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The Gallery
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Our online store for photos,
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The Library
Neat information and resources. And it’s FREE
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About Us
Who we are, privacy, contacts, and other useful info.
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Zone Plate Variant
Three years after I’d built the 6x16 Panoramic Pinhole Camera, I decided to try a zone plate variant, after some comments from Robert Monaghan, who maintains one of the most comprehensive medium format photographic web
sites I’ve seen. Guillermo Penate has written a nice explanation of zone plate photography at http://members.home.com/penate/zoneplate.html, and
the drawing of the zone plate is better than my slide scan (the contrast of the rings is too high for the scanner). The open area of the zone plate is roughly 1/8”.
I ordered a 75mm zone plate from The Pinhole Resource. When it arrived, I mounted the zone plate negative and the brass light blocking plate it came
with in a 35mm slide mount. I removed the pinhole (also in a slide mount) and inserted the zone plate and the camera was ready. I took a bracketed
roll of shots in my back yard, scene of my first pinhole photograph. I took another roll of color shots on a trip to Seattle. I used my existing pinhole
exposure table, cutting exposures by 1/4 of the indicated time, since the f/64 of the zone plate was very closely 4 times faster than the f/238 of the pinhole.
For clarity, the pinhole is still superior. For static landscapes, the zone plate
is disappointing. This is a relative observation, some people like the extremely diffused focus of the zone plate. I think the zone plate, because of
its faster speed (f/64 vs. f/238) and softer focus, would be better suited to portraits and nudes.
Compare the following Back Yard zone plate photo with the one at the bottom of the 6x16 Panoramic Pinhole Camera article. They are roughly
from the same location, though the pinhole photo was on a sunny day and a little closer to the water. The second photo is of a running stream by the
Bubbling Geyser (in Flaming Geyser State Park near Mt. Rainier, WA).
--- Clint O’Connor
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 Back Yard, Zone Plate exposure
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 Running Stream, by Bubbling Geyser
Flaming Geyser State Park, near Mt. Rainier, Washington State
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Back Yard, from the first roll of bracketed exposures through the camera!
(note the image has been truncated to approx. 6x12cm, scanned from 5x14 print)
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Downstream from Snoqualmie Falls, Washington State
(full 6x16cm scan from contact print)
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Highly recommended:
From the Pinhole Resource (www.pinholeresource.com)
Pinhole Photography: Rediscovering a Historic Technique
Eric Renner
Second Edition, Published in 1999 by Focal Press, 189 pgs., 8-1/2" x11".
The only comprehensive book on pinhole photography. Includes more than 170 photographs and illustrations, in both color and black and white. Pinhole Photography: Rediscovering a Historic Technique is both an entertaining illustrated history and a
practical handbook. Included in the how-to chapter are directions on how to make and use pinhole cameras, explanations on avoiding the most common mistakes, calculating
exposure times, charts and formulas for optimal pinhole diameters, making and measuring pinholes, filtering, various camera designs including wide angle, 1:1, telephoto, multiple
pinhole, and extensive information on how to use zone plates. Includes lengthy chapters on the history of pinhole in both art and science, pinhole's renaissance from the 1960s
into the 1990s. Many contemporary images are shown throughout the book. This book is a must for anyone interested in pinhole photography!
Price: $35.95 postpaid ($42.95 foreign, surface rate)
Ordering Information
Micro-Drilled Pinholes
We are now offering a set of 12 micro-drilled pinholes in individual 1.5 in. square sheets
of .001 in. grade 400 full hard stainless steel, a hard, durable and highly corrosion resistant metal. Sizes of holes measure: .0059", .0087", .0102", .0126", .0138", .0160",
.0181", .0200", .0225", .0250", .0276", .0320". These sizes fit 3/4" to 17" focal lengths if used optimally. Includes an optimal chart with focal lengths.
Price: $42 postpaid ($44 foreign airmail postpaid)
Ordering Information
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with questions or comments about the web site.