Author Topic: Pinholes in the face of the Beast from the East with Ed and Paul (Read 9059 times)

LT · « **on:** March 31, 2013, 09:25:35 PM »

Ed, Paul Mitchell and I went out yesterday morning to try out the Ilford Obscura pinhole camera that Harman/ Ilford kindly gave us.

We met at 6 am, (seriously) to "catch-the-light", but little did we know that the Beast-from-the-East had prior knowledge of our plans and threw all that she had at us in an attempt to thwart our enjoyment. We were easy targets given that we chose the most unsheltered, and northeast-facing bit of coast in Kent. DOH! At one point, the whole of Margate beach looked like a scene from Scott of the Antarctic.

All will be revealed in a video podcast to come, but for the meantime, here are a few of my pinholes from the day. I took the Harman TiTAN 8x10, 5x4 and the obscura. (see pics for details)

First - the Obscura:

Ilford/ Harman Obscura camera - Margate by LeonTaylor27, on Flickr

next, the 5x4:

walpole bathing pool 2 by LeonTaylor27, on Flickr

and

Walpole bathing pool by LeonTaylor27, on Flickr

And finally, on the way home, I tried out some paper negs in the 8x10 in the woods. I pre-fogged them (actually, I was supposed to pre-flash them, but I over-cooked the exposure ....)

paper negative - Harman Titan 8x10 by LeonTaylor27, on Flickr

Paper Negative - Harman Titan 8x10 by LeonTaylor27, on Flickr

Francois · « **Reply #1 on:** March 31, 2013, 10:01:07 PM »

And you did manage to drag Ed out that early?
Now that deserves a good hand

Phil Bebbington · « **Reply #2 on:** March 31, 2013, 10:40:04 PM »

6am

It's like you guys were serious and stuff. You would calm me if you said you slipped in a beer at some stage in the day

astrobeck · « **Reply #3 on:** March 31, 2013, 11:03:06 PM »

lovely lovelies!
I want one of those...

Leon, which one did you enjoy using the most?

Want to loan me the obscura?

Diane Peterson · « **Reply #4 on:** March 31, 2013, 11:31:02 PM »

Quote from: astrobeck on March 31, 2013, 11:03:06 PM

lovely lovelies!
I want one of those...

Leon, which one did you enjoy using the most?

Want to loan me the obscura?

I will second that emotion!

ambaker · « **Reply #5 on:** April 01, 2013, 01:20:31 AM »

6 am? Is that the one that happens before I wake up?

Beautiful images, but still... 6 am? ;-)

Very nicely done, and worth waking up for.

Paul Mitchell · « **Reply #6 on:** April 01, 2013, 10:43:19 AM »

Love em all Leon!

I had a 2 hr drive to get there... arrived first. Ed had an hours drive... arrived second. Leon had a 20 minutes drive arrived last... LOL!

It was very, very cold but we had a great day out, took quite a few images and lots of footage for an excellent video podcast.

Will post some of mine when I get round to developing them.

Paul

Phil Bebbington · « **Reply #7 on:** April 01, 2013, 12:22:19 PM »

Great stuff - no pressure, Paul

But, 6am! Man

Fluminian · « **Reply #8 on:** April 01, 2013, 03:47:17 PM »

Absolutely stunning images Leon! 6 am? You guys were probably catching more cold than light.

AJShepherd · « **Reply #9 on:** April 01, 2013, 05:17:44 PM »

That shot from the Obscura looks splendid!

Nick Moys · « **Reply #10 on:** April 01, 2013, 05:29:49 PM »

Great shots Leon - particularly like the obscura photo.
Like the paper negs too. Any tips on pre-flashing times? I'm about to start experimenting with my new to me 5x7 tailboard camera, and as I only have one 5x7 film holder, would like to start as close I can to a decent exposure.
Cheers Nick.
BTW I think the Beast from the East has been here in Norfolk for at least a month!

jojonas~ · « **Reply #11 on:** April 01, 2013, 08:39:32 PM »

nice outing! looking forward to seeing the clip later.

LT · « **Reply #12 on:** April 02, 2013, 11:46:54 AM »

Thanks all - it was a great morning, if a little challenging on the numb-hands front:

@Paul - I know I was late, but sometimes a warm bed is a difficult thing to leave behind when it's chuffing cold outside.

@Nick - I cant remember what I flashed the paper at to be honest. And, it probably wouldnt help you as you'll have a differrent light source/ paper type and so on. You really need to run your own tests - choose the step before the one that shows the first hint of tone.

John Robison · « **Reply #13 on:** April 02, 2013, 02:17:03 PM »

Wow, wonderful series. Inclement weather often makes for some interesting photography. If you can keep the camera from blowing over! I look forward to the podcast.

SLVR · « **Reply #14 on:** April 02, 2013, 02:47:32 PM »

wonderful images considering the shooting conditions. Makes getting up that early all the worth while.

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #15 on:** April 02, 2013, 05:15:18 PM »

I was as surprised as the rest of you regarding the 6AM start, but figured this was what proper photographers do all the time, so I went along with it. Apparently we met at that time "for the light"....of which there turned out to be precious little, but it did mean that by the we got caught in a blizzard on Margate beach it was only 7AM even though we'd already been there for an hour

Did we give up and retire to a welcoming café for a piping hot cocoa? No. Why the heck not? Well, it turns out that nowhere is open at that time on Margate sea front, so I was coaxed back into the land of the living and 20 minutes later we were at the tide pool where Leon took shots 2 and 3 below. Paul tried out the Obscura there for the first time and I piggy-backed on his location spotting, his tripod and his uncanny ability to guess the perfect exposure time for my pinhole-of-unknown-size to shoot a couple of instants of the same scene.

I'll scan them and get them up here ASAP.

We did also shoot a fair amount of video, but since most of the early morning footage will be unusable in it's raw form because the wind was so strong, I've knocked up a very short sequence to give you a flavour of the weather. It's just uploading to Vimeo as I type, so I'll leave a link here and it should appear in about 35 minutes when it's finished being processed:

VimeUhOh

Thanks to Leon and Paul for inviting me out on their pinhole adventure.

irv_b · « **Reply #16 on:** April 02, 2013, 05:49:14 PM »

They are some gorgeous image- well done from braving that weather, from the look of the vid a fine time was had! I can't believe Ed thanked them for dragging him along

Leon when is the obscura released to the masses?

Paul Mitchell · « **Reply #17 on:** April 02, 2013, 05:56:25 PM »

You're only seeing Leon and I suitably dressed for the weather... what you don't see is Ed dressed in Hawaiian shirt and shorts... be gad he's hard is that man!

Francois · « **Reply #18 on:** April 02, 2013, 06:16:04 PM »

Oh yeah! That's Old Man Winter biting you in the face!
Now you know why I hate the coldest months.

But on the upside, you had the beach all to yourself. It was easier to walk in the sand. It's one of those few times where you feel better without your glasses. It makes you really appreciate anyplace where it's just a tad warmer. Only good things you see

LEAFotography · « **Reply #19 on:** April 02, 2013, 07:52:42 PM »

Great images there, from a heroic expedition

DonkeyDave · « **Reply #20 on:** April 02, 2013, 08:08:54 PM »

I'm impressed that you got any images at all, let alone the beauties that you did!

Chris A Fraser · « **Reply #21 on:** April 02, 2013, 08:49:03 PM »

I love the look of these shot. Great stuff!

calbisu · « **Reply #22 on:** April 02, 2013, 10:12:50 PM »

Geeee, that looks like coooooold

There should be a hall of fame in filmwasters with your names in and with all those others who have done unbelievable/unthinkable/unnatural things for a photograph

Francois · « **Reply #23 on:** April 02, 2013, 11:17:56 PM »

I'm pretty sure we could come up with a set of categories... some of which could be quite funny

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #24 on:** April 03, 2013, 01:15:36 AM »

I scanned the Polapan Type 53 print which I took with my Tachihara mounted on Paul's tripod. It's not a patch on Leon and Paul's work, but then it's not really my usual type of shot....and it was cold. Did we mention the cold at any point? The first time I'd taken my Tachihara out of its bag for over a year and we're standing ankle deep in sea water in a freezing wind

It's a wonder I didn't drop any of the camera in the sea.

Margate Pinhole by Ed Wenn, on Flickr

Phil Bebbington · « **Reply #25 on:** April 03, 2013, 08:36:40 AM »

Lovely shot, Ed. It has your signature written all over it.

Loved the footage as well. Paul was either used to such conditions or frozen to the core. I suspect he has been part of such tomfoolery before!

Paul Mitchell · « **Reply #26 on:** April 03, 2013, 09:50:29 AM »

It's quite amazing what be achieved in the face of adversity! After Leon and Ed left I walked back to this sea pool but the tide had come in and only the top of the marker post was visible.

Francois · « **Reply #27 on:** April 03, 2013, 03:29:16 PM »

Leon: don't you have gloves or mittens?
When we get this kind of weather, I never leave home without them.

LT · « **Reply #28 on:** April 03, 2013, 04:44:51 PM »

Quote from: Francois on April 03, 2013, 03:29:16 PM

Leon: don't you have gloves or mittens?
When we get this kind of weather, I never leave home without them.

Yes - and I'm wearing them in the video. They are silver (apt) weave fingerless from the Raynaud's association - I get a Raynaud's type reaction to some meds I'm on at the moment. BUT - I did forget my over gloves, as the weather is just not supposed to be like this in April! I was kicking myself - it took until that evening to get the Raynaud's out of my right hand.

Apart from that, I was fully thermally insulated and had 3 pairs of socks on (the Raynauds is worse on my toes).

Paul Mitchell · « **Reply #29 on:** April 03, 2013, 05:08:11 PM »

We also had to keep removing gloves to change the film on the new Obscura! Trying to fumble about in a changing bag with frozen fingers was no fun!

Francois · « **Reply #30 on:** April 03, 2013, 09:48:40 PM »

Most of the time when I go out, I wear a type of mittens/gloves a bit like these

Except mine don't have the removable thumbs.
They keep your hands pretty warm and are super handy when it comes to manipulating the small buttons on most cameras as I can simply stick my index finger out and put it back in when it gets too cold. The thinsulate really helps keep the wind out.

Jack Johnson · « **Reply #31 on:** April 06, 2013, 05:37:28 PM »

Quote from: Francois on April 03, 2013, 09:48:40 PM

Most of the time when I go out, I wear a type of mittens/gloves a bit like these

Me too! Mine do have the floppy thumbs and some kind of nylon exterior instead of knit.

They're kind of crap when there's more than about 4" of snow. It's almost impossible to brush snow off of anything without getting some snow in the floppy mitten part, but they are handy in most other situations.

I also keep a thin SmartWool toque handy. It was always perfect for curling (not too hot, not too thin) and fits in a pocket.

Looks like I'll need it today. It's dumping snow now.

Francois · « **Reply #32 on:** April 06, 2013, 09:27:15 PM »

I must admit that these mittens are not the best for shoveling. For that, I have some ski gloves with very long cuffs that tighten with a bungee.

Paul Mitchell · « **Reply #33 on:** April 21, 2013, 01:51:55 PM »

My first two Obscura images from our day out in Margate

More to follow but it's taking time to spot them as I unfortunately used the most dusty changing bag in existence!!

Paul

Ezzie · « **Reply #34 on:** April 21, 2013, 02:43:31 PM »

Quote from: Francois on April 03, 2013, 09:48:40 PM

Most of the time when I go out, I wear a type of mittens/gloves a bit like these

Except mine don't have the removable thumbs.
They keep your hands pretty warm and are super handy when it comes to manipulating the small buttons on most cameras as I can simply stick my index finger out and put it back in when it gets too cold. The thinsulate really helps keep the wind out.

American technology, Norwegian design, made in China, sold in England. That's global economy for you,

My wife knitted me a pir like those, but I found them too bulky. She has since vowed to knit a pair where you expose each finger separately. Not yet seen the results of that effort, and now spring is in the air.

Very nice pictures, all of you. Very impressed. It was this thread that finally got me to make my own 4x5 pinhole. Hope to develop some shots this evening.

Diane Peterson · « **Reply #35 on:** April 21, 2013, 02:56:49 PM »

Ezzie...I have quite literally made maybe a couple hundred pairs of fingerless mitts..My daughter is a postal carrier so definitely uses them in the Idaho winters when delivering mail..and my grandaughter has lost more pairs than I can count..most of the time just one of a pair..anyway..my point is..if your wife needs any different patterns for these please let me know and I will send right over..They are such a necessity for shooting outside in winter.. and with the kind I make they don't get in the way of buttons, etc.. I can even use my ipod with them on..

Francois · « **Reply #36 on:** April 21, 2013, 03:51:36 PM »

I also have a pair of gloves from Lowepro. They're nice but the fingers tend to flip-up by themselves and the gloves are quite thin and not so warm. But still, they're better than nothing.

LT · « **Reply #37 on:** April 21, 2013, 04:27:20 PM »

Quote from: Paul Mitchell on April 21, 2013, 01:51:55 PM

My first two Obscura images from our day out in Margate

More to follow but it's taking time to spot them as I unfortunately used the most dusty changing bag in existence!!

Paul

That second shot is brilliant Paul

Diane Peterson · « **Reply #38 on:** April 21, 2013, 04:44:15 PM »

I will second that! Absolutely gorgeous!

AJShepherd · « **Reply #39 on:** April 21, 2013, 06:57:37 PM »

Some of these shots from the Obscura are particularly marvellous, but it's a bit like dangling sweets in front of us and whisking them away again. When does it go on sale again?

Ezzie · « **Reply #40 on:** April 21, 2013, 07:55:58 PM »

Quote from: Diane Peterson on April 21, 2013, 02:56:49 PM

Ezzie...I have quite literally made maybe a couple hundred pairs of fingerless mitts..My daughter is a postal carrier so definitely uses them in the Idaho winters when delivering mail..and my grandaughter has lost more pairs than I can count..most of the time just one of a pair..anyway..my point is..if your wife needs any different patterns for these please let me know and I will send right over..They are such a necessity for shooting outside in winter.. and with the kind I make they don't get in the way of buttons, etc.. I can even use my ipod with them on..

Thanks Diane. Will let you know if she needs inspiration, or if I think she does

Miles · « **Reply #41 on:** April 21, 2013, 09:58:40 PM »

Very Impressive Chaps, Britain's Brave Boys Battle against the Beast, Hurrah !