Pinhole's Feminine Mystique

Recently I decided the pinhole camera is a feminine device. It's very nature and character is woman-like. In case you missed my byline, I am a man. And I use pinhole cameras for 80% of my work. I hope you will read on without offence.

First there is the obvious. On a pinhole camera there is a hole through which things enter. On a lens camera there is a protruding (and dare I say hard) lens jutting out. The pinhole device is by its construction receptive; the lens camera tends to pursue (some say attack) its "victims".

Most pinhole photographers like to work intuitively. There is less of the masculine forcefulness of purpose that occurs with shooting with lenses. There are variables of time and light to work with, but not the logistics of selecting lenses and f-stops.

In Japan where I live, editorial and commercial photographers are called "cameraman" even when they are women. Even the ladies call themselves "cameraman".

Another unique Japanese expression for serious photographers is "proama", a combination of the words pro and amateur. This term is used to describe the technically and materially well endowed Japanese hobby photographer. Some of them know more technical stuff and have better equipment than "working pros" do.

And I love it when I get a few of them in my pinhole camera workshops mixed in with all the "amateur" girls who often don't know how to use a tripod or light meter, much less own one. These "proama" guys love to teach the girls what they know and inevitably the ladies get better and more interesting photos than the men. Often with pinhole, less knowledge is better. Being receptive sometimes requires unlearning.

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