Camera Explorations

Camera Explorations

Alyssa S  //  Five things about me:
1. I'm a senior at Holland Christian
2. I like peanut butter with ice cream
3. I read books like most people eat candy.
4. Astronomy fascinates me.
5. I like jazz music.

Jul 1 / 1:45pm

Camera Obscura

This summer, I decided to work on a camera obscura project. This is my first chance to get to work on it because we were gone on vacation (Florida!) and then I had a week where I started my babysitting job. Anyway....so yesterday I was able to go to buy a tarp- 10'x25', 3mm thick. Today I cut it down to the size I needed for the window. I had to triple fold it so it was light proof. First try didn't work- it was in the morning, so the sun came directly through the hole. I tried making the hole bigger and it still didn't work, so I gave up for then. This afternoon I tried again, when the sun was on the opposite side of the house. This worked much better. I actually could see a picture! 

(download)

I chose to use our bathroom- it has only one smaller window and a door that doesn't let in much light. The view is of our backyard- the red object is our umbrella on the deck.  (The first picture is of what the tarp looks like). The pictures turned out in low resolution- it is dark and my computer doesn't handle the kind of pictures my camera take very well. Hopefully I'll find away around this soon. The next step is trying to make the image brighter.

Filed under  //  bathroom   obscura   umbrella  
Jun 3 / 12:22pm

during Kristin's intense exam review....

I got an email back from Abelardo Morell today:


Dear Alyssa,

Thank you for the kind words, and for sharing your story about experimenting
with pinhole photography. My pictures are set up by turning a room into a
large camera obscura- I cover the windows with dark plastic and then make a
hole in the plastic, allowing the light, and therefore the image to enter
the room (just like light enters a pinhole camera). Then I photograph the
image that appears on the walls inside the room.

Best of luck with your project,

Abe

I was really glad to get an email back and it was very interesting to hear more about a camera obscura. This is something I'm really considering trying (probably this summer). I would need to do more research, but it sounds like I would turn my room into a giant pinhole camera. I also have a few more pictures. The first, I took over Memorial Day weekend to Traverse City. It was supposed to be of the lighthouse, but unfortunately the film got displaced from the back. The next is a flower in out backyard, but it was too shaky while I was taking the picture. The next two are self pictures. The first I was in a shadow, so I turned out too dark. The next one turned out nicely. The final one is of the train tracks in Zeeland.

(download)

Filed under  //  Morell   obscura