Press release

Key West Art & Historic Society & Florida Keys Community College Team Up for Pinhole Photography Session

by Donna Smith

Students enrolled in the Key West Art & Historical Society’s pinhole photography class had already spent a morning photographing the Key West Lighthouse. Their next challenge was a trip to the Dry Tortugas National Park to capture images of the lighthouse at Fort Jefferson on Garden Key and the nearby lighthouse on Loggerhead Key.
A collaboration between KWAHS and Florida Keys Community College, it was all part of the “In Their Own Words - To the Lighthouse” project. Dr. Lynne Bentley-Kemp and her photography students from the college combined forces with pinhole photography teacher and artist Jodell Roberts and KWAHS education coordinator Suzanne Pereira to offer students the opportunity to practice this unique method.
The Yankee Freedom II Dry Tortuga Ferry Service sponsored transportation for teachers and students. While students feasted on the boat’s complimentary continental breakfast, the teachers discussed the history and use of the cameras.
“Pinhole Photography is actually an old practice,” said Bentley-Kemp. “It is a theory that students learn about in the history of photography. Of course, these days, the trend is moving toward digital photography.”
“Basically, a pinhole camera is a box, with a tiny hole at one end and film or photographic paper at the other,” Pereira explained. “The hole replaces the traditional lens and allows the image to form inside the camera.” Resulting photos are softer than pictures made with a lens, with a nearly infinite depth of field. Exposures are long, ranging from half a second to several hours.
Camera construction is not limited to a box-shaped structure. The cameras used for the lighthouse project were actually paint cans mounted on tripods.
“A pinhole camera can be made from practically anything,” Jodell Roberts said and cited several different examples from a textbook. A hole dug in a forest floor was transformed into a camera that was able to track the movements of the sun over the course of several months. “This is a recording of a whole element of time,” she said. The camera creates beautiful distortions.”
“You can actually use your mouth as a camera with your lips puckered like this to form the pinhole,” Roberts laughed.
Bentley-Kemp noted other odd resources: an entire Volkswagen bus became a camera by painted black and a pinhole placed on the sliding side door, and a travel trailer that toured the country in the form of a giant mobile camera.
The class was greeted dockside by Park Ranger and Site Manager Willie Lopez, who had thoughtfully prepared a room inside the fort to be used as a darkroom. Pereira and Bentley-Kemp were able to easily change out photo paper from each camera as students completed a shot and prepared for the next. Bentley-Kemp brought along a special orange light bulb intended for dark room purpose. “The photo paper isn’t sensitive to red and yellow light,” she explained.
Students scattered throughout the Fort searching for ideal viewpoints of the lighthouse that would produce an interesting composition. Some students set up directly beneath the lighthouse, others scrambled to climb to the top to photograph the expansive view.
Christopher Castellano aimed toward the nearby island that serves as nesting ground for sooty terns and other avian life. “I don’t know if this will turn out,” he said. “I am hoping that the flying birds will show up as little points of light on the final print.”
Clinton Andrade shot interior views of brick corridors. “I took a picture of the ground from the top of the lighthouse,” said Eva Hooten. Shortly afterward, Eva stubbed her big toe. Park rangers quickly procured a wheelchair and an ice bag. Undaunted by the mishap, Eva continued with the class.
“The challenge of the challenges is to be able to shoot wherever we are,” Roberts told her as they wheeled around the interior of the fort.
“What I like best is working in the darkroom,” said Daisy Murtha. “We actually get to print our own photos.”
After an intense day of work, the class took time out to swim, snorkel, and enjoy the sight of a dolphin pod feeding just offshore.
“We couldn’t have had a better day,” said Captain Rick on the return trip, played-out dog Salty by his side in the cabin. “Calm sea, blue sky and plenty of sunshine.”

Project “In Their Own Words - To the Lighthouse” would like to thank sponsors who donated funds to purchase camera tripods. They include the Craig Company, Barker Services, Inc, and the Margaritaville Store. Special thanks to the Yankee Freedom II Dry Tortugas Ferry crew and Captain Rick and Willie Lopez and the rangers of the Dry Tortugas National Park, without whose help the project would not have been possible.

If you are a member of the media and would like to receive more information and/or pictures, please contact: communications@kwahs.org