Pinhole Photography: Thinking Outside the Box

In exploring the primitive and mysterious qualities of pinhole photography, students will use a variety of materials to construct and then photograph with their own camera creations. A variety of Scott's cameras, both handmade and commercially made will also be available for students to use during the workshop. We will primarily be using film and photographic paper to generate images, but experimentation with digital pinhole will also be encouraged. We will further examine ways to bridge the gap between high tech and low tech by retrofitting existing cameras with pinhole apertures such as: 35mm, medium and large format, Holga, and digital SLRs. Zone plates (a distant relative of pinhole) will also be introduced as another variation of lens-less photography.

Students will be encouraged to interpret the world around them using the characteristic long exposure and dreamlike quality of pinhole photography. Emphasis will also be placed on "thinking outside the box" and developing strong concepts and ideas.

One-weekend Workshop:

Saturday & Sunday, 9am - 5pm

May 15 & 16

• All materials included in fee

Photographic Vision I or portfolio review

• $300 + lab fee of $50

Scott McMahon received his MFA from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston and BFA from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. He has taught a variety of photographic media at schools such as University of Pennsylvania, University of the Arts, Kutztown University, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design and Lebanon Valley College among others. His work has been published in Pinhole Photography, Rediscovering a Historic Technique by Eric Renner, The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes by Christopher James as well as Pinhole Journal. Scott has exhibited throughout the United States and Europe in many group and solo exhibitions.