Another perspective (2018)
Pinhole experimentation
Exposición.
I’ve worked on a project based on two different statements: one was working with little resources, and the other was to see from a different point of view, one we are not used to. Pinhole photography seemed to be an answer to both sides. Pinhole technique it is known for making possible to create images from any kind of adapted and closed box by putting inside photosensitive paper and having a tiny hole on the opposite side.
The first statement; to work with little to no resources, comes from a place of where I feel comfortable working. Being a student from another country, makes you aware of the resources you have to work with, and forces you to get the best out of them, as sometimes, that is all you got. To adequate to this kind of surrounding, makes you look at what you have at your fingertips that could work out to reach your goals. I decided then, to use two tiny boxes to transform them into pinhole cameras, one was cardboard made, and the other was a mint metallic box. I painted them black on the inside, covered their exterior with black plastic and made the holes on one of the sides. The photographic paper I used to experiment was bought on a flea market, it is an old Ilfobrom Paper number 3 that is no longer made, and gave the photos a blurry aspect, without much contrast.
The exploration with the cameras and the paper was interesting, as the paper was old and the weather in Melbourne it is not too steady, I found myself making time tests every day I worked, and having many failures; over exposed photos were all I could get the first times. The trial and error were necessary to get handy with the pinholes, getting to know how they work, their specific times for each one and their results possibilities.
The aim was to place them on ground level, to get a point of view we are not used to, and also to exaggerate this feeling I was getting from having the opportunity to study in a completely different country, where everything feels extremely big, from trees, to buildings.
"The medium is the message" (McLuhan). Having the pinhole photography as the medium was an accurate approach to the message of smallness I wanted to talk about. In this case, the way I wanted to represent the feeling of smallness in such a big place, which results turned out to be in a more dream like point of view, as the viewer was this tiny ant willing to explore.
The first statement; to work with little to no resources, comes from a place of where I feel comfortable working. Being a student from another country, makes you aware of the resources you have to work with, and forces you to get the best out of them, as sometimes, that is all you got. To adequate to this kind of surrounding, makes you look at what you have at your fingertips that could work out to reach your goals. I decided then, to use two tiny boxes to transform them into pinhole cameras, one was cardboard made, and the other was a mint metallic box. I painted them black on the inside, covered their exterior with black plastic and made the holes on one of the sides. The photographic paper I used to experiment was bought on a flea market, it is an old Ilfobrom Paper number 3 that is no longer made, and gave the photos a blurry aspect, without much contrast.
The exploration with the cameras and the paper was interesting, as the paper was old and the weather in Melbourne it is not too steady, I found myself making time tests every day I worked, and having many failures; over exposed photos were all I could get the first times. The trial and error were necessary to get handy with the pinholes, getting to know how they work, their specific times for each one and their results possibilities.
The aim was to place them on ground level, to get a point of view we are not used to, and also to exaggerate this feeling I was getting from having the opportunity to study in a completely different country, where everything feels extremely big, from trees, to buildings.
"The medium is the message" (McLuhan). Having the pinhole photography as the medium was an accurate approach to the message of smallness I wanted to talk about. In this case, the way I wanted to represent the feeling of smallness in such a big place, which results turned out to be in a more dream like point of view, as the viewer was this tiny ant willing to explore.
