Pinhole Photography

Pinhole photograph from 1908 (Robert Simpson department store, Toronto, Canada)

Pinhole photography is lenless. Instead of a lens there is simply a tiny hole to let light into the camera body and onto the recording medium. For more information about how these cameras work see pinhole cameras.

At first it may seem ludicrous to use such a primitive device. However there are several good reasons for wanting to use a pinhole camera:

• It is a great hands-on way to learn how cameras work, especially for school students.
• There are many creative possibilities. For example: curve the rear plane, make multiple pinholes.
• Some specialist applications are suited to pinhole photography, for example, certain types of astrophotography.

Pinhole photography enjoys a surprisingly strong following. Despite the obvious limitations of not having a lens, pinhole photography offers many creative possibilities. Enthusiasts like the challenge of building cameras from unusual containers, and creating interesting effects with the container shape, multiple pinholes, etc.