Pinhole fun - film to return from Istanbul soon

So, things have become much smoother.

We cleaned up the closet by the girls’ restroom on the 3rd floor, taking out all the old rags, buckets, toilet plungers, and (oddly) maps. Many many maps are in there, we left most of them, gives a neat background when the dramatic lighting of the safe-bulb shines its red glow on them.

Spent a while finding containers for the chemicals, especially trays where we could develop the paper in. Eventually, we found this: one ayran/yoghurt bucket, one Turkish delight container, and the bottom tray of a flower pot from the 1st floor (nobody will notice for now). Works like a charm. We even use the top part of the Turkish delight box as a sort of tray to take the prints out and wash in the bathroom sink (luckily, no girls use that restroom much).

The pinhole cameras we built in class have been working well. One is especially sharp, and well decorated (it’s circulated among students as a favorite). Using aluminium in order to make the pinhole was definitely more effective bthan just poking a hole through the cardboard.
I’ve also noticed that it is mainly the girls, who spent a lot of time being attentive to every detail of their cameras, including the decoration, who are most interested in the process, from the shot to the finished darkroom product. Their attention to details has also made the cameras more functional. I will work with the boys next week some more to get them to dig it.

The hardest part was retaping the boxes well after each shot, especially with the cheap skinny electrical tape I’ve been using (no ductape to be found). I sit in the unventilated closet, red-light on, frantically trying to load cameras and tape them while students either look on or wait impatiently outside, occasıonally knocking – “Finished Kevin? Hadiya!”. I come out each time covered in sweat, they grab the cams and go, only to return quite quickly. But they have been loving it, especially when they are in the darkroom with me (only 4 at a time). My guess is because they see the actual results before their very eyes. My hope is the film, when back from Istanbul, will gıve a similar effect.

Here are our first shots, very roughly scanned (much sharper in reality), and roughly made, and yet still we are proud of them:
(Elif’s perfume-camera)

And finally, the students helping me clean the darkroom:
(again, digital photos, Lomo photos coming eventually)

escrito por kevinrouff en 2012-07-12