"I discovered pinhole photography almost by accident.  In 2002 I purchased a Zero 2000, after seeing it in the Freestyle catalogue, more as a beautiful curiosity than as a tool.  The first photo I took with it was at lunch with a friend of mine, and I loved the resulting image:  my ghost-like friend between a runway of table and the walls and ceiling of the room.  That was the beginning of my ongoing series Squaremeals:  A Pinhole Diary of Eating Out, which now consists of over 1500 pictures.  

 

There are several features of pinhole that grab me.  A major one is how it manages to document my life in a way that is so different from my own perception.  The odd vantage points (required by the need to place the camera where it can stay still for a few seconds to an hour or more) and the slow shutter speed yield something very different from my memory, partly more detailed (a slumped teabag or a stain on a ceiling tile may be perfectly preserved) and partly less (my companions and the food we ate are often blurred beyond recognition).

 

I love how social pinhole photography can be.  Rather than disappearing behind a viewfinder, I put my camera down and am part of the scene.  Whether or not the camera is aiming at me (more often it is not) I am having a meal, engaging with family or friends, while the film exposes.  Not infrequently, a waiter or another stranger will ask about the antique-looking teak box on the table and we’ll get into a conversation about pinhole cameras.

 

I also enjoy the surprise of pinhole photography.   When I shot with lensed cameras I almost always printed with a “burned in” border, in recognition of having done my composing through the viewfinder, rather than cropping after the fact.  Giving up that control might have seemed frightening if I’d thought about it, yet I’m rarely disappointed at the look of the finished images.  The wide angle of my camera brings in strong architectural elements, and the square format also helps to hold it all together.  Even though all of this work has similar subject matter, and may even feature the same restaurants, each shot is different."

 

CK - Nancy's pinhole photos in her series Squaremeals:  A Pinhole Diary of Eating Out reminds me of how people drift in and out of our lives. That one moment they're there... and then they're gone. Reminding us that the presence of any living being is impermanent. That life is fleeting. I enjoy the idea that while looking at these photos you can imagine the conversations these people had. Who has come in and out of the frame... some stopping for a while and then going on their way. Cars passing through a stop light, fish swimming through a reef... each environment has it's own pulse and cycle that it goes through each and every day. Time truly is our biggest gift, so I guess it's up to us to figure out the best way to use it. Thanks Nancy for sharing your words and images, which truly have inspired me to think and see life differently. Cheers! -Chris