Out of Focus: Pinhole Cameras and their Pictures

Peter Olpe has been manufacturing customised pinhole cameras since 1978. In 2012 he donated 90 of his cameras to the Swiss Camera Museum in Vevey where the collection will be exhibited. In images and texts the book Out of Focus presents these cameras and, in addition, tells the story of the author’s ever-changing interests in pinhole photography - a written documentation of Peter Olpe’s work as a designer, photographer, illustrator and teacher. Furthermore, the creative work of 36 photographers is presented, all of whom Peter Olpe invited to take photos with one of his pinhole cameras in a kind of ‘art barter’. His offer was simple. If the resulting images were of a quality to be used in the book and the exhibition in Vevey, the camera would pass into the possession of the artist. During the project, Olpe designed many unique tailor-made cameras for the artists - and just as many diverse and surprising photographs were created using them. Text in English, French & German.