Here are some of my first successful shots from my two pinhole cameras. I was not thinking too much about composition. Rather, I arranged some junk or placed the camera on the porch railing. My goal was to gain exposure information and experience.

I will soon post some pictures of the cameras. The first two shots are from my Giant Altoids tin camera. The "focal length" is an inch or less. I love its "wide-angle-ness" but hate the sudden light fall-off.

The last seven are from a fancy peanut can. It's about 5 inches high and 6 inches across. The "film" is curved and set about 3 inches from the aperture with some foam blocks.

My "film" is actually B&W Ilford paper (Multigrade IV RC). I used Photoshop to inverse and flip the image. I intend to do this process in the darkroom by contact printing in the future.

What is a flaw for some, is opportunity for others.

When we think of Polaroid, we think of the Polaroid 600 instant film. This is the film that everyone thinks needs help in developing by fanning it in the air. Fanning it or any other ritual will not affect its developing (other than temperature). Before this film was a similar one called "SX70" or "Time Zero". This film was susceptible to damage or manipulation during the development process. Polaroid corrected this problem with later versions. However, creative photographers saw this film as an opportunity.

When the chemicals are doing their developing thing, they remain quite liquid. When the development is complete they harden permanently. With a variety of objects one can push and smear the chemicals which in turn smears and manipulates the image itself. When done judiciously, the results turn the photographic image into an impressionistic painting. It is not as easy as it sounds.