This series focuses on those who take the making of pictures a step or two further, creating their own photographic tools.
Four pinhole camera
Attila Hupjan, Budapest, Hungary
Why settle for a camera with one pinhole when you can build one with four? That’s what Hungarian photographer Attila Hupjan thought when he created his four-pinhole camera to create ultra-wide panoramas. Hupjan has made cameras from wooden boxes, cigar boxes, tea boxes and more, allowing the unique shape and dimensions of each one to inspire his imagery. The four-pinhole camera is constructed from a desert box and the long and narrow rectangular shape is a perfect match for the 35mm film it uses. Converting the box from housing sweets to housing film required only black paint, paper, aluminum foil, and some ingenuity.
The camera is small and easy to use, and the four pinholes allow for enough light to render an exceptionally wide-angle panoramic photograph. This camera’s focal length is pre-determined by the box’s dimensions and measures 20mm. To calculate the appropriate diameter of each aperture as well as the distance between each pinhole, Hupjan used the pinhole program mrpinhole.com.
The first test image was made with very old ORWO NP22 film and rendered four points of view within a single image. Hupjan continues to experiment with different films, allowing these subtle shifts in perspective create the sensation of motion, as though the viewer is rotating in place.
"Bridge" made with four pinhole camera.
View more of Hupjan’s work on his blog.
Have you made or modified your own photographic equipment? Let us know at info@donttakepictures.com