(“Remains of the Day,” archival inkjet print, 16.5” x 21.5” c. 2024 RA Friedman)
The ability of a very small opening (a pinhole) to create an image on a flat plane was observed more than two millennia before the invention of photography or even the science of optics. Early photographic emulsions were too slow to take advantage of this phenomenon. It was not until the 1850’s, with the invention of faster wet plate emulsions that a pinhole was first used to create a photograph. With the invention of dry plates at the close of the 19th century, pinhole photography became more widely known. In the 1970’s it saw a resurgence as experimental photographers rediscovered the unique beauty of working with this DIY technology.
Somewhere around 2010, as I was walking to my part-time job at UPenn and I had a vision: mysterious, shadowy figures in a cave, lit by torches or candles and creating tableaux full of light and dark. I had already done some nude self portraits on instant film using a pinhole lens and interested in its expressive potential. I remembered that in my teens I had assisted a photographer who had captured a room using a large format camera and “painting with light.” Essentially, this is using a very long exposure and moving a light source over the subject. The idea of trying this method with a model was irresistible and I set up a shoot.
(From that first shoot with model Carey.)
The intimate working dynamic, the wide-angle image distortion, the ability to work iteratively, as well as the ability to manipulate light and shade by choreographing the movement of the light source, opened up a whole new way of doing photography. When multiple photos of figures were scanned and composited together in Photoshop, it presented a unique creative problem that immediately pulled me in.
From 2011-19 I worked on and off with this process and a number of very talented and trusting models who were brave enough to keep very still for minutes at a time while I slinked around the dark studio encircling them with a bright tungsten lamp. If a session of about ten to twenty shots yielded one or two good photos, I was pleased. The arranging, rearranging, and editing of the photo-composites was long, slow process. The Photoshop files had scores of layers and an image might reach twenty or more versions as it was proofed.
When I work with the figure, I usually don’t have a specific idea in mind, but let it unfold over time, this adds another layer of complication. Like many projects I’ve worked on, I start via an instinctive feeling about what I was about to jump into; however, as far as seeing the work through, it’s invariably a voyage of discovery whose logistics have to be thought through.
I had originally envisioned a suite of twelve images, but due to time and budget constraints, settled for nine. In 2019 the series was shown in its entirely as part of a residency I did at Lewis and Clark College in Lewiston Idaho. In February 2024, Cerulean Arts https://ceruleanarts.com/pages/once-upon-a-time in Philadelphia, showed selected images. You can see the full series online at: https://www.rafriedman.com/pinhole At both these venues and, more recently, at Main Line Art Center in Haverford, PA, I did pinhole workshops where I demonstrated the kind of setup I have used over the years.
The instant film landscape has changed a lot since 2005 when I first started using Polaroid peel-apart film to photograph the model. In 2008, Polaroid ceased all instant film manufacturing, leaving Fujifilm, Japan as the only supplier. Around 2013, Fuji also exited the peel-apart film business, leaving only its Instax line of medium and small format instant film stocks.
Enter Lomography:
I had stocked up on Fuji peel-apart black and white around 2011 and had enough to finish the light-painting project, but I wanted to keep the possibilities open. As a photography instructor, I feel obliged to recommend materials that are still readily available.
(Shooting with the LomoGraflok, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA)
With Instax looking like my best bet, I snagged a Lomography Belair instant film back and had Nate at Option 8 mount it to a modified 4x5 film holder. It worked fairly well, although for conventional photography, it was a bit cumbersome since the film plane of the unit was further back. The focus had to be manually re-adjusted after the image was composed on the ground glass. I did this using the adjustable focus stops on the Crown and it worked pretty well. Additionally, the unit is hand cranked, making it a bit tricky to eject the film evenly.
(LomoGraflok back and light painting, workshop at Cerulean Arts, March 2024)
The speed rating of Instax Wide film is 800 compared to the Fuji peel-apart’s 3000. Doubling the wattage of the lamp from 250 watts to 500, extending the exposure, and moving in closer compensated for this. The Instax film worked well although the tonalities were not quite the same as the Fuji and the grain structure seems a bit chunkier. An odd characteristic of Instax color film is that in low-light you get an almost monochromatic rendition. Still, it was quite workable. I also miss the “goop” negatives which I have often scanned and worked with.
When Lomography introduced their own Graflok style Fuji Instax film holder I was anxious to give it a try. They graciously lent me one so I could try it out.
Although needing four AA cells (I recommend rechargeables), the operation is markedly smoother than the custom unit I had fabricated. With electric transport, the unit can securely stay on the camera. The ground glass focusing spacer that’s included eliminates the need to refocus after composing. This is a great addition.
I had one lone jam up during a workshop where the film did not eject properly and had to be taken out. I don’t blame the back since the pack system Fuji uses is pretty finicky and the film had been sitting in it when I got it in the mail. For frame counting, this new back seems better than my old home-brew model, but on one occasion I thought I had reached the last photo and there were actually two shots still left.
Overall, I’m sorry I have to send it back! I’m hoping that other artist/photographers will perhaps jump into the methods I’ve used as I continue to do pinhole workshops. Where are things going for my own work? It seems that it’s a natural progression from the nine light-paintings to drawing and painting the figure, a direction I’ve been developing since 2017. I guess you could say that my pinhole photography was a kind of gateway, leading me deeper into the problems of representing the human form.
RA Friedman is a fine artist and photographer, located in Philadelphia who works with the human form. He currently teaches portrait drawing in the continuing education departments of PA Academy of Fine Arts, and Pratt Institute. Additionally, he is an instructor at Main Line Art Center in Haverford, PA.