Nowadays, because of the ever progressing advancements in technology, photography has made quite a few people look for the newest and best digital camera or portable printing dock. But for six students in the E-media Program that wasn’t the case, and every student experienced a blast from the past.This past summer quarter the E-media Program at RWC presented a pin-hole photography seminar. The pin-hole camera was one of the first ways to produce a photograph. The camera would be made from a small light-tight box with a pin-size hole on top to let light pass through to expose the light sensitive photo paper inside. The shutter of the camera was usually a hand operated flap to determine the exposure time of the photo.
All the students had to make their own pin-hole cameras and take a certain amount of pictures during the class, so a portfolio of their work could be presented at the end of the seminar. The class also explored the aesthetics and use of inexpensive plastic 35mm cameras in the production of fine art and expressive photography.
Julia O’Day, one of the student photgraphers, said that the class turned out to be a “surreal experience” for her.
Maria O’Brien, a graduate of the program who attended the class, called it “a wonderful experience. With the pin-hole cameras that we had made, you couldn’t be a hundred percent sure if your photo was going to turn out the way you had planned, but I was always pleasantly surprised.”
A display of all the students’ pinhole photography has been presented on the second floor of the Muntz building next to Room 214, and all RWC students are welcomed and encouraged to come see the display of fascinating photo art.