Photography
Pinhole Camera
There are numerous websites online and books written on this subject. This is fun to research and see what is out there. Pinhole cameras can be made from a wide variety of materials and come in all shapes and sizes. I have a template for a pinhole camera below. This pinhole camera takes 5" x 7" photographic paper, which has to be developed in the darkroom.
Here is a list of items you will need to construct this particular pinhole camera:
Here is a list of items you will need to construct this particular pinhole camera:
- The five templates (pdf template below)
- Black foam core poster board
- Exacto knife (Be careful—this can cut through flesh)
- Black gaffer tape (If you can't find this—you can use black duct tape or black masking tape)
- Sheet metal from a soda can or roof flashing (about 2 inches square)
- Metal ruler/straight edge with cork backing
- Scissors
- Sandpaper
- The thinnest hand sewing needle you can find
pinholecameratemplate.pdf | |
File Size: | 1360 kb |
File Type: |
Pinhole Camera DIY from Susan Striepe on Vimeo.
- Place your templates on the black foam core and trace their outlines.
- Cut straight through the foam core, so that you have the five separate components.
- On the dashed lines of the three boxes, only cut half way through the foam core.
- On the shutter, cut straight through the dashed lines.
- Use the gaffer tape to hold together all the corners of the three boxes.
- Cut a 2 inch square from an aluminum soda can and pierce the center with a thin hand sewing needle
- Sand the the metal and place it on the inside of the smallest box, secure with gaffer tape.
- Place the shutter and shutter release on largest box, as shown in the video, secure with gaffer tape
Some Examples
It is interesting to note that when you take the print out of the pinhole camera (do this in the darkroom!) it is going to look like a negative when you develop it. I took a digital photo of each of the pinhole pictures and inverted them in photoshop (image>adjustments>invert). Here are the before and after pictures. The pinhole creates moody vignetting. The shutter speed varied: The first photograph was 5 minutes, the second photograph was 3 minutes, and the third photograph was 8 minutes. They were taken in the early morning in September, on the shady side of the house.
Making a Room into a Pinhole Camera
The room should have a window view to the outside. Block all light sources, including the window. Some suggested materials black garbage bags, black poster board, and black gaffer tape. Make a hole about the size of a pencil on one of the blocked up spaces near a window. Light travels in straight lines and the outside will be reflected in the interior of the room, upside down and back to front. If the images look black and white, take a photo of the walls and/or ceiling, you will be surprised that the camera picks up color quite vividly and better than our eyes. This is a great way of understanding how our eyes work and how tools, like photography, can deepen our perception of the outside world and our understanding of the limits of perceptive tools.
Pinhole1 from Susan Striepe on Vimeo.
Pinhole2 from Susan Striepe on Vimeo.