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| Teens Teach | Pinhole Viewer | Sunprint |
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The camera obscura was one of the first ways in which people were able to manipulate and project light onto a desired surface. It was accidentally discovered hundreds of years ago as a natural phenomenon that occured in the tents of Arabian nomads. The tents would be sealed off from the harsh desert light, but if there happened to be a hole in the tnet's side then an upside down image of what was going on outside would be "miraculously" projected onto the opposite wall. Using the first crude lenses people could refine this into a technique, thus controlling the quality of the image.
"Camera obscura" is Latin for dark room. Camera obscuras were an early astronomical tool, allowing people to chart the movements of stars and planets more accurately. Artists used them during the Renaissance as methods of transfering live images more precisely to paper for tracing. This ability to capture light is a fundamental concept behind photography, only now the tent is replaced by a camera's body and the side wall by light-sensitive film. Here is the finished camera obscura that you will build.
Here is an unassembled camera obscura
These are the materials used to make a camera obscura:
1. PVC tubing 2. Eight 3- way elbow joints for the PVC tubing four 3. T-shape joints for the crossbars 4. Light proof tarp available at fabric stores 5. A small mirror, magnifying sheet 6. Binder clips, cardboard, .
Put together the PVC tubes as shown.
This is how the skeleton of the box should look. Cover the frame with light proof material. Poke a hole in the top or the side to act as your aperture.
The mirror is placed at an angle on top of the magnifying glass (the lense) over a hole (the aperture) in the tarp on top of the box. The magnifying glass is supported by the crossbeams.
Have one or two people go inside the camera obscura with a cardboard screen. Close the corners of the tarp with the clips to keep the light from leaking in. When an image refelcts off the mirror through the aperature, you can see it projected on the screen. This works best in bright light.
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