25 April 2022 - Pinhole Musings

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.

24 April 2022 - Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day

The last Sunday in April is Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day. On that day, photographers around the world create images using a pinhole camera. Each photographer is allowed to upload one image taken that day to the gallery on the WPPD website (https://pinholeday.org/). The gallery becomes a snapshot of life around the world on that one day. Very cool.

Usually I am out all day with cameras and tripods and extra film and a light meter, immersed in the business and the joy of taking photographs. Usually I shoot 5-10 rolls of film. But I learned that being on crutches is a rather large impediment to both getting out in the field (which I didn’t even attempt to do today) and to setting up a still life inside. My ability to carry objects is pretty limited, as is the ability to stand for a lengthy period of time. I struggled to shoot one roll of film today. Setting up scenes to photograph was slow work, and exposure times were long - 8 to 48 minutes - because I was using 50 ISO film.

I became frustrated, and as my frustration grew, I grew crabby. I even shot a few digital pinhole photos, just in case I have nothing usable on film. Today’s photo was taken with the digital pinhole camera and shows matryoshka dolls and other souvenirs from my travels in Russia. Image was captured using a 30-second exposure with a flash at the beginning. It’s not a very good photo - the flash created reflections on the smooth surfaces of the objects, which distracts. But I still find it amazing you can create imaes using the light that comes though a tiny pinhole.

I’m still crabby. But I’ll be better tomorrow, and, I hope, back to trekking around with a full range of cameras next WPPD - which falls on 30 April 2023.

22 April 2022 - Eyes on the Prize

Sixteen days post-surgery. I can bend my knee slightly now, which, surprisingly, makes many tasks easier, such as getting dressed, entering and exiting a car, even just crutching around. Am doing exercises to strengthen the calf and quad muscles of my right leg. But still no weight-bearing for another 2 weeks. In a previous post, I mentioned that I underwent surgery to get back to running. But the photo I last used, of Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal in Siberia, reminded me of another reason - traveling.

So I selected another photograph taken on Olkhon Island showing the 13 Buryat Pole Totems placed at the entrance to Shaman Rock, a sacred place on the island. The totems represent the 13 deities of Olkhon and are covered in colorful silk fabric, called 'khadag,' which are placed by pilgrims. This stunning sight filled me with wonder and reverence. This astonishment is addictive and I want to experience it again and again.

So, I will embrace the difficulties of recovery from the knee surgery, and keep the goals in the back of my mind - running down the trails with my dog, hiking to some exotic point where a vista takes my breath away.

19 April 2022 - Mortality

Had a frightening experience today. After visiting the surgeon who operated on my knee, my spouse and I did some grocery shopping. After crutching around the surgeon’s clinic building, I crutched around the large grocery store, until I started to feel tired and a bit unwell. So, I headed to the car. Only got out the door before getting nauseated and very lightheaded, with a throat that felt like it was closing up. And the car was still far away - well, not really far away except for someone on crutches. I traveled about 1/4 of the distance to the car before I was sure I was going to pass out, right there, on the sidewalk in front a grocery store. I thought, oh great, I’m going to pass out, smash my head on the concrete, and die right in front of the grocery store, with a giant brace on my leg. What an ignoble death. A panicked call to the spouse brought him over and we debated the way forward. In the end, he brought the car closer and I managed to get inside without anything more untoward happening.

Today’s photo is a B&W pinhole panoramic pinhole photograph taken at Bruneau Dunes State Park in Idaho, showing a dead tree buried in the sand of the dunes. Bruneau Dunes is special to me for many reasons. The park contains the tallest free-standing sand dunes (470 ft) in North America. The dunes slope down to a lake - sand meeting water. An observatory contains a collection of telescopes - one very large telescope - that allows visitors to view objects in the very dark sky.

I imagine the tree not noticing the drifting sand that eventually buried it. Rooted in a place of beauty, it met its demise with grace and gentleness. Not a bad way to go.

18 April 20122 - Identity

Day 12 post-surgery. As I deal with the frustration of nearly 2 weeks of forced inactivity, my thoughts turned to the reason for the surgery. The root tear in the meniscus of my right knee prevented me from running. I could walk and hike and climb just fine, without pain. But I couldn’t run. I have been a regular runner my entire adult life. I identify as a runner. And a runner runs.

I also identify as a photographer. So the photo I chose today shows the medium-format panoramic pinhole camera that a friend 3D printed for me. The photograph was taken on Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia. The “tree” that is the focus of the photo is actually a sculpture called “The Spirit of Baikal” or “Baikal Keeper” by Dashi Namdakov. The sculpture is controversial due to concerns that tourists visiting the sculpture will trample the area around it.

My spouse and I traveled from Beijing, China to Moscow, Russia on the Trans-Siberian/Trans-Mongolian railroad. I carried my tripod and 3D-printed camera on the trip (of course, I’m a photographer!). Olkhon Island was a highlight. We spent 2 nights there and then caught the train in Irkutsk to the town of Tomsk.

I could rave on about Russia - after having traveled to many places in the country over many years, I have come to love it. The recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia has horrified me and broken my heart. I will likely never go to Russia again - a depressing thought. And maybe that is another way I identify myself - as a traveler.

Tomorrow I see the surgeon who performed my surgery. Hopefully, I will begin the second phase of recovery and start some physical therapy. And then get back to running. Because a runner runs. A traveler travels. And a photographer creates photographs.

17 April 2022 - The Great Wheel

This Easter Sunday represents 11 days post-surgery. Had a fairly good day due to having a fairly good night of sleep. Yesterday was a down day; today was an up day. Hence the image of this Ferris wheel, taken along the waterfront in Seattle with the Zero Image wide-angle pinhole camera.

This is among my favorite pinhole photos - the perspective from the ground shows the heft, the weight of the massive machine and its immense height, which almost induces in me a sense of vertigo. The ride, called The Great Wheel, is 175 feet tall and weighs 170,000 pounds (85 tons). Each of the 42 gondolas is heated/air conditioned and can hold 8 people. It’s mighty Big.

I trust that the number of up days will increase as my recovery progresses. I transition into the second phase of recovery in a couple of days - should start to bend my leg. Will be glad when that happens and I can actually DO something instead of just sitting and lying around.

16 April 2022 - Discombobulated

Today is day 10 post-surgery. Had a rough night with little sleep, followed by a day of feeling out of sorts. Nothing is “right” - my schedule, activities, rituals, relationships, mobility, attitude. I feel like this blender pinhole photo - mixed up, some parts inside out and up side down. This photo was taken at the start of the COVID pandemic when the children’s playground near my house was closed, taped off.

The blender pinhole camera is a circular tin (like a cookie tin) with three pinholes. The film is wound around a spindle in the center of the tin. The pinholes are covered with magnets and are opened individually. Images from the three pinholes are blended together (hence the name blender pinhole camera) and become distorted because of the curved film surface.

My life this past 2.5 weeks also has become distorted. Awake at 4:00 a.m., then asleep from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Some days I don’t change out of my pajamas. To accomplish everyday tasks such as brushing my teeth or washing my hair, I balance on one leg. I can make a sandwich for lunch, but can’t carry it to the table. I can pour myself a drink, but can’t bring it with me to the family room.

Am hoping that my world sorts itself out as I recover and start t bend my leg and then walk again.

15 April 2022 - Staying Positive

Now nine days post-surgery. For nine days I have sat or reclined on the futon couch, with short bursts of crutching around the house. Still have four days before I see the surgeon. So am trying to stay positive, despite my worry over the success of the surgery and my fear that all of this discomfort will be in vain. Flowers lift my spirits, so I am focusing on this flower still life. I captured the double-exposure photograph using my Zero Image pinhole camera in a studio I set up in my bedroom. It is clearly a composite of 2 bouquets - daffodils and roses with baby’s breath. I find the image lovely and calming, with interesting lines and a complexity that invites examination.

I believe that the mind can influence the body - not in a new age, “woo-woo” way, but in a real communication way. So I “talk” to the components of my knee, encouraging healing, reassuring them that I am doing my part to promote a return to full function - which for me includes running. I have not run since the middle of October 2021. By October 2022, I hope to be out on the trails again, running with my dog Cairn, stopping occasionally to smell the flowers.