Light is everything. Understanding the relationship between light and matter stands as one of the greatest challenge human intelligence will ever encounter. Part of the mistery has been revealed and led to several kind of applications such as the invention of the photographic process. From camera obscura to digital photography, our knowledge about the optical physics of the universe has certainly evolved. While these days the industry offer omniscient and foolproof cameras, pinhole photography is a simple way to renew with the very basics of the process, thus leading the photographer to focus more on his creativity than on all those digital firecrackers.

My interest in photography begun in the seventys, but I really got hooked twenty years later by a 35mm. Canon Rebel and shortly afterwards a little more advandced Canon EOS Elan. Then I embraced the joy and mistery of a darkroom. I have experimented with several kind of process, from infrared photographic film to multitoning or polaroid transfer. Ive also worked many years with a Nikon F 90 and occasionaly with some old twin lens medium format cameras, my Yashica A and Mamiya C3. I have also learned working with the larger 4X5 format through the program of a collegial course in photography. Meanwhile, Photoshop came by and I jumped on the train. Today, while I easily carry my compact digital Canon camera in my pocket, the old spirit is back, simply emerging from a tiny pinhole.

My first contact with pinhole photography occured at a workshop held on April 27 th 2008, during the Worlwide Pinhole Photography day. Since then, fallling under the charm, I have tinkered with about half a dozen boxes and I am planning to build many more of all kind. This is also part of the pleasure inside the creative process.

by Philippe Fournier

Philippe Fournier
Montreal, Quebec,Canada
photofil@videotron.ca