Part I - Stone Knives Pinhole takes us to the very essence of photography. At this level, depth of field no longer has meaning, captured light strikes the film plane without the intervention of any modifying factors, and the creation of the tool can be done entirely with materials one already owns. Doing this, we are separated from the mainstream and have the capability to create unique images. Of course, this idea has been around considerably longer. The basics of pinhole photography is very simple.
Light enters a light-tight box through a very small, lensless aperture, striking the film.
If this was the only principle involved, could increase the sharpness of the resultant image by reducing the size of the aperture. However, another element, diffraction, comes into play. This was first demonstrated by the Italian physicist, Francesco Grimaldi, in 1665, where light passing through two consecutive pinholes displayed wider than it should have. The smaller hole, therefore, will increase diffraction, working against the image s sharpness. The photographer working to obtain the sharpest possible image needs to find a balance between these two conditions.