Anyone can make a pinhole camera, and they can do it for free at Amarillo College on Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day—Sunday, April 26.

That’s when the AC Photography Program will sponsor and host a pinhole workshop from 1-5 p.m. in Parcells Hall, Room 314, on the Washington Street Campus. The occasion will be enhanced by the presence of visiting artist and pinhole photographer Vaughn Wascovich, noted associate professor of photography at Texas A&M University—Commerce.

Wascovich also will be guest of honor for a reception and artist talk at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 24 at the Amarillo Museum of Art. Some of his large-scale pinhole photographs will be on display in the museum’s first-floor gallery through Aug. 2.

On Pinhole Day (April 26), a darkroom and supplies will be available for anyone, the general public included, wishing to learn how to build a pinhole camera, make exposures and develop images. AC students and faculty will be on hand to assist.

Attendees may bring their own boxes or cans to make cameras, or they can use supplies and materials provided by their hosts.

René West, AC assistant professor of photography, says participants can vastly improve their chances for pinhole success if they plan to spend at least two hours on site. Kids 5 and older are welcome, she said, but they will need mom or dad for supervision.

Everyone who attends will be treated to guidance from one of the best.

Wascovich will share his insights on pinhole photography, which he employed to produce striking landscape images of northeast Texas for the museum exhibit called The Pinhole Camera Work of Vaughn Wascovich. He has won numerous awards in peer-reviewed exhibitions and in 2009 received the Gary B. Fritz Imagemaker Award at the National Conference of the Society of Photographic Educators.

There will also be a group show of pinhole photography in AC’s Southern Light Gallery (Lynn Library, first floor) featuring work by René West, Mark Penland, Aaron Hutchinson, Elizabeth Beckham and Lauren Dennis—April 13 to May 15.

For more information about Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day or Wascovich’s visit to Amarillo College, please contact René West at 806-345-5654

April 10, 2015