Tuesday, December 25, 2018

from f295: My first camera from a Scotch Box.

f295 was an international discussion forum begun and administered by Tom Persinger. Originally just about pinhole photography, it expanded into all kinds of alternative methods. It was active from 2004 until 2015 but it remains on-line. Recently it disappeared from the web for a few days, and that prompted me to decide to reprise some of my favorites here at Pinholica, for backup if no other reason. 

Bottles of Scotch come inside some pretty well made boxes. I've made cameras out of a Glenlivet box, a Glenmorangie box, and one I made for my son from Macallen as a Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day gift. (He and his best man toasted with a wee dram of Macallen before his wedding the previous autumn).  This is what started it all. Posted under the title "Last of the year," on January 3, 2006.


My wife gave me a bottle of Scotch for Christmas. She said she chose Glenmorangie because she thought the box it came in (3.5" x 12" cylinder) would make the best pinhole camera. How can you pass up a challenge like that? The only matte finished paper I had was already cut into 4" x 5" pieces so I taped three of them together. Two minute exposure (very gloomy day), .49mm pinhole, about f 128 (I took the pinhole off an old workshop camera) A bit of burning and dodging in photoshop to correct for center to edge exposure differential.



I got another Macallan box last night.  Happy Yuletide! Did you get a present in a box you could make a camera out of for Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day?

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