I first heard about pinhole cameras from my former colleague – Jon, in late 2019. He shared his memories of making cameras with cans. As living in the digital era, I was curious about these handmade cameras and wanted to try making one myself.
2 years later, I got the chance to attend a small photography workshop by anh Ngọc at Noirfoto. The workshop was about making pinhole cameras using shoeboxes, then developing and processing photos in his darkroom. It was a really eye-opening experience. It reminded me of the basic concept of how light can capture images in photography books.
For me, the hardest part of using a pinhole camera is figuring out the right exposure time to let in enough light for a photo.
I still remember, after a few failed attempts, I prayed to open the pinhole on my shoebox for my last shot. Luckily, I heard anh Ngọc’s voice coming from nowhere in the crowd, “Chi, that’s enough light!”. I quickly closed the box, believing I had finally captured the right amount of light. And just like that… I got my best shot 🥲 I was amazed, anh Ngọc was like a living-timer!
It’s a low-angle shot taken under a big pink-bougainvillea canopy. I wanted to capture the light filtering through the leaves and flowers.
