Most of us see the sun every day, but rarely stop to notice the full path it takes across the sky.
We move between desks, screens, cars and home – occasionally glancing outside or basking in its warmth momentarily, before returning to whatever demands our attention.
A new creative project challenged a group of South African photographers and creatives to do the opposite by going outdoors, slowing down and allowing nature to take control of the creative process.
For the Corona Solargraph Series, ordinary Corona cans were transformed into pinhole cameras using one of photography’s oldest techniques. A tiny hole was made in each can, and photographic paper was placed inside. The cameras were then positioned outdoors and left untouched for up to 7 days at a time.
There was no shutter to press and no image to review, edit or reshoot. But each participant’s unique location, with the camera facing North and capturing the foreground, ultimately determined the image’s outcome. The project is based on the idea that “beautiful things happen when you let the sun in”, but its creative appeal goes deeper than that.
At a time when images can be captured, altered or generated in seconds, solargraphy requires patience. This project asked its creators to accept uncertainty, while also relinquishing control.
When nature becomes the creator
A solargraph exposure can run for anything from a week to a full year, depending on the image being created.
Although the participating creatives selected the locations and framed the shots, they could not determine exactly how the final works would look.
That surrender became one of the most meaningful parts of the experience for content creator Neo Mokuene.
“It felt like an exercise in delayed gratification,” he says. “You put your camera out and let nature do its thing, rather than being in control of the process.”
Mokuene positioned one of his cameras on his balcony, where it could take in the harbour, surrounding streets and ocean as the sun moved from east to west. Another was placed beside a road to record traffic flow and the rhythm of ordinary city life.
“The whole idea is about slowing down and taking in the things in your environment that you don’t usually notice,” he says. “We see the sun every day, but we don’t really know what that movement looks like. This captures all the things you didn’t take notice of and brings them together in a single moment.”
Taking creativity into the mountains
For photographer Mike Eloff, the project was an opportunity to combine his work with his love of Cape Town’s mountains.
Corona Solargraphy SeriesFor Mike Eloff, a highlight of the project was definitely capturing his favourite mountain, Lion’s Head, in this unique way.
Eloff’s Life of Mike social media handles are highly praised for his time-lapse photography capturing the stars moving across the mountains surrounding the Cape Town City Bowl. When he was handed the Corona pinhole cameras and asked to create an image using the sun’s movement, his response was immediate, “Let’s go!”
He scouted locations for weeks before placing cameras at Kloof Corner, Chapman’s Peak and near the end of Tafelberg Road. Each spot had to offer a strong foreground, a clear view of the sky and enough seclusion for the camera to remain undisturbed.
Unfortunately, there was a planned fourth image, but it never happened because while Eloff was taping the camera to a rock, the rock fell and crushed it.
The three surviving cameras, however, produced images shaped as much by the landscape and changing light as by Eloff’s careful preparation. His favourite of course features Lion’s Head. “I had no control over how the actual image was going to come out, other than facing the camera north and knowing that the sun would move across the sky,” he says.
For someone accustomed to using technical knowledge and equipment to shape an image, this was quite the experiment for Eloff.
“This is one of my all time favourite projects,” he says.
Getting away from our desks more
The idea grew from Corona’s aim of encouraging people to spend more time outside, according to Roanna Williams, Co-Chief Creative Officer at Boundless, one of the creative agencies behind the campaign.
“We spend a lot of time sitting at our desks,” she says. “What we did here was create beautiful images using the Corona can and an ancient form of photography called pinhole photography.”
The completed images, including solargraphs created in Camps Bay, Green Point, around Table Mountain, Chapman’s Peak, Fourways and Fairy Glen Nature Reserve, have been put on display at the Corona Solargraph Series exhibition at Chimi in Cape Town.
There are early discussions about giving the works a life beyond the exhibition, whether through an online showcase, agallery collaboration, or a possible sale linked to fundraising, according to Williams.
For now, the collection offers a simple case for getting away from the desk more often.
Creativity does not always come from working faster, controlling every detail or staring harder at our work screens. Sometimes, it begins by going outside, paying attention and allowing the natural world to complete the picture for you.
Need a little inspiration to get out in nature and try it? Check out this guide to the best day hikes in Cape Town.
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