It’s not my cup of tea, and maybe it’s not yours either, but seeing as this coming Sunday, April 29, is Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day I thought I’d give it a mention.

Pinhole photography is the simplest form of the art, and has been with us since the beginning. The cameras can range from remarkably simple homemade contraptions put together from virtually any object that can be made light tight, to lens attachments made for the latest technological marvels coming from the digital camera manufacturers. All share one thing in common — the exposure is made through a pinhole, and the results can be unpredictable. Some are sublimely beautiful, some are not. Some have a dreamy, boozy quality to them.  Some don’t work at all… just like any other form of photography.

Take a moment to check out the site for Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day. It’s a good reminder to all of us that our chosen medium is a rich and diverse one. A good reminder that there are many approaches, many styles, many means of expression inherent in photography. Maybe most importantly, it’s a reminder that photography isn’t about having the latest and greatest camera. It’s about what you do with what you choose to use.

A photographer’s main instrument is his eyes. Strange as this may seem, many photographers choose to use the eyes of another photographer, past or present, instead of their own. These photographers are blind. 

 Manuel Alvarez Bravo

Alvarez Bravo makes a good point — many photographers do indeed use the eyes of others rather than put in the time and effort it takes to find and refine their own vision.  Hence, the millions upon millions of imitative, unoriginal, trite, and safe images we see everywhere we look.

Good photography, good art of any kind, takes work. It’s easy enough, and probably a pretty good ego boost, to bask in the praise of your peers for taking another pretty picture of something that’s already been done to death… but who really wants to settle for being patted on the back for doing something that’s already been done a million times?