Nancy Breslin Photography

Squaremeals: A Pinhole Diary of Eating Out

This project, begun in 2002, consists of thousands of pinhole photographs of my restaurant meals, all shot on film in a Zero 2000 pinhole camera. The tiny aperture of this camera (f/138) requires relatively long exposures (seconds outside, minutes to hours inside). Meals are a perfect subject due to the combination of movement (people, glassware) and stillness (the room itself). You will find information on how I determine exposure times here.

Scroll down to see my five minute video about pinhole photography.

Pinhole photo of Nancy having tea at a Cafe Paul in Washington, DC.

Pinhole photo of lunch at the Building Museum in Washington, DC.

Pinhole photo of Nancy having tea at Starbucks in Gaithersburg, MD.

Pinhole photo of lunch at a restaurant in Arlington, Virginia.

Pinhole photo of a quick lunch at Charing Cross Station in London.

Pinhole photo of Nancy having lunch at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

Nancy's five minute introduction to pinhole photography explains how pinhole cameras work and introduces the work of some pinhole photographers.