The Pinsta is a pinhole camera where you typically shoot directly onto photographic paper in the camera. These shots are taken with Harman Direct Positive paper, which, as the name suggests, gives a positive image. The paper is then directly developed in the camera.
You could, of course, use traditional darkroom photographic paper to make a negative, then either print from the paper negative. Paper negatives give a less crisp image than film or the direct positive paper. Some photographers prefer that look. The alternative is to scan the paper negative and reverse the image in Photoshop. Personally, I prefer the workflow and the look of the direct positive paper.
It can be a little tricky to master exposing for photographic paper; it has a far narrower latitude than photographic film. If you don’t get the exposure right, either the light areas are overexposed or even blown out, or the darker areas turn to black.
These are a few images I shot in St Ives, Cornwall, May 2025. Most of these are just phone shots of the prints in the camera.
If you’ve used the Pinsta camera or have wise words regarding using Harman Direct Positive paper, I’d love to hear from you.