Using photographic paper in a pinhole camera

August 31, 2011 1:43 AM

Exposing photographic paper in a pinhole camera - how do I take several photographs in one session?

I've just ordered some photographic paper, which I intend to use in a pinhole camera. My plan is to get a dark bag and reload the camera with photographic paper 'in the field'. The exposed paper will be stored in some sort of light-sealed container. I'll process it at home once I've built up a stockpile of five exposures or so.

Does this sound like an OK method? How long can I leave the exposed but undeveloped paper before developing it?

I'll be using Ilford Multigrade RC paper (8.9 x 14cm).

posted by mattn to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (10 answers total)

Best answer: Should be fine.

The paper will come in a box with a light proof sleeve inside it, once you've used a box full keep that sleeve and put the exposed paper in that and then in a cardboard backed envelope. In the short term just try and keep it very lightproof!

The dark bag might take some getting used to but once you are used to it it's fairly simple.

Exposed paper should keep for as long as unexposed, just be very careful about subsequent exposure. You may wish to expose a sheet and then leave it with a few coins on it in the darkroom with the safelight on, removing a coin every few minutes and then develop the paper. That way you can get a feel for how long you can leave exposed paper under the safelight before it gets fogged. Note that this may take hours, it's just a "nice to know" figure as safelights do vary.
posted by hardcode at 2:27 AM on August 31, 2011

I was always told to develop film and paper as quickly as possible after exposure, but can't remember the rationale nor any fast limits.

If you're serious about keeping the papers as safe as possible, you could always prep a few 4×5 or 8×10 film holders with paper and use those. You'd get the added bonus of a plane sheet, and looking mighty impressive to boot!

http://www.badgergraphic.com/store/cart.php?m=product_list&c=176
posted by monocultured at 3:49 AM on August 31, 2011

Your plan sounds fine. Try to keep the exposed paper in your light tight container in the dark bag and keep the dark bag in a cool dark place when you are not actively changing paper. Everything should come out fine if you give your paper adequate exposure in the pinhole camera. In my experience, paper negatives in a pinhole have incredibly long exposures so be patient! And, if you are planning to expose and process the same day, I don't think you need to worry about paper fogging if the paper is kept cool and dark. Photo paper has a very slow ISO and is pretty durable. Good luck.
posted by rachums at 5:17 AM on August 31, 2011

um...you're doing it wrong? try this procedure: make lots and lots of pinhole cameras. make them out of shoeboxes. make them out of oatmeal boxes. make them out of coffee cans, toilet paper rolls, some pie pans taped together, an old dollhouse, an abandoned F-18 jet fighter hanger, whatever you have lying around. welcome to pinhole photography.
posted by sexyrobot at 5:51 AM on August 31, 2011 [2 favorites]

oh, and to answer your question of how long you can leave the paper before you develop it...months.
posted by sexyrobot at 6:02 AM on August 31, 2011

Sexyrobot's got it! Fumbling around inside of a bag to get the paper from one container to the other is way too risky. You'll be kicking yourself later if you ruin a shot that way.
posted by ella wren at 6:03 AM on August 31, 2011

I used to do a fair bit of direct-to-paper negative prints with the exact paper you're using, albeit cut down to smaller sizes. Reloading most pinhole cameras is a gorram chore; if yours can easily be done in a dark bag in the field, go nuts. I used old Ilford paper boxes to store the fresh and exposed paper; leaving them in the dark bag ensured that I didn't have to tape all the seams (just one, to act as a hinge), worry about fumbling them, etc. Note: make sure you can load the paper right-side-up 100% of the time while blind. Not that I've ever exposed the back of a box of paper. ... *cough*

I'm not actually sure how long you can leave exposed paper before processing it. Kodak's literature (see document E-30) says 24 hours for color papers; I suspect B&W papers are several times less sensitive to latent image degradation. Ilford's tech literature should tell you the official (conservative) value. I think my longest was probably close to a week (I usually ran chemicals on the weekend). Regardless, the exposure latitude of paper is so small that your shutter timing should easily swamp any trouble the latent image will give you.

Good luck, have fun, and please share your images when you develop them!
posted by introp at 9:09 AM on August 31, 2011

Multigrade is sensitive to blue and a little green, but with different contrast in different areas depending on their color. Regular paper is sensitive only to blue, with fixed contrast, so the effect is more predictably like shooting through a blue or cyan filter.
posted by w0mbat at 10:52 AM on August 31, 2011

I've taught a few youth classes using pinhole cameras. We made the cameras from MDF. The back of the camera held a 4X5 sheet film holder, allowing as many shots as we had holders (and also allowed use of a Polaroid back). The back consisted of an MDF piece that held the holder tight against the body of the camera (with some insulation around the edges for light-tightness), and two channels routed into the side of the camera which held two dowels used to pushed the holder tight against the back. I've looked online for the design but haven't seen it. The walls of the camera extended back past the film holder and the channels were slightly angled. A small dowel went in first and held against the bottom, and a slightly thicker dowel went in at the top. Worked great. We used tin foil pin hole lenses.
posted by johngumbo at 1:04 PM on August 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for all the very helpful advice -- since introp requested it, there is a link to my Flickr account in my profile. I'll tag my pinhole photos with the word 'pinhole'.
posted by mattn at 8:27 AM on September 3, 2011