too much time online looking for the easiest way to make the 120 pinhole camera I had in mind, a lightbulb went off and I realized I should start with a camera I already had!

Thinking that simpler = easier, I turned to my Ansco Shur Shot Jr, a box camera and the most basic camera I own.  After yanking off the springs that work the shutter (to create a B or Time mode), I found that the Jr’s lens (which is on the inside) is difficult to remove.  As in near-impossible.  I struggled a bit, then gave up and turned to my Ansco Shur Shot.  Great, I thought – this one already has a Time mode, I just have to get rid of the lens.  In the process of trying (and failing) to remove the lens on the Shur Shot’s faceplate, I remembered that the Shur Shot also has an equally well-attached lens on the film carrier.  Ugh… back to square one!

As I sat there, with pieces of both cameras on my dining table, it dawned on me… there might be a way to do this after all!  After a bit of tinkering, I frankensteined the two cameras.  Neither the faceplate nor the film carrier of the Jr had lenses, so I used those plus the body of the Shur Shot.  This also allowed me to have a Time mode and two different pinhole apertures!  As I used the Jr’s film carrier, I get eight 6×9 shots. I call this frankenstein the Pinsco.
More details on the making of the Pinsco can be found here.

The past several days have been the coldest of the season so far, with temperatures dipping below -15F and windchills below -30F (-26C and -34C, respectively)!  Lucky for you, I still have to take the dog for walks, so I managed to get some strategically timed (if not overly interesting) outdoor shots.  I was happy that seven of the eight frames turned out!  For next time, I know that I really need to keep this thing steady!

The captions under each photo are the notes I took for each shot.  I’m usually terrible about taking notes, so I taped a piece of paper on the side of the camera – worked like a charm!  This roll was Ilford HP4+ developed in Ilfotec DD-X at 125 (first time using the Ilfotec, too).  I think both the film and the developer have a wide latitude, which I credit for a big part of the success of this roll.

This is my first Pinsco shot ever – of a deserted, snowy park (taken while walking the dog).  This one was taken with the 2nd, bigger aperture, which is actually a thumbtack-hole more so than a pinhole.

Pinsco 2: down the street from my apartment (also taken while letting the dog out)

Pinsco 3: nighttime at the Blackbird Cafe, an awesome eatery just downstairs from my office.  Used the 2nd aperture on this one.

Pinsco 4: down the street from my office

Pinsco 5 was a 14 minute exposure of branches against the moon at night.  Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out.  Fortunately, I set up the shot then ran back inside and waited, so no appendages were lost in the taking of this nonexistent picture.

Pinsco 6: building across the street from my office – boring shot, but this one definitely turned out the best!

Pinsco 7: This was to be a night shot of the street lights and lit trees down the street from my apartment.  It looks like it might have turned out decently, except I accidentally double exposed the shot!  The second exposure is along the lines of Pinsco 8… oops!

Pinsco 8: Ever wonder what taking your glasses off, washing your hands and then putting your contacts in would look like as a long exposure pinhole shot?  Wonder no more, it looks something like this…

This first roll was far from perfect, but I’m definitely excited about the Pinsco!  I’ve already loaded another roll and temperatures have warmed up a tad, so I’m already back to counting seconds – and working on keeping the Pinsco steady.