Jon Paciaroni Photography
Colorado based commercial photographer. Specializing in adventure sports, lifestyle, and environmental.
The Longest Exposure
Unpredictability has it’s place in photography. And long exposures take the cake in knowing exactly what your not going to get in an ambient setting, So how long is this one? Six months. That’s right. This surreal exposure made by Justin Quinnell shows each phase of the sun over the Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge in the UK. The image was captured with a pin-hole camera made from a pop can with a 0.25mm aperture and a single sheet of photographic paper. MacGyver would be proud.
Quinnell strapped the inconspicuous aluminum can to a telephone pole overlooking the Gorge, where it was left between December 19, 2007 and June 21, 2008- the Winter and Summer solstices. This technique; known as ‘solargraphy’ shows six months of the sun’s luminescent trails and its subtle change caused by the earth’s movement in orbit. The lowest arc being the first day of exposure on the Winter solstice, while the top curves were captured mid-Summer. The dotted lines of light are the result of overcast days when the sun struggled to penetrate the cloud coverage.
Quinnell is a renowned fine art pin-hole photographer, he stated the photograph took on a personal resonance after his father passed away on April 13th- midway through the exposure. The picture allowed him to pinpoint the exact location of the sun in the sky at the moment of his father passing. Not an easy thought to hang on… but the insight isn’t always as pretty as the picture. Overall, you gotta love the artistic value to this timeline technique here (not to mention the Coke can capture method). Good on ya Justin!
I have done pin hole photography before this is knock out fantastic. I like the length of the exposure the artistic value behind it. Thanks for sharing!