Light leaks and all that goes with pinhole....

Arghhh!
I discovered that my homebuilt "Galiceno" pinhole camera has light leaks.  Big gaping holes of light leaking in through the seams around the front of the camera no less!

It's kind of weird too because I just decided to test it for leaks after using it today for no reason.
It wasn't that I was suspicious.  It was just because I felt the urge to check.  Psychic powers at work?  Nah!

Anyway, here's a shot I made with the leaky little critter today.

This was a 90~ second shot on expired photo paper and marinated in 3 day old caffenol for about 4 minutes.
Looking at the development, I'd say the caffenol is expired!!

You really can't tell that the camera leaks, but what the heck.  I think some things are just mysterious that way, and that's okay with me.

BTW- For the folks that have asked, I don't pre-flash my paper.  Never have, never will.  I'm a "what will be, will be" type and like to let most things have their own karma without me controlling it.  It's probably why I love pinhole so much.  A lot happens that I don't control and I don't want to alter that magic.

Sure I'm trapping light in a box, but the subtleties of how that light changes and if I'm really on my game of "being" the emulsion that day are going well, then sure I'm in control.

I just don't hold the reins very tight.

There be Rattler's here!

An old abandoned Ranch house in Winters, Texas.
There is a den of rattlesnakes living under the front porch, so this is considered a close-up!
Homemade 4 x 5 Palomino pinhole camera.
2 minute exposure on Harman Direct Positive Photo Paper
Marinated in caffenol for about 4 minutes.

the sky is broken...

A 2 minutes shot with the 5 inch "dicey" pinhole camera..
Dunked in home brew caffenol.

a look inside...

As promised, here's a look at the liner I made for the "dicey" pinhole camera in the post earlier today.
This is the view as you begin to slide the two halves of the camera apart.  The liner is made with black foam-core glued and taped together for a snug fit.  I cut the foam-core with the table saw.  It's much easier and I can make quicker and more accurate cuts than trying to do it with an Exacto knife.  Besides, I cut myself really bad once while using a box cutter type thing and had to have stitches, so I'm kinda reluctant to use them.

Below, you can see the two halves completely apart.  The foam-core liner was glued into the top or lid of the box to make it easier to slide the 2 pieces back together.

Here is the front with an enlarged hole for the pinhole shown.  This cuts down on the harsh vignetting that I don't particularly care for.  I used a round over bit on the router...I'm really scared silly of that thing, so I usually get my husband to help me with this part.  In other words I just let him do it.

Here's another view of the two halves.  You can see where I removed the hinges that used to close the box.  They no longer fit due to the liner being in the way and I don't need them to keep the box closed any longer.

Oh, and the brown cardboard that you see in the box half on the right hand side is just a spacer to keep the paper flat when the box is loaded.

The box works great!  It's one of my favorite conversions so far.

recycle, reuse, repinhole!

Todays offering is a look at the box that made the photo for the prior post.

I have had this box for some time and even converted it to a pinhole shorty after purchasing it, but I just never got in the groove of using it....mainly because I didn't like it too much.
Excuse me?!  Me NOT liking a pinhole box?  Impossible you think?!

Sad but true.  The poor box sat on top of a shelf gathering dust and spider webs until yesterday when I whisked it out to the shed for a quick, (okay, it took an hour or so) makeover.

The first thing I did was removed the hinges and then removed the sticky black felt I had put around the inside edges to make it light tight.

Oh wait, back up, I wiped off the dust and spider goo first....
Then I made the hole to hold the pinhole a wee bit larger and rounded over the edges to cut down on any vignette.  I like vignette if it looks subtle, but a harsh round shadowy vignette is not my preference so to the router table we went.

Next I made a nice liner out of black foam-core to keep it light tight and to help hold the paper negatives I'll be using in place when it's closed.  The foam-core is like a sleeve inside the box and also serves as a stabilizer to keep the box closed since I removed the hinges.
The sleeve is glued to the front/lid so when I slide the two halves apart, the sleeve/liner comes out of the back half but remains fixed to the front...
I know this might sound confusing, so I'll try to post a photo of the two halves pulled apart so you can see the insides after I  shoot the paper negative I have loaded in it today.

It works great!

BTW- the box came from Hobby Lobby, is about 5 inches square and last time I looked they still had a few in stock.  The box is made of mdf, so it's very dense and not flimsy and light tight!

It's about 5 inches square, so I made it into an f/ 270 camera.

Mobile Home Haven

A refurbished box made into a pinhole camera...as it's always about the box ya know..

Ponderosa Mobile Home Haven
Central Avenue,
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Whiting Brothers

I'm very fortunate to live just a few miles off Route 66.  And while there are tons of scenic signs and lots of neon, I gravitate more toward the derelict buildings of a time past that are still hanging on.

The Whiting Brothers had over a hundred gas stations back when Route 66 was the thriving "Mother Road" across America, but went into decline when the Interstates bypassed some of the smaller towns.

My offering today is of a former Whiting Brothers gas station in Moriarty, New Mexico.  It's a tire shop nowadays, but the signs still stand proudly albeit more rusty.

2 x 3 pinhole photo on Harman Direct Positve Paper exposed for 75 seconds.
Marinated in homebrew caffenol for 4 minutes.