Pinhole Camera Images of Sunset Park

Sunset Park Stills is series of images in and around the neighborhood of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Much of what I shoot in the neighborhood is observational. I find that every day experiences are fascinating especially when there are distinct cultures living side-by-side. I usually capture images with my cell phone and post on Instagram as @sunsetparkstills although all images shown here are done with pinhole cameras. I had a lot of fun working on this project. Meeting people that I’ve seen in the area, as well as bumping into friends that live in the neighborhood. Thank you to all that helped with the project.

I made each and every pinhole camera out of paint cans. I used 3 different sizes and out of the 3 sizes, 2 were lined with a dark grey silicone that made the exposure times a little longer that the one size with no lining at all. I used “direct positive” paper to expose the images. This means each image shown is also the negative. There is no way to replicate the images (outside of digital scanning). What I love most about using pinhole cameras, especially for Sunset Park Stills, are the happy accidents. Every image is unique therefore elevate  every subject captured. 

What are “pinhole cameras”?

Pinhole cameras are a simple camera with a tiny aperture.