By Dave Brown and Rob Painter The Donna Anna Photography Club
Editor's note: Rob Peinert and Dave Brown are both members of the Doña Ana Photography Club. Rob is a collector of vintage and unusual cameras. When he was interested in adding a pinhole camera to his collection, he contacted Dave, who is also an accomplished carpenter.
One of the major design issues was how to transport the film inside the camera.
For such a physically small project, it has a lot of finely crafted parts. It also required research into optics and solving problems that initially did not have clear answers. Through experiments and prototyping, solutions are found.
One of the biggest concerns was what to use for the pinhole lens. We needed something more subtle and subtle than an aluminum beer can with a hole in it. In the end, Rob introduced a punch-hole assembly that was designed to mount on a Canon digital camera. After trying non-destructive disassembly with no luck at all, the Dremel abrasive cutting wheel tool released the lens.
With the lens problem solved along with the method of wrapping and rewinding the film, Dave can begin to actually build. The wood was narrowed down to cherry or walnut, and with the aesthetics of the piece discussed, Rob requested a contrasting secondary material, so a decision was made to use cherry for the body and walnut for the shutter.
A lot of time was spent making sure the parts were precisely machined with close tolerances so they could work together seamlessly. Even something as simple as cutting a hole in the film winding shaft where it deals with the web in the film reel requires a one-time jig to make two cuts.
The film box is an important piece because the channel cut into it will be where the film rides during exposure and the edges will cut off the light from reaching the rest of the film.
As the project progressed, the edges were softened and sub-assemblies were completed. When added to the design, it began to look like a camera rather than a set of parts.
The shutter was the last part. It only contains three wood pieces and three rare earth magnets, but they must fit together just right for it to be light-tight and working.
Camera film boxes (normal and panoramic) have a matte black tint applied to prevent any reflection of light hitting the film and fogging of exposure.
The addition of a hand-rubbed Danish oil finish on all pieces except for the film canisters came last. The oil is used because it is salvageable if the camera needs updating a few years down the road. Applying a final coat of three layers of oil takes a few days, but it's worth it.
Using the camera was fun but challenging, as it can be to use any pinhole camera, trying to figure out the exposure times. But that's what Rob enjoys shooting with these simple and unique "old fashioned" cameras - you don't know exactly what's going to come out, and there's a lot of thought involved in the photo-shooting process.
This camera is a unique piece of art to use and handle. The way the shutter opens and closes is very smooth and unlike any other camera Rob has used before; Loading and developing the movie - while still a learning process - is very simple with the awesome giant knobs on top.
People see me (steal) and ask what I use; They are also impressed by the beauty of this camera and the simplicity of the way it works. It brings me a lot of joy while using this camera; I can't stop smiling because it is truly a piece of art and a one-of-a-kind camera that I literally own.
The first roll of film used was a black and white Kodak T-Max 400. While I was used to using pinhole cameras, this was a new beast to me. I struggled loading and developing the movie and trying different exposure times for each frame. I had about six different subjects, but I took several photos of each, with different exposure times. For the first time in a Long At the time, I've been taking copious notes on each individual frame, documenting exposure times along with the number of cycles of the progress knob.
The development of this roll of film also brought an unexpected challenge. A place I've used for years in Austin, Texas, had to shut down for over a month due to Covid, so it took longer to get results from the first test roll. Edited and out again and again. You still get mixed results - again I am happy when using these types of cameras.
Dave Brown and Rob Peinert, along with other members of the Doña Ana Photography Club, teach classes at the club's Photography Boot Camp, a five-part series aimed at anyone new to photography who has questions about photography, or wants to take better photos regardless. No matter what kind of camera they use. The bootcamp is currently suspended but will operate again later this year or early 2023.
Visit daphotoclub.org.
Photography
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