About pinhole

The models/ dioramaís, often no larger than a reasonably sized box, are captured by means of pinhole photography.
To create the illusion of space, Bethany uses mirrors. This complicates matters, for it causes the camera to appear in the picture.
The camera therefore is a part of the setting and is fit to blend in with the surroundings. Either by a camouflage mirror covering or the location (in between the trees or behind a hill). When looked at closely the camera can often be discovered but is unrecognizable as being a camera.
This is essential for the image.

To create a pinhole picture, you need a pinhole camera. This is a camera without a lens; the light reaches the film through a tiny hole (the size of a pinpoint). Many objects can be turned into cameras; boxes and cans are extremely useful.
Bethanyís first camera was a matchbox, which she used to create black and white images of a very small model (the glass house).
This is one of Bethanyís favorite aspects of pinhole: building a camera of which the shape and measurements correspond with that what you need. Nowadays Bethany uses modified cameras, because of the comfort of a film transport-mechanism. She rids these cameras of lens and shutter and inserts a piece of metal-foil with a small hole in its center.
Another unusual aspect is that no button is pressed, just remove the cap (or piece of tape) and let the light do its work.
The shutter times are much longer than with ordinary photography. A picture taken from within a model can take anywhere from one minute to a halve hour. Outside, in the bright daylight, exposure times are considerably shorter, but still several seconds long.
Although a pinhole image is never completely in focus, in fact a pinhole-picture lacks a focus point, a perfect pinhole is essential for an as sharp as possible Image ; round without any irregularities. Bethany makes hers by sticking a needle through a piece of copper foil; this hole is then checked under a microscope and smoothed with sandpaper.
Pinhole photography can create surprising results; itís a technique with endless possibilities of experimentation.