Pinhole Photography

Looking back 3 years ago, when I first came to Stockport college and beginning the Foundation year, there were 5 weeks where we were given the chance to get involved with each subject before we picked the one we wanted to study. These subjects were:

Photography
Visual Communication
Textiles
Fine Art
3D

My favourites of the five were Photography and, of course, Visual Communication that I later decided to pick.

Even though I didn't pick photography, I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did, and the reason I did so much was all down to Pinhole Photography.

Involved in Pinhole Photography is combining a cardboard box with a piece of negative paper placed inside of it, facing cardboard with nothing but a pinhole in it, covered by tape to secure the light.

Exposing the paper to light for a certain amount of time will create an image on the paper. Careful not to expose it for too little or too long expects alot of practice, but when getting it just write the results are an accurate image appearing on the paper when processed.

I remember vividly enjoying this time in the first 5 weeks, and enjoyed working as a team.

When I picked Visual Communications, and then after that choosing Graphic Design as my pathway for a degree, I did not expect to use Pinhole Photography again.

However, in first year the chance came up again, and we were invited back to photography to use pinhole photography with our graphic design work.

I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, and these are the results


I hope to use this technique sometime in my final year.

The Notebook (the summer project not the film!)

Summer Project '09

"Don't don't. Do."

And I intend on doing just that this summer.

When I first received this project it didn't hit me at first just how much this could possibly suit me and my lifestyle.

I've tried to keep a diary before, but it never worked. It lasted a week and as I would keep it at home, intending to write in it before I went to bed, but as I remain restless until my head hits the pillow I just fall straight to sleep.

And so when receiving this project I decided in the same day to make some changes, firstly...

1) to buy a top market notebook from Paperchase
2) to buy a bigger bag to carry it in

and I did just that..yesterday.

As one of my personal dislikes is to remain static throughout the day and feel like I'm wasting the day.. and biggest likes is to go out and see and meet as many people and places as I can, I began to discover a sudden urge to start writing things down that I realized were important parts of my day.

I sometimes get confused as what to write in my notebook, so I look at the brief again..and in particular this paragraph:

"Consider the notebook as an extension of your mind and of your studio. If the notebook is with you all the time, you can afford to be a little unfocused. Later on you'll look at what you wrote and saved and drew and you will realize that without even trying, you created a time capsule that is, itself, a manifestation of what mattered."

It has only been one day since I started it, so I will share a few parts that I have written so far with you.

This includes a visit to The Trafford Centre Tea Dance that involved watching older couples dance around the stage to jazz, while we ate. And at 6.15pm my friend said
"I can't imagine being that old and being in love."
As having parents that are lucky enough to be in love and will be for quite some time (well..forever), I replied
"It can happen, but I think sometimes you have to be very very lucky."

Later on that night, at 00.05 am I quote from the film 'P.S. I love you' where Daniel Connelly says
" We are so arrogant arn't we, so afraid of age that we do everything in our power to prevent it. We don't realize what a privelage it is to grow old with someone."

So I feel that this answered my friends earlier comment, and would not been able to make this link if I hadn't written it down at The Trafford Centre.

I can't wait to make more links and realizations throughout the remainder of the summer.