pinhole camera

This first picture is of our final product.




Over the last week we have been creating our own pinhole cameras. Cameras are machines used to capture images. The camera was first invented by an Iraqi scientist. The forerunner of the camera was the camera obscura. It was an instrument consisting of a darkened chamber or box into which light was admitted through a convex lens. A pinhole camera is a camera where the lens is replaced by an extremely small hole. This produces a more or less sharp image in light proof box. The smaller the hole, the sharper the image. The use of a pinhole camera is basically the same as a stock camera, except for the light/resolution is different. the lens takes scattered beams of light and focuses them into a cone or ray that projects n the film.

To construct our pinhole camera the first step we took was to cover a coffee can in foil so that there would be not light entering the can when a picture was not being taken. Then we poked a hole in the top of the can with a needle so that we would be able to let light in when we wanted it to take the picture. To cover the hole when we were not using the camera, we used black electrical tape. To load the camera you must be in a dark environment. You place the photo paper in the can. Once you have an object that you would like photographed, you put the camera so that the hole faces the object. Next remove the shutter and let the camera sit still for about five to fifteen minutes. After that amount of time has passed the shutter should be shut. The last step is to develope the pictures.

Constructing and taking pictures using a pinhole camera was quite a difficult task. We did not end up with a picture that worked. I believe that too much light was lit in in our pinhole camara. That caused the pictures to come out black after they were developed.

I would suggest to pick a spot that is not too bright. The place that we chose was very bright and the pictures did not turn out. Another suggestion I would make would be to make the inside of it black instead of using foil. I think that it would produce a better picture.

Main components of a pinhole camera:
light proof body
small hole/ pinhole
shutter
photo paper




Materials We Used:
can
needle
aluminum foil
tape

By: Ashley McNeil, Kasey Swanson, and Galen McKnight

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pinhole_camera