(BPP) Creating a Pinhole Camera Lesson

Creating a Pinhole Camera

In this lesson, we will explore the camera obscura concept to gain a better understanding of the foundations of photography. The term camera obscura means “darkroom”. A camera obscura can be created out of almost anything – a room, a bus, a box. The video below demonstrates using a photographic darkroom as a camera obscura. This is a perfect option because the room is already completely dark and light-tight by necessity. You only need to add a pinhole looking to the outside world and you have a camera obscura.

Take a look at the video below to get a quick view of what you see inside a camera obscura.

What happens when the light passes through the pinhole?

Video Information:

Once you prepare the darkroom you can use it to demonstrate a camera obscura. For this you need to make a hole in the covering of the window, then you hold a sheet of tracing paper or baking parchment in front of the hole and you should see an image of what's outside projected onto the paper. This image will be upside down and reversed left-to-right. What do you think causes this?

 

In this lesson we will Explore Camera Obscura and the concept of Sense of Place; Challenge our Camera Obscura and Pinhole knowledge, and Apply what we’ve learned to create our own camera obscura to record an image conveying a sense of place.

Pinhole or Camera Obscura?

Building off of the lesson introduction to camera obscura, what then is a pinhole camera? How is a pinhole camera different from a camera obscura? How are they the same?

Introduction to Pinhole Photography Video

Video Information:

A pinhole camera is a simple optical device that captures images. The camera has a small hole on one side that acts as an aperture. On the opposite side is where the paper or film is placed to capture the image. As light passes through the hole it projects an inverted and reversed image on the paper or film. Long exposure times are typical with pinhole photography. Pinhole photography offers an infinite depth of field (everything is in focus).

So What's the Difference?

The terms camera obscura and pinhole camera are often used interchangeably. For our purposes, a camera obscura is the natural optical phenomenon that occurs when an image of a scene opposite a screen (or wall) is projected through a small hole in that screen as a reversed and inverted image (left to right and upside down) on a surface opposite to the opening. A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens but with a tiny aperture – effectively a light-proof box with a small hole in one side. So the camera obscura becomes a pinhole camera when light-sensitive material is added to record the image.

Use the interactives below to learn more.

What is a Sense of Place?

What does the term “sense of place” mean? Write a few sentences explaining what sense of place means to you, then explore the concept further in the presentation below.

Let's take a look!

Video Information:

The presentation explores the concept of a sense of place. Think of the place as a living landscape. Each place has its own unique rhythm. Space is transformed into a place as it acquires as gets a definition and meaning. It's sometimes difficult to think about all of the things that make a place unique. For instance, fish don't know they are in the water, so think about the water that you swim in what makes it unique. Places are nested and dynamically co-created. Places also have emotions.

What have you learned? What did you not know before? Test your knowledge below by dragging the terms to correctly label the camera obscura and pinhole.

 

In the video below you will see a step-by-step demonstration of how to create a camera obscura. You will create your own camera obscura and experience the magic that is photography! Use your camera obscura to frame an image that conveys a strong sense of place.

  

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