D. J. Hinman: The Hole in the Universe | MONOVISIONS - Black & White Photography Magazine

MonoVisions Black & White Photo Contest 2025

Photographer D. J. Hinman has created a series of black-and-white photographs that burrows deeply into the subconscious, into places rarely visited during waking hours. The theme originated from a nightmare about discovering a tiny hole at the edge of the universe where bits of reality were escaping in a slow but steady stream, a frightening discovery. In the days following that nightmare, he began envisioning some of his photographs from a different point of view. These photographs, which eventually became the series “The Hole in the Universe,” were an enigma because they were so different from his usual work in terms of both content and style. These primarily are dark, disturbing, sometimes intimidating photographs. The subjects per se vary widely
almost to the extent that the subjects become unimportant. They are, in a sense, abstract images. The original photographs are from black-and-white film and hand-printed by the photographer in the darkroom.

D. J. Hinman’s goal in this series of photographs is to take viewers on a seemingly random journey through some places in the subconscious. Like the subconscious, the journey may seem kaleidoscopic. So be it.

D. J. Hinman is an avid film photographer with 28 years of experience behind the camera, first in New York and later in Japan and countries in East and Southeast Asia. He shoots only in black-and-white film, develops the negatives himself and prints them by hand on silver gelatin paper in the darkroom. He has held 13 solo exhibits in Tokyo. He has published two books of photographs, “Talad in Southeast Asia” in 2021 and “Nepal Is Calling” in 2022. D. J. Hinman has lived in Tokyo for 20 years.

Website: https://djhinman.com/