Pinhole photographs have a distinctively soft focus, which can lend a dreamy feel to photographs and works especially well with some subjects. This softness can produce sensuous, luxurious images, which I find compelling. Another aspect of pinhole photography is the relatively long exposure times that blur motion. I have used exposure times of up to an hour for some photos. On windy days, this can be a problem or an advantage. An inability to get blooms in recognizable focus can be frustrating, while the blur of a flag flapping can add a sense of motion to a photo.

The long exposure times can also be used creatively. In the photo I chose for today, I purposely added some vertical blur to this bed of Black-eyed Susans. I like the effect - the flowers appear to be releasing color into the air, or getting watered by a greenish rain.

I continue to experiment with the few controls I have with my pinhole cameras - really, there are only two: the direction the camera faces and the length of time I keep the shutter open. Of course, I could also add the type (B&W, color) and speed (fast, slow) of the film used. I use both B&W and color transparency film, but tend to use slow speed film (ISO of 50 or 100). However, even within these narrow confines of adjustment lie lots of room for creativity.