Analog Forever Magazine is pleased to showcase 37 images in this month’s online exhibition entitled Camera Obscura. Curated by Nils Karlson, these photographs explore the amazing results photographers achieve with pinhole cameras and long exposures. Ranging from serene landscapes and ghostly urban scenes to hauntingly beautiful portraits, the simple technology behind these images is a creative tool that is one of the most democratic tools in photography. The cameras themselves come in all types of formats, sizes, color, and in the endless variety of models on the market, they all share common ground that makes the realm of pinhole photography a common playing ground for everyone. The selected images capture the world going by around us as we sit in silence and await our exposures to be completed. They grant us perspective, unreal sights, and new insight that allow us to meditate on the world around us.

Nils Karlson writes: This is the first time for me to curate other people's photos. It was a great and challenging experience. Thanks to Analog Forever and everyone who submitted for trusting me with this. The wide range of photos was delightful – different formats, moods, techniques, subjects...this proved again the vast spectrum of pinhole photography, its artistic qualities, and the creative minds behind it. You all did a terrific job, and I applaud you! 

However, this also made the process of selecting images painful at times – there were single images which I dearly wanted to include, but just couldn't find a counterpart to balance the selection. For the final curation I decided to go with groups of three images. Each group is different, each group has a unifying theme, mood or subject – my goal was to conduct this choir of fabulous voices and help finding their place in the ensemble.

Picking one single image for the great price wasn't an easy task, either. The variety of images and corresponding emotions proved to be a challenge again, and more than once it felt like pushing a friend off a cliff. In the end, the carefully balanced mix of warm and cold, static and dynamic, time and space of Owen Roberts’ “Gate Spirits“ photo just spoke to me profoundly – it transcends antagonisms and connects the alleged unconnectable. We can all learn from this.

-Nils Karlson

The Prize - A Reality So Subtle 6x6F Camera!

Congratulations to Owen Roberts for winning this month’s exhibition! You will be receiving a Reality So Subtle 6x6F Camera courtesy of Reality So Subtle!

The RealitySoSubtle 6x6F Pinhole Camera is a compact 6x6 pinhole camera with a huge amount of custom features! It’s equipped with a focal length of 24mm and a 52mm filter ring for attaching filters, and a laser drilled pinhole with an equivalent aperture of f/160. It sports a magnetic shutter that allows you to “snap” from open to closed and a 1/4-20 tripod mount to allow you to steadily capture long exposures to your hearts content. If that wasn’t enough, film can be wound in both directions for double exposures!

Other features include:

• Very compact pocket design with rounded edges.

• CNC machined body from High Impact Polystyrene (H.I.P).

• 56.2 x56.2mm square image area  – 12 shots per roll on 120 film.

• Angle of view: 99 degrees horizontal, 99 degrees vertical.

• Accurate CNC engraved aiming lines on top and both sides for accurate framing.

• Brass winding shafts turning in precision bearings.

• Top-loader with top panel fixed with captive screws.

• Sliding cover for red-window (winding on peep hole)  – required for very long exposures when using ND filters.

Make sure you visit the RealitySoSubtle website to learn all about their RealitySoSubtle 6x6F Pinhole Camera!

Gallery 

About the Curator

Nils Karlson is a fine art photographer living in Bochum, Germany. His practice is based on the experience of time in the realm of photography.

Since 2015, his works have been exhibited internationally, both in numerous solo and group exhibitions all over Europe and the US. Furthermore, his photos have been published in print and online, along with articles and interviews with Lomography Magazine, f/D, and Emulsive. In 2016, he published his first book, followed by a magazine in 2017.

Based on a background as a foley editor and musician, Nils Karlson explores the fragile spans of silence between sounds, the moments between the actions. Using a camera, he combines the aim to create the most quiet photography possible with a passion for colour and light.

His pinhole based series '9-5 Meat Grinder' was part of 'The Art Of Pinhole Photography' exhibition in Heidelberg (Germany) and was shortlisted for the Espy Photo Awards 2019. The series will be on display at Elysium Gallery (Swansea, UK).

As Nils Karlson deeply enjoys an international dialogue and the inspiration of various disciplines of arts, he participated in the artist in residency programs of RevelaT Festival (Spain) and Listhus artist residency in Iceland.

Currently, he is working on two long term series combining the principles of the camera obscura with standard film cameras, and the peace he finds in nature with a new found interest in connecting with humans outside of society's standards.

For further information and a deeper insight of his works, connect with Nils Karlson on his Website and Instagram!