This series focuses on those who take the making of pictures a step or two further, creating their own photographic tools.

Remigiusz Ossolińdki, Poland

Tired of digital photography and looking for a creative challenge, Polish photographer Remigiusz Ossolińdki took to his home workshop to construct a 35mm pinhole camera. Ossolińdki learned photography with analogue film and wanted to return to simple cameras, this time building his own. In his free time after work, Ossolińdki made the camera body from plywood that he stained and oiled for a beautifully polished look. The film spool was made on a lathe from beech wood and the brass parts he machined himself, using embedded magnets to fix the shutter’s position. Two months after beginning his design, the camera was ready for testing.

Ossolińdki’s pinhole camera has a focal length of 25mm and a pinhole diameter of 0.20mm. The resulting images have less distortion than other pinhole photographs, while maintaining the dream-like soft-focus signature look. Ossolińdki has traveled with his camera to many European cities, recording his surroundings with color film infused with light leaks, subtle shifts in colors.