Slow Light – The Lake District with the Mania 4x5 Pinhole Camera

If there’s one camera from my Lake District trip that really made me slow down, it was the Mania 4x5 pinhole. Large format pinhole photography isn’t something you rush—it’s deliberate, patient, and often a little unpredictable. Every sheet of film feels precious, and every exposure is a small investment of time and thought.

This was my first real outing with the Mania, so I’ll admit there was some nervousness. I’d put a lot of trust in Ralph Man’s design, and it was only when the developed negatives came out clean—no light leaks—that I breathed a sigh of relief. From split panoramics to wide single frames, the Mania delivered exactly what I’d hoped for: a mix of texture, atmosphere, and that soft pinhole magic you just can’t replicate digitally.

The Lake District gave me no shortage of subjects—weathered stone walls, hidden waterfalls, solitary rocks in misty fields. Some locations were captured with quick, instinctive setups; others had me standing in drizzle, counting seconds and hoping the light wouldn’t fade.

Here are my favourite frames from the trip with the Mania 4x5. They’re imperfect in all the best ways, each one carrying the memory of where I stood, what I heard, and how the air felt in that moment.

Film: Fomapan 400 exposed at 200 developed in Rollei R09 

Split panoramic at Brothers Water

A tree, I do love a good tree.

Waterfall

Castlerigg Stone Circle

Castlerigg Stone Circle split panoramic

Aira Force Waterfall

Bench on Kirkstone pass

Some big rocks, not sure how they got there!

More falls

An old stone barn

Buttermere lake

Buttermere Lake 

Falls on Kirkstone pass

Tent split panoramic.

Close-up of our adventure vans wheels to finish the final frame.