Pinhole Photography

My pinhole images are made using an Ilford Obscura large format camera, an Ondu 6×12 multi-format camera, and a selection of homemade pinhole cameras.

Pinhole photography is a lensless image-making technique that evolved from the ancient principles of the camera obscura first documented in the 5th century and emerged as a photographic practice in the 19th century. It forces the photographer to slow down, let go of precision, and meet the process on its own terms.

I use pinhole photography as a way to connect with time. The long exposures ask me to be still, to wait, to pay attention. It strips away control and expectation, allowing something quieter and more intuitive to come through.

Many of these photographs were made during long walks or quiet returns to the same place over days, weeks, or seasons. Some feel like recordings of weather and gentle breaths of time, others like nature unfurling before me. The softness represents how the image feels its way into being.

Working this way allows me to explore liminality and transition in both subject and process. These photographs hold the blurred edges of experience—between seen and sensed, presence and absence, the visible world and whatever lies beneath.

©Aoife O’Brien 2025