Slowimages.com Langzamebeelden.nl Jos van Roij - Analog Pinhole Photography

COVER IMAGE: Playing Childern - Domburg Beach, 2010

COVER IMAGE: The picture was taken during our yearly spring holidays at Domburg beach in the Netherlands. In the distance, between the poles, a small group of five children are at play. The standing figure at the far end is my nine year old daughter Sofie. This picture shows the remarkable qualities of the pinhole technique. The infinite depth in this recording shows the structures of the split wood in the foreground and the velvety water by the long exposure at the horizon. The distance between me and the children was at most ten meters. The angle of the pinhole is 123,8 degrees which equals a fisheye lens of 12 mm.

ABOUT

Analog pinhole photography and the camera obscura mark the beginning of photography. Taking pictures without a lens, using only a tiny pinhole through which light falls onto sensitive photographic material such as paper, sheet film, or roll film. Inspired by the paintings of Johannes Vermeer, who is believed to have used lenses and the camera obscura to achieve an almost photorealistic depiction of reality. Vermeer’s use of out-of-focus effects draws additional attention to subjects in his work. In 1987, I began experimenting by building my own cardboard cameras. Later, I photographed mainly landscapes using more professional teakwood cameras. For me, the magic of images lies in the diffuse-sharp rendering and the motion blur caused by longer exposure times, giving the image an almost cinematic quality.
Zero 612B - Teak wood panorama camera 120 roll film 6x12 cm

PINHOLE PANORAMA CAMERA

Camera obscura is certainly the most rudimentary form of photography to me. The pictures that I take with my 6x12 pinhole panorama camera are almost the same as what the human eye perceives. An angle of approximately 125 degrees; comparable to the 12mm lens, but then without optical distortion. The images are sharp in the centre and diffuser at the edges. Light enters through the 0.2mm hole and falls as mirror-image, projected on top of photo paper or film. Just a hole in a box, that’s all it is.

(left) 1988 - First 4x5 inch carton box - (right) Zero 45 - Teak wood 4x5 inch camera 25 mm, 50 mm and 75 mm

Our observations are based on approximately ten images per second. We paste these images together in our head to form a smooth movement. The digital cameras of nowadays, are almost always equipped with fast shutter speed; even up till 1/4000 sec. In that micro moment, every detail of the situation can be captured. Depending on the circumstances, the camera obscura has a shutter speed ranging from several seconds to minutes. In this relatively long time, a short film is saved in just one single image, so to speak. Due to the infinite depth of field and blurriness due to movement of the subject matter, amazing pictures of ambiance are created, where the time factor is almost tangibly recorded.

Aristotle reported on this already back in the fifth century before Christ. Light that falls through a small hole in thick foliage, gives a perfect image of the sun on the ground. In the field of painting art, the camera makes a demonstrable entry in the second half of the 15th century. In 2001, David Hockney argued in ‘Secret Knowledge’* that painters such as Caravaggio, used camera obscura even back in 1450. Before the photosensitive plate was discovered (around 1800), the camera obscura was an attraction on the fair. Photography was an essential part of my art training in Nijmegen and Arnhem. I was 17 when I discovered the magic of analogue photography. It started with making photograms, followed by black-white pictures and darkroom techniques. During the training, I attended several seminars in studios and at various locations in the Netherlands, Denmark and France. Only later, in 1986, when I, as a visual artist, started to get involved in the work of Johannes Vermeer, the Dutch master from the 17th century, I discovered that he most likely used a camera obscura for the accomplishment of his work.**

Zero 612B - Teak wood panorama camera 120 roll film 6x4, 5 - 6x6 - 6x9 and 6x12 cm

*Secret Knowledge, rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the old Masters by David Hockney - Viking Studio 2001 2006 ** Vermeer’s camera, Uncovering the Truth Behind the Masterpieces van Philip Steadman, Oxford University Press 2001

PhotoKlassik - article in 'The magazine for current analogue photography' 2013-2

This was the moment when I started to build cameras myself. The first carton boxes would sometimes stand three days exposed to the light. I didn’t know how it worked, I had no information – there was no internet back then – so I could only go step by step, learning from trial and error. My first images were taken directly on photo paper. On basis of these photos, I could calculate a full 4x5 inch camera format.

Only since 2009, I am in possession of professional teakwood cameras. A Zero 612B for panoramic images, a 4x5 inch Robert Rigby, and since recently a Zero 45. At the moment, I mostly do landscape photography. Dutch masters from the 17th century, such as Van Ruysdael and Van Goyen, inspire me to explore the (historical) landscape using this analogue technique.

Vincent van Gogh - Pont de Langlois - Arles

Only a few pinhole shots are really usable. There are approximately two 120 roll films required for one picture. To make a good pinhole picture, you need a good location, good light and a lot of patience. In all respects, they are time-consuming shots. By using points on the camera box, and with the help of a loose mask, and some experience, I am able to determine quite accurately what to catch on the picture.

After the developing, the negatives are scanned on the maximum format of 6400 dpi. A single scan is as much as 1 gigabyte, and is 5 x 2,5 metres in size. On this size, any scratches or dust particles can be retouched very well. By scanning the negative to very large format, and then resizing it back to small format, the image gains intensity and sharpness. The digital processing is reduced to a minimum to leave the original pinhole experience intact as much as possible. My pictures are printed in large size Hahnemühle Photo Rag, with intensely deep black shades.

When making pinhole pictures, I use a classic image construction. The image is preferably assembled from a clear foreground, a middle plan and a background. The camera obscura does not give any lens sharpness, but due to its ultra-small diaphragm, it has an infinite depth of field. By making use of this classic image construction, this quality is in particular made use of. For more information contact me at j.roij@ziggo.nl

www.slowimages.com - Jos van Roij

Four seasons in Meinerswijk, Arnhem - 2011

OBSCURA 121 BLICKE - PFLÜGER68 - BERLIN, 2014

"OBSCURA - 121 BLIKCE" - Vernissage, Pflüger68, Berlin - January 31, 2014

Four seasons Meinerswijk – Autumn fog – 2011, Jos van Roij / Arnhem / The Netherlands Zero 612B / 120 Kodak 125 XP 125 ISO / 20 sec. The picture was taken at: Uitweg / Stadsblokken Meinerswijk / Arnhem / The Netherlands - OBSCURA BOOK - https://www.facebook.com/obscura.buch

https://www.facebook.com/obscura.buch

DE STENEN SILO + SILODAM BY MVRDV, AMSTERDAM

De Stenen Silo is een voormalige graansilo aan de Silodam in Amsterdam. De 19e-eeuwse silo werd in 1996 tot rijksmonument verklaard. De silo heet officieel Korthals Altes naar Jan Philip Korthals Altes, gemeenteraadslid en directeur van de N.V. Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Graansilo’s en Pakhuizen.

SILODAM by MVRDV, 2003
1000 year old Spanish olive tree replanted by the Pont du Gard. Zero 612B - Teak wood panorama camera 120 roll film 6x12 cm.

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