Justin Quinnell

Undoubtedly, Justin Quinnell was an amazing photographer whose ideas and interesting way of looking at the simple day to day perspectives were ground breaking to every photographer's concept of how things can be looked upon. Not only this, Quinnell was teaching people that you don't have to own an expensive heavy camera, own endless pieces of class nor fancy or extravagant flash units. Quinnell was using pin hole cameras for his work: cheap, affordable, basic cameras that worked through  His work arose about twenty years ago, and at the time his pieces were deemed revolutionary. In an interview, Justin revealed that the idea of doing pinhole photography was inspired from when was a child and he had an operation on his eye, leaving him able to only see a small hole through a gap in his eye patch. Though he wasn't the founder of pinhole photography, as he grew older and began to teach at South Bristol college, the idea of doing pinhole photography arose and he taught his class how to use and make them. He claimed that his class were from a less affluent region and couldn't afford fancy cameras, yet could afford countless cans of fizzy drink every day. From then on, he found a passion for pinhole photography and since then has become famous for it. Quinnell had become so famous infact that he's been to Hollywood and back, where his pinhole cameras were featured in the film 'The Brothers Bloom'.  The Bristolian is still taking photos to this day.

My personal take on his work:

Though it can't be denied that his style of work was indeed revolutionary and unlike anything that I'd covered or seen, some of his work in my opinion becomes quite repetitive and as a photographer and photography student, I like to have some variation in the photos that I take. Pinhole photography was his style and is what has made him well know and renowned, that is not what I became disinterested in. I enjoyed making pinhole cameras, and found the results to be pleasing. However, he has taken picture after picture with a camera in his mouth. I find this boring. At first I felt that the first photo I saw of him doing this (see below) was amazing and fresh; new. The same impression that I can imagine was given on to those who were seeing his work for the first time 20 years ago also. However it was at the point of seeing about 10 photos of a camera stuck in his mouth that my interest wandered. A pinhole photographer that I much rather prefer the work of is that of Steve Irvine. (See bottom)