I had set out with the ambitious idea that I would create a new blog post each week (hahahaha!) and maybe I can work towards meeting that goal, but this is how things are currently going:
The piece I have been writing has turned into a deep dive and feels like a graduate level research paper. I am so here for that, but it deserves more time & attention than I can afford right now. Though I make a little progress each day, it’s not something I feel comfortable rushing. I am adjusting my expectations of updates that I make each week and letting go of the lofty idea that I will spew out something brilliant every time I post here.
The truth is the last couple of weeks have been really challenging. It’s okay, I really enjoy the work & service is how I love people. It has just been a lot of doing for others and not much doing for Haley. (Oh, by the way, I’ve been toying with the idea of legally changing my name to sunny brook. this is your notice).
Today I am sharing a pinhole photography project used for a demo in class this week. The camera is made from a tea tin I was gifted several years ago. I’ve hung onto it (and a bunch of others like it) knowing it would be excellent for this very application. The vibrant pattern made it an instant favorite aesthetically speaking. The aperture is made by poking a pin-sized hole through the center of the front of the tin and a shutter made of electrical tape covers the aperture when not actively creating an exposure. The inside is spray painted black to ensure that no uncontrolled light reflects onto the paper negative. We loaded our paper in the darkroom and, after a series of tests, marched down to the park to make some photographs. (I say "marched" because it is all downhill from campus and our footfall hits rather aggressively with each step).
One of my junior classes is obsessed with ghosts (obviously I love this about them), so we took advantage of the need for a long exposure time to place our own bodies randomly about the scene in our images. This first photograph required an 8-minute exposure because of cloudy & shady conditions. You can see a faint suggestion of my body standing at the entrance of a gate and another on top of the stone entrance lying in repose. My meditation practice (or professional ability to dissociate?) helped tremendously to tune out the students’ giggles & gaggles: “how is she keeping a straight face?” Yes, they sat and watched this performance for the entire 8 minutes. We should have played Free Bird to keep time. (This reminds me of Gene Ellenberg's poetic pinhole photographs that use things like breath, an eclipse, and the numbing of his fingers as units of time that determine each shutter speed. Check these out!: https://www.eugeneellenberg.com/portfolio/recomposing-phosphenes )
It was actually quite odd to watch when it came time for students to perform the making of their own photographs. They set up their cameras and each got into position within their chosen frame. At my command, they would (in unison) slowly move to their next position. It reminded me of a story my therapist once told me about a meditation retreat she had attended in which all of the participants were outside doing a walking meditation not far from a road (I would suggest doing this in a remote field or deep in the woods). The walking meditation required slow & mindful movements while gazing at their bare feet. As a car passed by, someone yelled out the window to them: “HEY WEIRDOS!” I don’t know why that story tickles me so much, but our pinhole-camera-ghost-performance was giving strong “HEY WEIRDOS!” vibes.
In a later class with a group of slightly more conventional photography students, we focused more on landscape and were able to get many great photos. When it comes to pinhole photography, I find that I usually like the paper negative better than the positive version and I especially enjoy seeing the relationship between the two. And so, that is how we got to the image that I am sharing with you today. It was taken later in the day than the previous photograph, but on a day with more direct sunlight. We were averaging around 30 seconds for these exposures which creates the quintessential flowing water effect in images of the Reedy River.
So, yes, I have been busy, but it has been great fun. Pinhole photography has fascinated me since I was an undergrad, but it is a process that I hadn’t explored very much due to life and time and spatial circumstances. How freaking cool is it that I get to do it now as a part of my job?!
Next up: cyanotypes! Another process that I am obsessed with but have not had many opportunities to experiment with on a functional level.
Also up: reflections on our trip to Greece & Italy this passed summer. Perhaps I will finish this before the 1-year anniversary of the trip? Like I said… it’s a deep dive.
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