Manfred Buchheit, a photographer, photohistorian, and educator based in Holyrood, Newfoundland and Labrador, is renowned for his work with pinhole and other experimental photographic mediums. Born in Alsace, France in 1943, Buchheit’s journey with photography began at a young age. He received his first camera at the age of seven and built his own darkroom when he was 14. His family moved to Ontario, Canada in 1950, where he studied at the Ontario College of Art and found work as a medical graphic artist.

In 1971, Buchheit moved to Newfoundland, where he lived for a number of years in St. John’s before settling at Holyrood, Conception Bay. Here, he worked as a professional photographer and taught art and photography with the Memorial University Extension Service from 1975¹. In 1977, he was awarded a Canada Council Arts Grant as an Artist-in-the-Community.

Manfred Buchheit’s work with pinhole and other experimental photographic mediums has been noted and appreciated. His initial focus was on urban settings, largely the streets of historic downtown St. John’s, but this expanded to include rural settings after he moved to Holyrood¹. His work captures the essence of the city’s corners, charting the changing architecture and social landscape.

In 1984, Buchheit won first prize in the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts and Letters Competition. In 1996, the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador (now The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery) organized a 25-year retrospective of his work.

Buchheit also works extensively with archival photographs. In 1980, he became the master printer for the Newfoundland Museum’s exhibit, Newfoundland Photography 1849-1949. He subsequently organized Homage to Holloway in 1997, an exhibit that combined British photographer Robert Holloway’s scenes of Newfoundland with Buchheit’s own photographs of the same sites 100 years later.

Buchheit’s work has toured across the province and the country, and has appeared in various publications, including the Canadian literary journal Geist. His photographs are a part of many private and public collections, including The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery’s Permanent Collection, the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Fishery Products International, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Newfoundland Teachers Association.

Buchheit’s pinhole photography is not just a testament to his skill and creativity, but also a valuable record of Newfoundland’s cultural and natural history. His dedication to his craft and his love for his adopted home have made him a significant figure in the province’s artistic community.