Beyond the Edge

This series of photographs consists of pinhole self portraits. While I create these images with a pinhole mounted to a digital camera, I do not mask or manipulate these photos other than to make standard exposure adjustments and conversion to black and white. Pinhole photography is a good tool for me at the moment to explore several themes. I am intrigued by the ability to capture longer passages in time in one still image. The exposure times in this series range from 12 to 30 seconds, giving me time to move within and beyond the photographic space. I use this time to create motion blur, multiple images, and sometimes additional characters in an image. Creation of these photos becomes a dance between myself, the lights and the camera. To me this speaks to the fact that there is always something more beyond the four edges of the photograph, both in time and space. Another theme I explore in this series is mortality. Memories of my recently deceased father sometimes sneak into my thoughts like shadows appearing on a wall that I pass by. The long exposures required for these pinhole images allow me to create similar shadow effects in the form of residual images on the camera sensor.