Every year, on the last Sunday of April, photographers around the world take a step back—literally—and celebrate the beautifully simple art of pinhole photography on Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day.
Founded in 2001, the day was created to promote and celebrate this unique form of image-making. Long before modern lenses and digital sensors, the pinhole camera showed us that photography at its core is simply light passing through a tiny aperture, creating an image. No glass, no autofocus, no megapixel race—just patience, curiosity, and a bit of magic.
Over the years, WWPD has grown into a global event, with photographers of all skill levels sharing their images taken on the same day. From homemade cameras crafted out of tins and boxes to large format setups and even digital adaptations, it’s a reminder that creativity matters far more than gear.
My Day
This year started quietly.
After church, I headed out for a wander around a local graveyard—one of those places that always feels like it has stories to tell if you just take the time to look. Old stones, weathered textures, soft spring light filtering through the trees… perfect pinhole territory.
For the first time ever on Worldwide Pinhole Day, I went fully digital—no film, no developing, no waiting.
In my bag was my Fuji X-T1 fitted with a Mia pinhole body cap. No tripod either, which is a bit of a departure from the usual slow, methodical approach. Instead, I cranked up the ISO, embraced the limitations, and just went for it.
Thankfully, the weather played along. A beautiful sunny day meant I could keep shutter speeds just about manageable, even without support. It became less about perfection and more about responding to the light and the scene in front of me.
There’s something quite freeing about that.
No overthinking exposure charts, no worrying about whether you’ve nailed it—you just trust the process and enjoy the act of seeing.
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| RAF Grave - "I will lift up my eyes to the hills" (Psalm 121:1) |
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| War grave from Battle of the Somme |
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| IHS christogram - iota (Ι), eta (Η), and sigma (Σ)—of the Greek name for Jesus, ΙΗΣΟΥΣ |
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| Sorry potter people - Harry is dead. |
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| All is Well |
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| Sunny days |
Closing Thoughts
Worldwide Pinhole Day is always a bit of a reset.
It strips photography back to its bare essentials and reminds me why I picked up a camera in the first place. Not for sharpness or technical perfection, but for the feeling—the quiet moments, the curiosity, the joy of capturing light in its simplest form.
Whether it’s film or digital, tripod or handheld, carefully planned or completely spontaneous, pinhole photography has a way of slowing everything down.
And sometimes, that’s exactly what we need.
Light through the smallest of spaces—still telling stories, still inspiring.
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