Long Exposure: a pinhole photography show

featuring the work of Gregg Kemp, plus workshops and more

Make a pinhole camera, take long-exposure pictures, and develop them in a darkroom right in The Carrack! Pinhole photography reaches back to the origin of the medium…and also it’s a lot of fun and really easy to do at home. In Long Exposure you’ll discover the work of master pinhole photographer Gregg Kemp, see work by other contemporary pinhole and long-exposure photographers, and take workshops to build a homemade camera and take pinhole pictures that you’ll develop yourself.

Gregg Kemp

Durham was home to one of the foremost contemporary pinhole photographers, Gregg Kemp, who passed away in 2016. This show presents a mini-retrospective of Kemp’s work including stunning long-exposure, time-lapse images of the passages of the sun and moon through the sky as well as composite pinhole photographs that Kemp digitally altered and painted upon. Many of Kemp’s intriguing and fanciful pinhole cameras will be shown as well, some camouflaged as rocks or bricks so they could take exposures over many days. The exhibit will also include work by other contemporary photographers doing work in this vein, including MJ Sharp and Dale Rio.

Pinhole Workshops

Throughout the three-week show, we’ll offer low-cost pinhole workshops at the Carrack. You’ll make a camera, take photographs around downtown Durham, and develop the images in a darkroom built right inside the gallery! You’ll take your photos home and hang copies of your work thumbtack-style in the Carrack. You’ll also keep your camera along with a resource guide to set up a darkroom in your bathroom at home so you can keep making pinhole images. No experience with photography or chemistry is necessary; just a willingness to have fun and learn.

“Long Exposure” is organized by Riverside High School photography teacher Jon Twietmeyer and local writer and curator Chris Vitiello, who wish to thank Carmela Kemp for her generosity and cooperation in putting together this exhibition.

Workshops & Darkroom Hours

• Sat., 4/14, 1-3:30pm
• Sun., 4/15, 1-3:30pm
• Sat., 4/21, 1-3:30pm
• Sun., 4/22, 1-3:30pm
• Sat., 4/28, 1-3:30pm
• Sun., 4/29, 1-3:30pm

All workshops are $10. Register in advance on Eventbrite. Ages 10 and up. No experience necessary.

Events

Tuesday April 17, 7-8:30pm: Public talk with Mary Beth Bishop speaking on the work of Gregg Kemp and Jon Twietmeyer on the history of pinhole photography
Friday April 20, 6-9pm: Third Friday Durham reception and FREE 60 second pinhole portraits

RSVP on Facebook.

Image by Gregg Kemp, “Durham”