A Pinhole Adventure to Beachy Head Lighthouse

Living so close to Beachy Head, it’s a place I’ve visited many times, but every trip feels different—especially when seen through the unique perspective of a pinhole camera. This time, I brought along two: my well-loved Mia 6x6 and my newly acquired RealitySoSubtle 6x17, which I’m still getting to grips with. This was only my second roll through the RealitySoSubtle, so it was very much an experiment.

Both cameras were loaded with Fomapan 100, which I was pushing to 400. Interestingly, the Mia’s roll had already seen some action—its first few frames were shot at Alton Towers the week before, making this outing a mix of two very different locations on a single roll. With the dramatic cliffs and the iconic lighthouse as my backdrop, I set out to see what these cameras could capture.

The walk to the lighthouse is a mix of easy and challenging terrain—the first half is a pleasant stroll, but the second half turns into a bit of a scramble over rocks. As I got closer, I spotted my first composition and decided to use the Mia 6x6, feeling that its square frame suited the scene better than the panoramic 6x17.

For some reason, I chose to set up on an incredibly small tripod, which placed the camera extremely low to the ground. This can work well in some situations, but looking back, I wonder if a slightly higher setup might have been the better choice. To extend the exposure time and influence the tones in the scene, I added a green filter. Not only did this help with exposure, but it also darkened the red slightly on the lighthouse and the blues in the sky while hopefully enhancing the greens from the algae and seaweed in the rock pools around the subject.

Continuing slowly toward the lighthouse, I decided my next shot would be with the RealitySoSubtle 6x17. This camera is still a challenge to get my head around, especially when it comes to composition and exposure. Its incredibly wide 141° field of view makes framing tricky, while the 70mm focal length keeps the vertical angle much tighter at around 46.4° (correct me if I’m wrong!).

I ventured out onto some rocks, looking for a composition that would fill the expansive frame while leaving a bit of open space through the center. This was the moment I hoped I had timed the tide correctly—it has a habit of coming in fast, and I’ve been caught out before. Taking the time to set up and expose a long exposure shot always adds a bit of risk, especially when the sea is creeping in behind you. Thankfully, after double-checking and triple-checking, I confirmed that the tide was still on its way out.

Further along the walk, another scene caught my eye—a long rock pool leading toward the lighthouse, perfectly reflecting it in the water. I knew that with the camera’s tight vertical angle and 70mm focal length, getting a closer shot of the lighthouse would be a challenge. Instead, I set up to capture the reflection, attached a green filter, and hoped for the best.

As you’ll notice in the next two shots, there’s a slight blur on the far left. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a dirty mark on the filter. Because of the extreme wide-angle nature of this camera, it cuts through filters at a much harsher angle, making it more prone to picking up dust, fingerprints, and imperfections. And, of course, I had forgotten to bring a cleaning cloth—lesson learned!...again.

As I approached the lighthouse, I decided to take a few shots with the Mia 6x6. The exposure times were just under a second, which can be tricky with a pinhole camera. Normally, for such short exposures, I open the shutter while keeping a finger over the pinhole, then quickly remove and replace my finger before closing the shutter. It’s not a technique I use often, and I sometimes doubt how well it will work, but this was a good opportunity to experiment. In the end, I was actually pretty pleased with the results.

What I really love about these shots is the motion in the water. That roughly 1/2-second exposure is just enough to capture the energy of the waves crashing, adding a bit more drama to the scene. It’s a nice contrast to the much longer exposures, which tend to smooth the water into a misty, calm look. This balance of motion and texture really adds to the atmosphere of the images.

At the base of the cliffs, there are some driftwood sculptures that have been there for years, gradually added to over time. They make for fantastic photo opportunities, so I headed over with my Mia 6x6 to capture a couple of shots. I initially thought I had only one frame left, but it turned out I had two—so I took the chance to shoot two different compositions of a particularly striking wooden fish sculpture.

What's the round light circle? Keep reading I will explain more.

Now, I had one more shot to capture, and that would be my final frame with the RSS 6x17. A week earlier, I had taken an image of a barn on the South Downs, positioning it in the far corner of the frame. Thanks to the camera’s curved film plane, the edges remained free of distortion. I liked that approach and thought it would work well with the lighthouse, so I framed it in the far corner, with the open ocean stretching out into the distance. The clouds were looking promising, so I figured they'd help fill the frame and add some drama to the scene.

However, what went wrong?

This isn’t an issue with the camera itself, but rather with the Fomapan film. I’ve noticed this happening with Fomapan for a while now. I’m not sure if it’s an issue with older stock or something else, but some newer rolls I’ve purchased haven’t had the same problem.

The issue seems to stem from a small hole in the backing paper at the end of the roll, just over the edge of the film. This hole is apparently used during the manual film adjustment process to help align the film precisely with the backing paper. Unfortunately, it seems that the hole can sometimes cause light to leak in, resulting in the unwanted marks I’ve seen in some of my shots, the round circle on my last 6x6 shot.

So why is it so bad on the 6x17?

The issue is more pronounced on the 6x17 because of how the camera’s design interacts with the film. If I had simply covered the little red window when advancing the film, it would have been fine—this is the same for my other cameras. When I cover the back during film advancement, the light leak doesn’t happen.

As the film is advanced, the small hole in the backing paper lines up directly with the red window. This is where light pours in, leaving the characteristic white dot. The real problem with the 6x17 is that, due to its curved film plane, the light doesn’t just cause a small spot (which does not actually appear over the actual image)—it actually travels and exposes onto the film, resulting in a much more noticeable light leak.

The white dot actually appears off from the image, but without closing the red window it exposes the rest of the film still in the film holder chamber.

This was a bit annoying, but it’s all part of the learning experience. It’s certainly a mistake I won’t be making again, and I’m glad I figured it out close to home rather than after traveling miles, only to discover the issue later.

Overall, this trip to Beachy Head was a great mix of experimentation and familiar ground. Testing the RealitySoSubtle 6x17 further helped me understand its quirks, while the Mia 6x6 reminded me why I love shooting with it. Pinhole photography always carries an element of unpredictability, but that’s part of the magic. Even with the minor setbacks, I came away with images I’m happy with and a few lessons learned for next time.

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And to finish off here are some of the images from the rest of the Mia 6x6 roll from Alton towers.

SMILER

The Royal Carousel

OBLIVION