Spinning, Digging, and Pinhole Snapping at Diggerland

This was going to be a YouTube video, but honestly, there were just too many bad photos.

So, here we are with a blog post instead. You’re welcome.

A few months back, we took the kids to Diggerland. If you’ve never heard of it, Diggerland is exactly what it sounds like: a magical place where dreams of heavy machinery come true. Ride a digger, dig with a digger, spin in a digger. Oh, and if that’s not enough, you can also drive a JCB Skid Steer, pilot mini dumper trucks, and test your coordination by balancing precariously on giant machinery in motion.

For me, though, this was more than just a day of chaos—it was a chance to continue my “Theme Park with a Pinhole Camera” series. In case you’re not familiar, this involves me taking a Pinhole camera around family outings, trying to capture the magic of our adventures. Why use a pinhole camera? Because I like a challenge, and apparently, I don’t believe in taking the easy way out when capturing family memories.

This would of made a great pinhole photo facing towards the excavator, however, once was enough for me.

I was full of optimism. Spinning rides, diggers zipping around, kids shrieking with delight—it sounded like the perfect setting for some dynamic, artsy Pinhole shots. But, as usual, reality had other plans. The weather was as inspiring as a soggy teabag: grey, overcast, and just wet enough to make you regret not bringing a poncho. Long exposures were inevitable, with my Fomapan 100 film pushed to 400. I was pulling off 10-20 second shots, which is an eternity when you’re trying to keep up with 3 kids running left, right and center.

My first photo opportunity? The Dig-A-Round. Picture a carousel, but instead of horses or unicorns, it’s full of digger scoops for kids to sit in. Classic, right? As I set up my shot, I found myself wondering if this thing was actually safe for children seeing their safety straps being tied down with old string. The kids, of course, thought it was amazing. 

But hey, Pinhole photography is all about embracing the unexpected. The end result? A perfectly imperfect shot that looks like it belongs in an art gallery titled Mechanical Mayhem in Monochrome.

Not even that, the long exposure blurred most the movement out, which I expected, maybe I should of gone lower to the ground and got a UFO like effect with the top

While my 9-year-old casually drove a 4x4 around an off-road track, I set up a quick shot of a digger—surprisingly, it turned out quite well

The next 'ride' was the Sky Shuttle—because nothing says fun like sitting on top of a digger, 50 meters up, in the cold wind!

Using my magnetic mount, I stuck the pinhole camera to the side and captured a shot looking straight down—vertigo, anyone?

The Spindizzy: get spun around in a giant digger bucket and, if you’re anything like me, feel sick for the rest of the day—see first picture for the view from the bucket.

I sat this one out and snapped photos instead. The gloomy light made exposure tricky, if I exposed for the shadows I would've lost all the sky and the excavator bucket spinning round, exposing for the sky kept some motion visible of the spinning movement but lost all in the shadows. 

StackAttack: While waiting in the cold, my boy kept busy stacking tires in this little contraption.

This one might need some explaining: using the magnetic mount and chest mount, I captured an exposure of me driving the Skid Steer. It was slow—very slow—but great fun!

GoPro shot

Pinhole version

This one was a disaster. I entrusted my daughter to navigate a course while I attached the pinhole to the front of the tractor for a selfie. The long exposure was never going to work out well. Meanwhile, I was trying to count the exposure time, manage the accelerator and brake, close the shutter, and retrieve the camera—all while my daughter almost steered us off course and into what appeared to be a ditch. I almost lost the camera while trying to save us.

The "Tractor"

Moments before disaster

The final result.

This was odd but pretty cool—hook the duck with a mini digger. I did manage to knock the camera halfway through the exposure, resulting in a slight double exposure effect. Not intended, but not a complete disaster either!

Butts. While waiting around again, I spotted this little sign for cigarette butts. With the camera mounted using the magnetic mount (highly recommend it!), I captured their 'butts'—pretty much summed up the day!

Overall, there were a few other photos from the day with my MIA Pinhole camera, but let's just say they were far worse than these. The results were a bit disappointing, but as always, a learning experience. I’ve realized that winter months at family attractions aren't ideal for pinhole photography—the long exposures blur out too much movement. I’ll save it for the brighter, sunnier days. Since then, I’ve been taking my GoPro Hero 12 with a 10-stop filter, which gives me much shorter exposures and more fun with motion at theme parks. It keeps me occupied on family outings. I’m not one for two-directional spinny rides, so while the family spins themselves to death, I enjoy this time to explore with the camera.

Till next time, keep spinning and snapping!

Gear used

TELESIN Magnetic Camera Neck Holder Mount

- BUY HERE -

GoPro Hero 12

Mia 6x6 pinhole camera

Fomapan 100 film 

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