In this hands-on, practical workshop, experiment with pinhole photography and other processes such as turmeric photography, camera obscura, solargraphy and origarmmes. You will learn to make and use a pinhole camera, as well as many other experimental and alternative photographic processes.

The workshop, which takes place the day before Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day, will begin with a short talk by Justin on his own creative practice followed by a full day of activities, including usage of a pop-up darkroom in the Gallery’s camera obscura.

All participants will make many images throughout the day to take home with them. DSLR or mirrorless camera and body cap required. Please write to info@tpg.org.uk if you have any questions. 

Led by photographer Justin Quinnell.

Details on how to access the sessions will be confirmed one week before event date. Please check your junk folders if you haven't received an email from TPG staff confirming your place. 

Schedule

12.00 Introduction
Presentation on the science and history of light experimentation

12.30 Turmeric photography
Enter the pre-history of photography and the age of Humphry Davy and Tom Wedgwood to create images with the action of light and turmeric – free kit included to take home.

13.15 Camera obscura
Next, we will look at the work of Marja Pirilä and Abelardo Morell. Following this will be a practical session where we will make our own hole and lens-based obscura, experiment with the ‘eyescuras’ and try to replicate Abelado’s box obscura. Free room obscura kit to take home.

14.00 Pinhole photography
Together we’ll make a pinhole for a 35mm DSLR and explore working not only with pinhole photography but also creating pinhole videos. DSLR or mirrorless camera and body cap required, which will be adapted into a pinhole body cap for you to take home and use.

Making use of the temporary darkroom, we will produce a variety of pinhole images, creating negatives on black and white paper, both outside and inside with flash, including our own ‘time portraits’ and ‘awfullogrammes’, a unique technique invented by Justin. We will also continue to experiment and tone the turmeric images.

16.20 Solargraphy
To round off the day we will look at solargraphy and how to adapt your own beer can camera to create six-month exposure cameras for you to take home and install to capture up to six months of sunshine.

Justin Quinnell was born and lives in Bristol. He has a BA (Hons) degree in fine art photography from Derby Lonsdale College under John Blakemore and Paul Hill. He is considered to be one of the world experts in pinhole photography and camera obscuras which he has been teaching for 30 years at all levels from primary to university level and at many universities in the UK, US and Australia. Other establishments have included: the Science Museum, The British Library, Lacock Abbey, Lomo New York and the Corcoran in Washington DC. He has done lecture tours of the US, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. For the past 20 years he has been an Associate Lecturer in photography at Falmouth University.

He has had many exhibitions and publications of his work from The Smithsonian Magazine to Dentistry Today and was pinhole photography consultant for the Rachel Weisz/Mark Ruffalo movie The Brothers Bloom and on NASA’s website. He has made many TV appearances (The One show, Jonathan Ross show, Blue Peter, Radio 4 Today, Absolute Genius with Dick and Dom) and most recently George Clarke's Amazing Spaces. He has had two books published of his work, Mouthpiece and Make your own paper camera, and a third publication for teachers, Discovering Light (2019).

Ticketing

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