Pinhole cameras are more alchemy than science.
I went prowling on-line today for pinhole exposure calculators, having had a series of badly under and overexposed shots. By rights one ought to be able to compute the f-stop by dividing the effective focal length--the distance from the pinhole to the film--by the diameter of the pinhole and work from there. Unfortunately, the relationships are not linear as exposure times get past a second or two and one has to throw in a "reciprocity-failure" multiplier for longer exposures. Fudge factors rule!
I printed the charts and tucked them into my little book, which will now have to do double duty as journal and exposure record. It will henceforth be the alchemist's journal.
From http://www.instructables.com/id/Design-and-Build-your-own-Pinhole-Camera/step9/Loading-and-Shooting/
I found an exposure calculator at http://www.mrpinhole.com/exposure.php
Today's prompt from http://writealm.com/february-prompts/