Monday, March 30, 2009

Resources

Here are the references I used to research this:
-www.kodak.com
-www.exploratorium.edu
-http://users.rcn.com/stewoody
-www.pinholeresource.com
The digital pictures shown are the same angles that I took with the pinhole. Notice how dark the window is, when actually it's a bright sunny day.




Here are a few photos I took with the pinhole, then my digital. I did this to show the different perspectives and color change.

Other photography tips:

Now that you have made your pinhole camera, what do you do with it now?? Well, many sites don't include this part of the project but it is information you need. There is no transferring the image from your pinhole camera onto a jump drive and printing it from your computer. You are going to need a dark room, chemicals, a red light and developing tools. All of these supplies are available online and some local camera shops may carry them also.
Again, the films and dark room paper are LIGHT SENSITIVE. You can't pull the dark room paper or film out in any light just as you can't open the back of a camera when you have 35mm film in it.
You will probably need to play with the 'exposure times' for your pinhole also. Since the push pin makes such a small hole, you will need to lengthen the time you are pointing at an image, cover the pinhole and get back into the darkroom. (The whole time this is going on, remember to keep the large open end of the tube covered with your black cardboard disc and foil cover.)
Lastly, keep in mind that the image you are getting is going to be a negative, that is, the light areas will be dark, and the dark areas light, as well as the image being reversed!

step 8


Step 8:
Trace the edge of the can onto the cardboard and cut out that circle; cover one side of the cardboard circle with black construction paper. This is the side that the film or darkroom paper will rest against. When you press the cardboard disk to the open end of the tube, the disk should be slightly larger than the opening of the tube. There is no need to seal this to the tube, it will have to be taken off each time you replace the film/ darkroom paper.

step 7


Step 7:
Take the sheet of black construction paper and loosely roll it and drop it inside of the can. Remember, it is going to sit on the plastic cap serving as the filter in the middle of the tube, so you will have an excess of about 2”, so cut the remaining paper off flush with the end of the can.

step 6




Step 6:
Pull out and cut approx. 1 ½ ft. of aluminum foil. Tape one end to the can, rolling the remaining foil around the can as many times as it will go, then taping the edge down. More than likely, the foil will hang over the ends of your can, this is ok. Simply tape the foil at the metal bottom end down, BUT DON’T COVER THE HOLE. You can fold the aluminum excess at the open end over into the can, creasing it to make it smooth. Remember, the camera doesn’t have to be pretty, just functional and LIGHT TIGHT!

step 5


Step 5:
Tape the clear plastic lid onto the short end of the can at the cut point, and tape the remaining tube on top of that. So basically you are reassembling the can using tape, just with the clear plastic lid dividing the two parts. Tape this well with masking tape.

step 4


Step 4:
Puncture the bottom of the can in the center of the aluminum end SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY. The aluminum bottom is slick, you may even want to tap the push pin with a hammer for the puncture. Once you have pierced the bottom, turn the push pin in the hole you’ve made to smooth out any rough edges. This is important because rough edges around the whole will distort the light coming into your camera.

step 3


Step 3:
Using your utility knife, cut the can all the way around so that you now have a 2” portion with the metal bottom and the longer portion of the tube, thus giving you two parts of the container. If your cut isn’t exactly straight, don’t worry about it, the cut will be covered by tape.

Project3-Pinhole camera

Here are the materials you'll need:

-Pringles can -push pin
-aluminum foil -black construction paper
-utility knife -flat surface
-ruler -35mm film or dark room paper
-marker -scissors
-masking tape -3 1/2" sq. piece of cardboard

Step 1:
Empty out the container in which you will be making the camera. For the sake of this demonstration we will be using a Pringles can, so wipe it well so it is free of any debris.

Step 2:
With your ruler, measure down approx. 2” from the bottom of the can, (the metal end). Mark this with your ruler all the way around the can so that you will have a straight line to use as a cutting guide.