I have given considerable thought to the questions I pondered at my last post. I am tempted to capture the desolation on Saddleworth Moor, its lack of humanity, dark landscapes, narrow roads, deep reservoirs, gothic rock outcrops and its inhospitable soul.
Now that I know what I want to capture, what camera will I use to capture it? I have recently experimented with pinhole cameras, the problem was that they were homemade from "found objects" such as teabag cartons, and the like, and took only one shot before requiring reloading - a bit impractical if you are taking landscapes miles away from your darkroom! I decided to convert two of my 35mm SLRs to pinhole operation, this would allow me to fire off up to 36, or so, shots.
Why a pinhole? Well I like the impressionist qualities a pinhole can give you, the viewer will often have to ponder whilst trying to work out what it is he is looking at. Is it a landscape or is it a seascape - you know what I mean, I am sure. A pinhole camera also possesses an infinite depth of field, which can give amazing perspective shots and might prove useful on the moors.
I converted the two 35mm SLRs by removing the lens and fitting a dust cover which had a pinhole made in its centre. The pinhole diameter was about 0.5mm in diameter. I have loaded one of the pinholes with black and white, the other is loaded with colour. I have loaded a "lensed" 35mm SLR with black and white film as a comparator.
It's off to the Moors tomorrow!
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