Schlagwort: pinhole photography

From A to B and thinking about R …

No sooner have I returned from the Lüneburg Heath than I’m off running around again – through my late-summer Berlin, through my red Berlin … and now I always carry my Illy pinhole camera with me. For the mundane, everyday scenes.

I’m drawing Heidschnucken / Heath Sheep because I haven’t seen any in real life, but I need them for the film … so if I can’t find them, I’ll just draw them myself!

My friend Dorit says: “When I was a little girl, I thought Heidschnucken / Heath Sheep were called ‘Heizschnucken / Heat Sheep’!” So sweet – that’ll be quoted in the film.
Every child and every adult is longing for warmth and I’m a bit afraid of winter … but before it gets properly wintry, I’m off to Rome (did I mention that?!) … and after giving it some thought, I realise I definitely need to get back to the water, and I find it bubbling away in the Naiads / water nymphs fountains (sensual, naked, sexy Melusines lounging with swans and horses – the Vatican wanted to ban the fountain, but the citizens insisted on keeping it) … and then, of course, there’s the real sea, less than an hour away by regional train. I’m going to travel to Civitavecchia, which means ‘Old City’ (and so somehow fits with Zusamaltheim too!!!), an ancient city and a maritime gateway.

I have a feeling my film will come to an end there; the circle will be complete, the somersault will be somersaulted, and the universe will give me a wink. It’ll all kick off in early November!

And as I’m writing this (Saturday evening), I’m at Mum’s; we’re clearing out bits and bobs because she’s selling her house and moving into a smaller flat, and she’s turning … ta-daaaaaaa … 88! Happy birthday!!

Kuzunguka

A small but lovely exhibition opening the night before last at the Kunstverein Neukölln – a self-managed gallery in my neighbourhood.

I am one of six artists exhibiting there. Title: Kuzunguka: “People and animals move swiftly through the city. Changes in pace whilst travelling between town and country. Sometimes stumbling or even floating. Or working in the fields, as migrant workers, in Finland.
This exhibition will feature, amongst other things, pinhole photographs of moving people in the city, a drawing, collages, a cyanotype and prints documenting journeys by regional train.
Kuzunguka: A verb in Kiswahili, pure onomatopoeia, meaning ‘to move between places’.”

(I developed my 5 pinhole photos in Berlin beer called BRLO!)

Blurred People at Kotti

My Kotti, the Kottbusser Tor: ‘Squatter neighbourhood, Little Istanbul, drug scene, artists‘ and scene district: the Kottbusser Tor has seen a lot. You can see it, hear it and smell it. But the centre of the Kreuzberg district SO36 is also a diverse and characteristic place with many great bars, restaurants, culture and history,’ as Berlin’s TIP magazine describes it.
I lived nearby for a long time and was both annoyed and delighted. Everything.

Now I’ve come up with a mini project and am taking Kotti pictures, pinhole camera photos with Kotti and people coming and going, with short (1 second) and long (20 seconds) exposure times.
I used two different Illy cameras with different sized holes! Two different apertures (260 and 533) which results in – under bright sunshine condition – exposure times of 2 seconds and 10 seconds.

Here are two from yesterday (bad scan), the first sunny and mild day after a long, grey and freezing cold winter!

Hänsel & Gretel And A Long Winter

Not much has happened the last week … I’m a bit ill, with a cold and cough, but I’m still walking through wintry, freezing, snowy Berlin.

I had a scanning appointment for my many pinhole camera negatives and realised once again: when the world, people and politics depress me, pictures fill my heart with a smile and gentle confidence.

This strange Hänsel and Gretel photo: me and my friend-who-flies-around-in-an-unknown-universe. … Fixing error? Minor solarisation? Sticky fingers? Black stars twinkling? I don’t know… but I find it mysterious and beautiful.

Kunstverein Neukölln And 4 Green Dots For #93!

A wonderful little charity event for the Kunstverein Neukölln – a self-managed gallery where I have already been part of a few film events. Lots of artist friends were able to exhibit one work and half of the proceeds go to the Kunstverein.

I have a pinhole camera picture hanging there, ‘Tempelhofer Feld: Skater’, developed in Spreegurkenwasser (spicy cucumber water), vitamin C and washing soda. 120 €.

And you know what? Four green dots! Four sold (each one is hand-developed and unique, they always turn out slightly different …). The exhibition runs until mid-January, so maybe I’ll sell some more, hooorray!

Curry and Cucumber Pinholes

Curry – the golden Indian mixture of turmeric, pepper, coriander, cumin, garlic, buckwheat clover, mace, black pepper, chilli, allspice and cardamom.

Each of these spices contains phenols, some more (for example, chilli and turmeric – they act as an antioxidant against free radicals, antiinflammatory and anticancerous), some less (cardamom). Together they celebrate a golden, hot, warming party!

Combined with soda and vitamin C they develop photo paper, giving nice soft shades of gray, and the coloring power of turmeric tones it yellowish or for some strange reason rather a little greenish!!

And now: Cucumber!

Cucumbering – SD 480p

Yesterday – see the video above – I mixed some cucumber pickles water developer! I did it before and I know it works fine … now again because I’m actually producing a handful of photo prints for a little exhibition (me amongst many other artists, it’s a kind of benefits event for a gallery here in Berlin-Neukölln).

And there will be a winter market in December at my beloved spot “Silent Green” where I’ll have a stand exhibiting some pieces, mostly … you guess it … photos that I developed in various magical soups!

A Two Weeks Solari

Now this is one of the weirdest photos ever!
A 2 weeks solargraphy. Solargraphy?
Solargraphy is a technique in which a fixed pinhole camera is used to expose photographic paper for an extremely long amount of time (several weeks or months or even a year). It shows the path of the Sun across the sky. The paper doesn’t need to be developed – it would become totally black – the negative images appears on the paper by itself because the altered chemical grains in the emulsion are going crazy with this long exposure time and start to „burn“ the paper!
I had placed it in my English residency in May. You don’t really see any sun beams but a quite far away abandoned nuclear plant 😉
(contrast and inversed: Photoshop)

Prospect Cottage – Pinhole Photos

I made a bunch of pinhole photos with my new little favourite camera: the peppermint camera!
Put a piece of photo paper inside which I later developed in Caffenol. Result: a negative, took a phone photo of it and digitally flipped it over to a positive. I made about 20. Maybe a book?