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Skink pinhole system

250swb

Member


I went out to experiment with my Skink pinhole yesterday and am fairly pleased with the results so far.

I have made another modification to it after removing burrs and some plating from the M adapter that stopped it fitting on my M9. I noticed it is possble to snag the pinhole plate in the coarse thread of the mount and tighten the retaining ring against that rather than sandwich the plate between both retaining rings. This can leave one ring or the other loose. So to save accidents in the field I decided to thread lock the inner retaining ring into place as this is the ring that could possibly fall into the camera. Maybe that is over cautious, but its not just the shutter on an M9, its the sensor as well.

Post processing with Silver Efex Pro 2

Steve
 

250swb

Member


That is a fine portrait Godfrey!

Above is one of my latest, a 2 second exposure, but then my M9 was set at 1250 ISO! I also created a profile to save in the camera that makes it think the pinhole is a 21mm lens, so it does some processing to remove the red edge problem (a magneta cast) that affects non-coded lenses. And after getting caught in the rain on my landscape outing and with not enough grip to get the wet Skink off the camera (its slippery even in the dry) I made up a small brass peg spanner to put in my camera bag.

Post processing of the above photo was Colour Efex Pro, and CS5.

Steve
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Tree & House


Tree & House -*Sandygate 2011
Ricoh GXR-M + Skink Zone Plate f/71


Experimenting with the Skink f/71 on the GXR-M.

Thanks for looking! Comments appreciated.
 

250swb

Member
Great image Godfrey, I haven't tried the Zone Plate yet, something to look forward to.

But I've been doing a sort of social experiment with a few prints and I wonder if you find anything similar? I will explain.

I tend to use a photographic style border on images made with film (scanned) so people get the clue it is film, and supposed to be grainy, and not necessarily as sharp etc. I suppose it is one of the social mores people employ. But when I start doing a few pinholes using digital and finish them like any other digital image I do, no fancy borders. And damned me, the first thing people do is stick their nose against the print and say its not sharp, or there is camera movement. Only second comes the arms length view and comments about the merits of the image. So I try a pinhole with a fancy 'photo' border and voilà, instant arms length photo appreciation! It seems to me a border does things other than simply 'framing' the image, it is now a cultural/aesthetic marker, not something that was purely optional as in the past.

Steve
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Crossing The Swing Bridge


Crossing The Swing Bridge -*Ramsey 2011
Ricoh GXR-M + Skink Zone Plate f/71

Yesterday was great ... I concentrated on using the Skink for about 80 exposures and have begun to see the flow of how I want to use it, what it sees. There's much more to go in understanding and developing this vision, but I have a start now.

I'm out of time here on the Isle ... this eve I'm off to Dublin for a couple of days and then home. Tme passes all too swiftly.

Thanks for looking! Comments appreciated.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Great image Godfrey, I haven't tried the Zone Plate yet, something to look forward to.

But I've been doing a sort of social experiment with a few prints and I wonder if you find anything similar? I will explain.

I tend to use a photographic style border on images made with film (scanned) so people get the clue it is film, and supposed to be grainy, and not necessarily as sharp etc. I suppose it is one of the social mores people employ. But when I start doing a few pinholes using digital and finish them like any other digital image I do, no fancy borders. And damned me, the first thing people do is stick their nose against the print and say its not sharp, or there is camera movement. Only second comes the arms length view and comments about the merits of the image. So I try a pinhole with a fancy 'photo' border and voilà, instant arms length photo appreciation! It seems to me a border does things other than simply 'framing' the image, it is now a cultural/aesthetic marker, not something that was purely optional as in the past.

Steve
Thanks Steve!

I find similarly ... borderless images presented on-line, whether film or digital, seem to invite a far more techno-geekish examination whereas when I present photos with some, nearly any, kind of 'formal' border, it seems to push people to say "oh, this is a photograph, a finished work ... what's in the frame?" as opposed to "how sharp is it?" etc.

There's definitely something cultural/perceptual about the existence of a frame that changes what arises in the mind of a viewer. The type of frame has a similar if smaller influence.

I don't put ragged-bleed frames on to 'simulate film in a hogged out negative carrier' so much as because for some images the hard, precise line of a sharp bordering frame is a distraction to my eye. But I know some eyes see it differently from mine. :)
 
J

JohnW

Guest
Thank you. Godfrey. Appreciate your comment.

BTW, do you have the book "Truth Beauty"? It's a history of Pictorialism around the world. It has many fine photos, but the extensive text is also excellent. I think anyone who is enamored with the Skink and pinhole shooting would find the book valuable.

John
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Boats At Quay

Thank you. Godfrey. Appreciate your comment.

BTW, do you have the book "Truth Beauty"? It's a history of Pictorialism around the world. It has many fine photos, but the extensive text is also excellent. I think anyone who is enamored with the Skink and pinhole shooting would find the book valuable.
I hadn't seen that one, John, but I've got it in my Amazon wish list now. :)

This one from the quay at Ramsey on the Isle of Man:


Boats At Quay - Ramsey 2011
Ricoh GXR-M + Skink Zone Plate f/71

Again processed on the iPad 2 using Photogene and Snapseed. I did some additional finishing work in Lightroom though. ;-)
 

250swb

Member
Two excellent photographs John and Godfrey.

And thank you for the tip about the book John, I just ordered a copy from Amazon. Another book on pictorialism that I would recommend is the bargain paperback 'Camera Work. The Complete Photographs 1903 - 1917'. The reproductions are not very big, but that is made up for in quantity!

Steve
 
J

JohnW

Guest
Thanks, Steve. Nice to see Pictorialism lives, or at least breathes.

I'll check out the book.

John
 
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