This year, the WPPD Team is calling for still wider participation in this "joyous celebration of simple photography." Anyone in any part of the world can join. There are no submission fees and no charges for exhibiting on the web site. Simply take a photograph of any subject with a pinhole camera (usually homemade) on the last Sunday of April. After developing and printing, scan the image as jpeg, resize to 50kb, and access the submission form at www.pinholeday.org/participate/submit.php. Each participant can submit one image to be posted on the gallery page of the WPPD site.

Any lensless photographic device may be used. This could be a pinhole, multiple pinholes, a slit, or various other ways to capture the image on a home-made or commercial camera. All entries must be submitted by May 31, 2007 to be accepted for posting.

I’m announcing this months in advance because participants will need time to make their own pinhole devices and experiment with them. Last year, I tried constructing a cardboard camera before deciding to simply replace the lens of an old KODAK brownie with a pinhole metal cap mounted on a cardboard tube. When I finally got my camera working, I used up four rolls of film in trial-and-error experiments to come up with an image "good enough" to be exhibited. Of course, that came with some anxious and embarrassing moments at the photo shop where the ladies at the counter wondered if I knew how to take pictures at all.

I had a lot of fun, however. Plus, the experience provided me a glimpse into photography’s early days. I believe that any serious photographer worth his salt should try this at least once in his life. (Now that should keep me from being the sole contributor from the Philippines again this year.)

There are enough information sources on the Internet to guide the newbies. If you want to build a cardboard camera, download the pdf file, dirkon_en from www.pinhole.cz for detailed drawings and instructions that can be printed out. From the same site, you can also download Pinhole Designer 2.0 (625 kb) to calculate pinhole size vis-s-vis focal length, exposure factor and other helpful info. The WPPD site also has links to resources to aid the potential pinhole photographer.

Are you up to the challenge?

Congratulations to reader Kurt Tan for bagging 6th and 8th places in the recently held photo contest of FPPF on the Feast of the Black Nazarene. We previously featured Tan’s images of Sagada a few weeks ago.