Capturing dreams through a pinhole

David Balihar

By Wang Yu

 

Cameras can easily capture what we see: capturing what we dream is more challenging.

But dreamscapes are where pinhole cameras shine.

Using the principles of pinhole photography, cameras can reveal a new look at the world we see every day. Making and using a pinhole camera requires little photography experience, and can be a fun project for children.

Many professionals experiment with pinhole techniques to create art.

Photos provided by David BaliharIndustrial and city landscapes and the forest were the themes of David Balihars exhibitions.

The pinhole explained

Pinhole cameras are light-proof boxes with a small hole punched in one side. Light from a scene passes through this single point and projects an inverted image on the film or paper on the opposite side of the box.

The image in the pinhole camera is created on the basis of the rectilinear propagation of light. So a pinhole photo has certain characteristics that we won’t find in classical lens photography. Since the process entails a central projection, the images in a pinhole camera are rendered in ideal perspective.

Another special characteristic is the infinite depth of field which allows objects to be captured with equal sharpness–and equal blur–whether they are close or far. The cameras also allow for an extremely wide angle, though the rays of light take much longer to reach the edges of the negative.

Exposure time is normally counted in seconds or minutes, which prevents the photographing of moving subjects.