Square Peg Pinhole

Pinhole: Generic

2012-02-23T08:06:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Generic a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

f235, Kodak Portra 160, about two seconds

Yazoo is brewed in Nashville and is my local beer...it's not generic. I like to buy local (an ideal that my gorgeous wife turned me onto) and Yazoo is very popular in the area. I'm annoyed by local restaurants and bars that don't carry Yazoo.

The brewery started in 2003 and was originally located in Marathon Motor Works (where I took some of my recently posted images). This pinhole is of their new(ish) Taproom, located at 910 Division Street. They're open Thursday-Saturday. You can go, have a drink with some friend and fill up your growler (a 64-ounce re-usable jug that costs $8 to fill...an even better way to help reduce waste while still getting good beer). Dos Perros and Pale Ale are my two favorite beers they make. The Gorgeous wife likes their Hefeweizen, especially after a hot day in the garden.
Yazoo: www.yazoobrew.com/

Pinhole: Don't Bother With The Light, There's Nothing There

2012-02-22T10:30:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Don't Bother With The Light, There's Nothing There a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
f235, Kodak Portra 160, about eight seconds

Vignette: Upstaged

2012-02-21T09:06:00.001-06:00

Vignette: Upstaged a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

Shot on my Moto Droid using the Vignette app, Ilford and underexposed settings.
Seen outside my local grocery store.

I need to do some pinhole shooting. There was discussion last night on my FB page on how I could shot this in pinhole...it's about eight feet up and my tripod doesn't go that high. I need a ladder with a flat top...about eight feet tall. But first, I need film. When I go to buy film I will see stuff for making cyanotypes. I will start thinking about the fact that I really should start working on some alternative printing processes. I will wonder if my work would be more acceptable to art galleries if it had twist instead of just being boring old pinholes. Then I'd think about framing options and the appropriate height to hang a photo. I'm sure I'd need a ladder for that, too.

Pinhole: Swept and Held

2012-02-20T09:00:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Swept and Held a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

f235, Kodak Portra 160, six seconds, swept the camera and hand held it for the exposure.
One of my movement experiments.

Pinhole: Marathon Water Tower

2012-02-17T09:39:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Marathon Water Tower a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

f235, Kodak Portra 160, about six seconds

I really like the way the hard shadow line intersects the water tower in this shot. The sun was setting (hence the orange-ish color on the brick). I'm not certain why the brick in the foreground look purple...lack of light, I guess.

This water tower is part of Marathon Village in Nashville (more info about Maraton below). The star of the History channel show "American Pickers," Mike Wolfe, opened a store in Marathon Village called Antique Archaeology that features some of the items from the show. I haven't been so I can't say whether it's worth a look.

I've posted this info before, but eh, it's worth talking about this place:
Nashville used to build cars. Marathon cars, specifically. This is part of the original Marathon Motor Works factory. According to Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Motor_Works), Marathon started in 1889 making engines and boilers. They build cars from 1911-1914. It was the only car manufactured in Nashville, proper. Only eight of the cars are known to exist today.

Pinhole: Stranded

2012-02-16T08:53:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Stranded a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

f235, Kodak Portra 160, 12 minutes

I want to do more night pinholes. I think the very long exposures pick up subtle light variations really well. Night shots, though, coupled with reciprocity failure, the curve may be a tad steep...all the more fun...which is why I love pinhole.

I shot this on Second Avenue in downtown Nashville, the core of the new-old tourist music scene. I set up the camera on a barrel topped by a saddle outside a tourist country music bar (you can see the saddle horn, barely, to the right of the distracting light burst at the bottom of the photo). While I waited for the exposure I listened to several people in the bar sing (poorly) karaoke country. There was a woman from California, a man from Arizona and another man from way down in Alabama. My hope is they're just visiting Nashville and not trying to make it as singers.

This city is hard on people trying to make it the music industry. Good talent is easy to find here. Unless you have something spectacular to offer you go unnoticed. Even spectacularly talented musicians go unrecognized (Nashville is rife with stories of famous musicians who got their start somewhere else after failing in Nashville). We also have our share of zero-talents-who-don't-have-a-clue. My hope is that none of the karaoke singers I heard that night were in that last category.

Pinhole: Clipping Mike

2012-02-15T08:46:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Clipping Mike a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
f235, Kodak Portra 160, 12 minutes

Mike's Ice Cream Fountain, located on Lower Broadway in downtown Nashville.

Mike's makes great ice cream (cake batter flavor...mmmmmm) down the street from where I live. This is their downtown presence. They also own Sip Cafe where I showed my pinholes last month. Their prices are reasonable the atmosphere of the downtown location is straight out of "Dandelion Wine." When I shot this, I had Hopper's "Nighthawks" in mind. It didn't quite turn out that way. Perhaps I should have called it "Edward Hopper You Ain't." I plan to re-shoot.

Pinhole: Where Life Moves Faster Than Trains

2012-02-14T09:33:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Where Life Moves Faster Than Trains a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

f235, Kodak Portra 160, about six seconds

Pinhole: Acme and Acne

2012-02-13T09:37:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Acme and Acne a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

f235, Kodak Portra 160, four minutes

A shot of lower Lower Broadway in Nashville. I want to buy the Acme Farm Supply building to ensure it remains intact and turn it into free/low-rent studio space for artists and photographers. Next lottery drawing is Wednesday.

The Acme Farm Supply building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1890. It is 22,000 square feet. Hard Rock Cafe, Nashville, opened in 1994 in one of the riverfront warehouses. I don't know when they installed the rotating guitar sign. It was part of lower Broad's revitalization, which involved getting rid of the three primary business P's -- porn, pawn and prostitutes. "Cleaner" and "safer," tourists were encouraged to congregate in the honky tonks drinking.

I know the changes opened the district to tourists and tax revenue. But it also meant losing some character, too. As for "safer"...when I attended Hume-Fogg High School in the 80s, the peak of porn, pawn and prostitutes, I felt safer walking the area than I do now when it's packed full of drunk redneck tourists.

Pinhole: Nico Outtake

2012-02-12T12:03:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Nico Outtake a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Zero image 69 on 6x9 with Kodak Gold 400, cropped square
Film Swap with Pinhole Nico.

Nico exposed the films in the Netherlands and I doubled them in Nashville. The second roll did not produce good results. The end of the film got doubled over when I re-rolled it, I think. This was one of the results. I don't know what it is but I really like the orange color and the texture of the damaged film, so decided to post the image.

Pinhole: Read Marathon

2012-02-10T08:41:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Read Marathon a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
f235, Kodak Portra 160, about six seconds

Shot at Marathon Village near downtown Nashville.
Nashville used to build cars. Marathon cars, specifically. This is part of the original Marathon Motor Works factory. According to Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Motor_Works), Marathon started in 1889 making engines and boilers. They build cars from 1911-1914. It was the only car manufactured in Nashville, proper. Only eight of the cars are known to exist today.

Pinhole: Dichotomy

2012-02-09T08:56:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Dichotomy a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
f235, Kodak Portra 160, about six seconds

Pinhole: Nico Double, II

2012-02-08T12:08:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Nico Double, II a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

Zero image 69 on 6x9 with Portra 800
Film Swap with Pinhole Nico.

Nico exposed the films in the Netherlands and I doubled them in Nashville. The second roll, Kodak Gold 400, I believe, did not produce good results.

Pinhole: Over There They Drink Tea

2012-02-06T10:50:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Over There They Drink Tea a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
BVI as seen from USVI near Annaberg on St. John
f235, Kodak Portra something or other, probably about a second, cropped from 6x6

Pinhole: I Love You, Too, Honey Bunny

2012-02-03T07:29:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: I Love You, Too, Honey Bunny a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

f235, Ilford PanF+, 30 minutes

I assumed the coffee shop in "Pulp Fiction," one of my favorite movies, was a studio set. While planning for our trip to L.A. last year I found out the scene was shot at Pann's, an Inglewood diner featured in several films.

Since it's near the airport, J and I headed to Pann's for lunch after landing at LAX. The restaurant has a great 50s feel and the food is good, especially the biscuits. A few days later I headed to the airport to pick up J's boss and stopped at Pann's again for breakfast.

While the movie's skewed perspective makes it difficult to be certain, I like to think J and I ate where Jules and Vincent sat discussing pork and "the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men." And, I'm certain I ate my breakfast in the same booth Pumpkin and Honey Bunny kissed over the table before saying "everybody be cool, this is a robbery."

When I sat down for breakfast I placed the pinhole camera on the window sill at the end of the table and opened the shutter. I ordered and ate breakfast. The double Heinz bottle image happened because I put ketchup on my hashbrowns and replaced the bottle in a different spot. The entire exposure took half an hour.

Pinhole: Venice Reversed and Ruined

2012-02-02T09:53:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Venice Reversed and Ruined a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

f235, Ilford Pan F+, about eight seconds
Film damaged during developing (poorly rolled onto the reel).

A shot of graffti art on Venice Beach, California shot Feb. 2011.

Pinhole: Check

2012-02-01T09:13:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Check a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

f235, Ilford I'm sure, uncertain of film speed or exposure time

One from the archive...from when he used to skateboard.

Pinhole: LA Subway

2012-01-26T08:06:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: LA Subway a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

f235, Ilford Pan F+ 50, I don't remember how long.
Re-scanned. I need to clean it up...lots of dust and at least one fingerprint.

About a year ago my hot wife and I traveled to LA. She was attending a conference for work and I...well, I planned to shoot lots of photos. I shot this photo on the day I decided to walked eight miles around the downtown core shooting pinholes (and breaking the short lens on my Nikon, sadly). I visited the Bradbury building (used for "Blade Runner" and many other films), Union Station, Chinatown, and Disney Music Hall.

I don't recall being fond of L.A. but I have a burning desire to return to shoot. It's a fantastic town that greeted us with a naked woman in the pool and left me with some excellent photo memories.

Pinhole: Charleston Custom House

2012-01-25T08:52:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Charleston Custom House a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

f235, Kodak 400VC, 6 seconds

From an old post comparing the Charleston Custom House to Nashville's Customs House.
www.squarepegpinhole.com/2011/01/compare-contrast-charles...

Pinhole: Those Were the Days

2012-01-24T07:55:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Those Were the Days a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

F235, Kodak Portra 160VC, about one second

Don’t be fooled; we haven’t had any snow this year in Nashville. This was shot in January 2011.

I like the city when it snows. This year we haven’t had much of a winter, really, other than too much rain. Instead of cold and snow, the day before yesterday we had 70 degree weather followed by strong thunderstorms and tornado warning sirens that blared through the night — spring weather in these parts, not winter.

Winter is always unpredictable in Nashville. There used to be more snow more often, I remember, but that might be nostalgia…those were the days, after all.

Pinhole: Somewhere Near Kings Canyon

2012-01-23T09:31:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Somewhere Near Kings Canyon a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

F235, Kodak Portra 160VC, about one second

Pinhole: Yosemite Stitch

2012-01-20T10:11:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Yosemite Stitch - Best Viewed Full Size (2395px wide) to see detail

Three 6x6 pinholes stitched together, F235, Kodak Portra 400VC, times probably about one second each. I really need to re-scan the negs on my Yosemite series.

Features seen from left to righ (please correct me if I missed something):
Yosemite Falls, Indian Canyon, Royal Arches, North Dome, Washington Column, Basket Dome, Tenaya Valley, Half Dome, Sierra Point, Vernal Falls, Liberty Cap, Nevada Falls

The images were stitched using MS ICE (free and works well). I can't decide whether I like this stitch...pinholes may not work because of the vignetting. I do like that you can see two major falls...I love that it's clear as hell despite being pinholes.

These photos were shot in April or May 2007 when the falls were at their fullest. I love Yosemite, my favorite national park. I need to return.

Pinhole: Seattle Via Nashville, X

2012-01-19T10:31:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Seattle Via Nashville, X a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

f235 and f138, Fujichrome Velvia 50, 6x6, double exposures, varied time, cross processed, scanned as a positive and inverted in PS.

The second exposure (mine) is barely visible in this image. Part of it is the "No Smoking" sign that looks like a reflection in the window. J and I are still trying to figure out why it's difficult to see my exposures. There have been several suggestions. Another pinholer (The Old Penfold) suggested this:

"I think the exposure latitude on Velvia is so low that mid tones and highlights in the first exposure effectively use up the emulsion so that there is nothing for the second shot to expose on."

So far it looks like Velvia 50 and Pan F+ don't handle doubles well.

Try, fail, try...

Part of a series of pinhole double exposures between me and JSod. Each of us shot a roll of film and mailed it to the other without disclosing what we photographed. Two visions one result, Seattle via Nashville.

2012-01-18T09:06:00.001-06:00

Take Action

Pinhole: Seattle Via Nashville, III

2012-01-17T08:38:00.001-06:00

Pinhole: Seattle Via Nashville, III a photo by SquarePegPinhole on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
f235 and f138, Fujichrome Velvia 50, 6x6, double exposures, varied time, cross processed
Scanned as a positive and inverted in PS.
Part of a series of pinhole double exposures between me and JSod. Each of us shot a roll of film and mailed it to the other without disclosing what we photographed. Two visions one result, Seattle via Nashville.

We've found that most of the Nashville images were washed out, but you can see hints of the Music City in some of the images. Well, not really Music City in this case...more like wire-top picnic table, but still.