Using Pinhole Photography to Find Another Gateway to Reality

Pinhole photography offers a fascinating way to explore the world. It’s nothing more than a black box with a tiny hole in it. This simple technique slows us down, allowing us to see the world differently. It brings photography back to its essence of light and time.

Light passes through the small opening, projecting an inverted image onto photosensitive material inside the box. It captures passing time, preserving moments where past and present merge.

Light passes through the small opening, projecting an inverted image inside the box.

What is Pinhole Photography?

Pinhole photography brings the medium back to its simplest and most essential form. The basic black container used in this technique has no lens. The inverted (upside-down) image of the world outside is projected onto the back inside. This principle forms the foundation of all photography.

Due to the tiny hole, pinhole cameras require long exposure times and have an infinite depth of field (much like a small aperture).

How pinhole camera’s are made:

Making a pinhole camera is simple:

Cut an opening in a box to create a section for the pinhole.

Drill a hole in a thin metal sheet and tape it inside the box to seal the opening.

You can use a needle or a pin to create the hole, but I prefer microdrills for more precision.

The ratio between the pinhole diameter and the distance to the back of the camera determines the sharpness of the image. There are scientific formulas for this (discovered in the 19th century by John Herschel), but nowadays, you can find pinhole calculators online or use an app. My cameras have a 0.3 mm pinhole and a 5.5 cm distance to the projection surface. This setup gives the best possible sharpness, though a pinhole image can never be perfectly sharp. That softness is what gives pinhole images their poetic, dreamlike quality.

Why Pinhole Photography

For me, pinhole photography is not just about capturing a picture. It’s about experiencing time more deeply. The slow exposure process helps me to connect with my surroundings. Each image feels like a meditation, where time becomes fluid and stretched.

By adding neutral density filters behind the pinhole, I can control the amount of light entering the box, extending the exposure time, emphasizing the flow of time.

I often set up my cameras and leave them in nature to expose from 24 hours to an entire week. The path that the sun describes in the sky becomes visible that way. Some other subpaths are made by moving the camera towards the sun after the exposure.

Pinhole camera left to expose for 24 hours, with a note asking people not to touch it.

Slow Photography

One of the most remarkable aspects of pinhole photography is how it forces you to slow down. There’s no instant gratification, no digital screen showing an immediate result. The long exposure times create a sense of anticipation, turning the process into an act of patience and presence.

The final image is never entirely predictable, and that’s part of the magic. Pinhole photographs often appear soft, blurred, and abstract, giving them a timeless, ethereal quality. They may not be technically perfect, but they capture something more than just the visible world. They hold the essence of time itself.

History

Did you know? The pinhole phenomenon was described by Aristotle, long before photography was invented.

Want to know more? Read this blog post!

Solargraphy

This technique inspired my long exposures. A solargraph captures images of the sun’s path on light-sensitive paper, without the need for development.