I pootled around for happy couple of hours earlier this week on a blog-hop, starting at Katy Elliot's daily journal of her life and house renovation in Marblehead, MA, and then over to Etsy buddy Lillyella, and to Tinctory to find out how her solar dyes were progressing and ended up at a delightful find, the sumptuous blog of Pia Jane Bijkerk.

I was immediately struck by Pia's beautiful finds and writings and reading further it came as no surprise to find she's a renowned international stylist and writer.

Paris: Made by hand by Pia Jane Bijkerk

Her first book, Paris: Made by hand is now on my Christmas wish-list and looks like the perfect excuse to hop on the Eurostar for the weekend and wander Parisian neighbourhoods for beautiful design haunts. She is currently working on her new book and lives on a houseboat in Amsterdam. Plus, she is exploring musical avenues with her soundscapes. Wow!

Images from http://www.piajanebijkerk.com

So, I sent Pia and email and despite her busy deadlines she kindly featured my pinhole and photograms and revealed that one of her favourite processes at college was making photograms. Next time she's back home she says she's going to look them up and I for one can't wait for her to share them with us.

Today is pinhole day, an international event created to promote and celebrate the art of pinhole photography. Photographers around the world are encouraged to participate in the simple act of making a pinhole photograph and show the unusual beauty of this historical photographic process.

Birdcage, polaroid pinhole photograph, Rowena Dugdale, 120 sec exposure on instant Fufifilm

This year I took some photos and contributed the above image to the gallery. I'm glad I got involved - Pinhole photography is a passion of mine but I don't get to create as many images as I used to - especially since Polaroid went belly-up. I use an assortment of cameras (including a repurposed Pringles-can) but my favourite is a camera from a kit that Polaroid used to make. It was never available in Europe but I ordered it from B&H in New York and it's been a trusty simple camera.

Here are a couple of other shots. It was a cloudy day and the Fujifilm struggled to capture the colour with the longer exposures. I really miss Polaroid film. Fuji is like a polite party-guest, very well behaved but a little dull, whereas Polaroid was like the unreliable drunken friend who was life and soul of the party. The saturation of Polaroid film on longer exposures was divine - it often had a strong blue cast and gorgeous contrast.


Looking around the International pinhole day gallery I found some wonderful images. Here's a sample of three photographs that stood out for me.

Alistair Scott Laid up
Alistair Scott showed quite some initiative today. Stuck in bed with a broken leg, he did a self-portrait using a Nikon D3 adapted with pinhole cover and using a remote release. Sending you best wishes for a speedy recovery Alistair.

Massimo Vaccaro dreaming
I love the atmosphere in this image - classic pinhole styling and very beautiful.


Tarja Trygg In the Sunshine
Tarja says that this image was exposed for one day with a lensless can using b&w photo paper. She has a fantastic website which I plan on spending more time on, exploring Solargraphy and tracking different the paths of the Sun are around the world through pinhole photography.

It's hard to write objectively about friends because we all think our buddies are creative and great. Also, I think it's somehow not very British to gush about our mates - in general we're too busy taking the piss or flaunting our modesty.



I love the photography that Chris Kidd captures and creates. The fact that he's my mate also allows me a little more insight into his process and methodology than if his work was simply a picture on a wall or image in a book. His photographic world is acutely and poetically human. He captures the ephemeral and out-lived, the discarded and lost. He's a storyteller and story-maker. These images aren't all instant fixes, many of them take time to grow on you, like the best songs, they have a hook but also a depth that pulls you back again and again.

Chris shoots from the hip, literally. Whether he's using a holga, a compact digital or a rollei, he'll walk in the room, mentally scan it, and have taken three or four shots from the camera attached to his belt before you're aware he's shooting. A mundane domestic setting is as much his playground as a windswept seaside town and his camera is a natural extension to his curiosity and perfect sense of place.