A couple of years ago I had found £20, I kept it
for a little while, as I didn’t know to whom it belonged to and what
to do with it. I invested it into the January sales; I saw a modern version
of an ancient Camera Obscura, what is also know as a pinhole camera. I bought
it, put it in a safe place to use and thought know more about it. At the beginning
of this summer I was tidying up at home and lo and behold I found the camera.
It was a kit form and so, when I was going on holiday to Bristol, I thought
if I had a spare moment I would make it.
Clifton
Suspension Bridge, Bristol My photo entered in 1st comp Sept 09 beginning
of new season.
The weather is so miserable in Bristol, I stayed in one night from that
torrential rain, what did I discover in the top of my back pack, that Pinhole
camera staring back at me, begging for me to put it together and use.
After placing the spring on the front, which didn’t
look right, I fiddled with it, took it off and Bob's your Uncle I managed
to get my creation exactly like the picture on the instruction booklet. I
was pleased as punch. Now the next tricky part was how to get the roll of
film. Yes the camera that I had purchased was more modern than the counter
parts that most people make, using an empty can of beans and sticking duck
tape over one end and placing photographic paper in the back. The booklet
had said take the end of the roll of film which did state 24 frames but I
only had a 36, which was part of my problem I think. I loaded the film into
the roller, securely closed the back, I had taken a few photos before it rolled
on. I don’t think I had the film in straight, so I thought I would have
a look see in the dark, I opened the back, the roll spiralled out a fraction,
not getting any light I would sort out the film and wind on again. It worked,
I was back in action.
The following day, the weather was a bit better, so I set
to taking snaps here and there, I held the shutter release down to let the
light through and took some amazing photos I thought would come out super.
Well I had taken a photo of the canal near Pedro Bridge. Which I have included
and a photo of a church window.
When developed in Jessops I could vaguely make out the
barges in the water and some buoys in the foreground, the picture was a bit
blurred but all the same I thought the results weren’t too bad for something
I have never done before. The church window was another good image that I
thought was good due to cross hatch effect.
Church
Window
Taken with my Pinhole Camera July 09
The staff in Jessops said “Have another go maybe
you had done something wrong”. I looked at the negatives. Yes they had
been exposed, I looked very carefully, and there were only circle thumbnail
images. What had gone wrong? I went back through my mind as to what it could
have been and opening the back of the camera wasn’t the problem. I had
an idea, the instructions said cut out a square piece of card and insert in
to the front of the camera behind a piece of foil with the hole. Insert a
needle and pierce the card. Then it tells you to insert the film, nothing
about removing the card.
Unfortunately the next batch of photos didn’t come
up to anything. They were worse than the first and I solely blame the Kodak
shop in Poole high street for that one. The images were all yellow and brown.
When I had explained to the sales assistant, please be careful, the images
could be blurred, off centre etc and that they have been taken by a pinhole
camera. Anyway 24 hours later I was so disappointed it was unreal. The woman
had marked on all that my camera was broken. Again I had explained what the
camera did. But I still don’t think she understood the nature of what
I was trying to achieve.
Clifton Suspension
Bridge
Taken by Justin Quinnell 2007 - 2008
Going back to Bristol, whilst visiting the explorer centre
in the popular part of town. I had come across the work of artist Justin Quinnell.
He is a local Bristol photographer who had made the same experiment that I
had. Although he had done it on a larger scale. He took 12 pinhole cameras
put them in different places all around the town and had left them for six
months. His results were very striking. His experiment had spanned from winter
solstice December 21st 2007 to the summer solstice June 21st 2008.
Basically the variation of the sun and how it changes in both seasons affected
the photo he took which is taken at Clifton Suspension Bridge. The very
same bridge that I had taken a photo and entered in our first competition
of this season.
This is what Jason Quillell had said to the Bristol Newspapers, when conducting
his experiment.
The Suspension Bridge solargraph, is taken by a compact camera
film cartridge (plus tiny pinhole) strapped to an inanimate object for long
periods of time. However, due to the low speed of the camera film and light
restriction (plus, as this is Bristol, plenty of overcast days), the six-month
exposure brings a surprising amount of detail to the shot. Every day when
the Sun was shining (and days when it was struggling to get through the clouds),
the path it made through the sky every day was captured.
HISTORY BEHIND THE CAMERA
OBSCURA
Diagram
showing the principle of how ight rays enter the pinhole camera, through a
small hole to form an image
Pinhole cameras date back to the 15th century, Leonardo
de Vinci experimented with the fundamental of the process. The pinhole is
a lensless camera, which can take similar shots to a super SLR. Although it
does have its limitations but is also fun to use, it obviously can’t
zoom in and is no way very quick. The exposure is very long and ranges from
30 seconds to minutes to even hours.
It all depends if you are a patient person or like new
things.The images can be exposed on film or paper. Although the paper ones
tend to take only one shot, so if you go for this option you will certainly
need to make a fair few before you go out about to use them. Unlike the paper
camera a 24 roll of film will see you through a good day. One camera, one
film and no need to think oh I took the wrong shot or spoiled it there are
still plenty more frames to use.It wasn’t until the1850’s, Sir
David Brewster a Scottish scientist, who coined the word pinhole as apposed
to camera obscura, when he recorded and published his work in a book titled
The Stereoscope in 1856. The camera has been used in various practices and
many parts of Europe. The pinhole is the forerunner to the box brownie. The
box brownie was a glorified box with a commercial value where people were
seen squinting in the sunlight due to the primitive nature of only taking
photos in strong light. It was only intended to be used for special occasions
like weddings, due to the length of time the subject had to remain in focus,
preferable still to get a decent shot.
You know you don’t have to go out and buy a camera
to get the same effect, an old tin can will do. A match box is also effective.
This is how to make one:
Find an unused light tight box or can, if not then you could always paint
the inside black. If using a tin can, make sure the top of the tin can is
stuck down with black duck tape. For better results use a 2-pound coffee can,
with a plastic lid, paint the lid black. Using the lid as the aperture, take
a small pointy screwdriver and make a hole.
HOW TO
MAKE YOUR VERY OWN PINHOLE CAMERA
Next in a darkened room; load a piece of photographic paper into the coffee
can, shiny surface facing the hole. Then place the lid on top, followed by
sticking duck tape around the lid and the can to make sure all light is blocked
out. Then find a suitable subject to take a photo. Best results wait for a
sunny day and take shot outdoors.
The size of the hole and the length of exposure will alter
the result. Here is a little help along the way. Using paper in bright sun
allow at least 2 minutes, cloudy 8 minutes, or if like me and you are using
a camera that has film loaded then use 400iso 30 seconds and 200iso 60 seconds
in bright sunlight.
I feel that I have learnt a valuable lesson; if Justin took
six months to achieve a stunning result then that is what I should have done
although I couldn’t understand my second attempt the expose was longer
than the first. My other theory is that my pinhole was quite large for a pin.
One can never tell what can happen. Give it a go! You may have better success
than I did. There are various websites and information out there on how to
make your very own pinhole camera, which uses photographic paper or you can
try my advice on making one. I do have a couple of pinhole camera
templates already down loaded from one website, if you
wanted to have a go one afternoon.
We will publish any pinhole photos into the next
edition of Skylight.
Then take a piece of aluminium foil and stick over the
hole with a good overlapping amount. Next take a number 10 needle push the
pin through the foil to make the lens. The smaller the hole the better sharper
results will appear. Cut a thick piece of card, painted black that can be
affixed to the lid to be used as a shutter release. A good idea perhaps to
secure with a paper fastener so that the card can swivel when taking photos
or can use the illustration idea for another way to fasten the card to make
the shutter.
Pinhole
camera made from a can
Barge in Canal
at Pedro’s Bridge, Bristol
Taken with my Pinhole Camera July 09
I
set to making it, it took nearly two whole hours and the night was drawing later
and later, the instructions were not very clear, where did you have to put the
spring again. Oh it was on the front which controls the aperture mechanism to
let the light in, so basically the most important part of the camera then. If
it wasn’t placed correctly then I had no chance of taking anything that
remotely resembled a photo.
Inside
view of my Pin Hole Camera
THE VISIONARY
EXPERIMENT OF A PINHOLE CAMERA
BY MARIE
STUART
