when sherry came, she brought me this $20 pinhole camera that she picked up at the grocery store in bangkok. the camera comes as a kit that you have to assemble, with the lens being nothing more than a piece of foil with a hole punched in it. the instructions said to use a needle to make a really small hole if you want clear pictures … so i used a pencil to make a big hole. my digital camera takes clear pictures, but i was aiming for the slightly blurred, almost dream-like pictures that are possible with a pinhole. my first roll was really out of focus, but when i went back and made a new “lens” with a smaller hole, i got some great shots. the lens needs to be opened for at least 3 seconds, maybe as long as a minute or 15 depending on the amount of available light. i shot these on fujicolor x-tra 400 asa 35mm film, most exposures were around 5 seconds. I guessing that the blur in the pictures probably comes from the fact that i had to hold the camera with my shaky hands.

they are some of my favorite shots of india so far, mostly because they capture a side of india that isn’t often photographed. at the lake where russell and i do evening walking meditation, there are very few people, it is quiet, there is no pollution and it’s green. india in pictures is often full of people, polluted and every color of the rainbow mixed together. i think the blur in the pictures captures how i feel when i’m walking much more than a clear photograph would. or maybe i just feel like my memories are generally blurred, so this way i can get photographs that match.

as i walk towards the lake, my mind is often running like crazy, focusing on the car horns as i cross the road and the general craziness that driving in india often can be. as i start walking though, that all fades out and i start relaxing to the beauty around me.

the pictures look better big, so click to see a larger version.

ohh, i just realized yesterday was july 4th … happy holidays …