Articles

All of 2011 Through A Pinhole Camera

Michael Chrisman photo

Michael Chrisman photo

Talk about a long exposure. Photographer Michael Chrisman set up his pinhole camera on Jan. 1, 2011 and started to expose the photosensitive paper (not “film”) inside for 365 days, right up to Dec. 31, 2011 to create one of the most artistic photograph of the Toronto skyline. This one photo encapsulates all of 2011 from that particular viewpoint.

What is amazing is that Chrisman did not have a protected location for his camera. He simply mounted it to the side of a rusty metal box next to a shipping beacon, using tape and bricks to secure it. This is not the first time he has publicly installed cameras this way, resulting in stolen cameras.

He uses photosensitive paper which is much less sensitive than film and does not require chemical developing to bring out the image. He then scans the paper, destroying the image in the process due to the bright light of the scanner. As the scanning process slowly erases the image, the latter is saved in digital form.

Read the article at: thestar.