JPG

By Kevin Maggio

28 Oct 2008

The Pinhole Camera is a simple camera with a small (pin sized) hole used as the shutter, which exposes Photo paper NOT FILM. It can be manufactured in two days with these simple ingrediants.

1) Shoebox (not too large"boots", not too skinny "sandles, womens heels", tenis shoe boxes work best.)

2) Flat black paint. (found at any craft or even hardware store)

3) Black electrical tape (black duct tape works too but the tape MUST be black to make the camera light tight)

4)Soda Cans (for thin metal sheets to create the "shutter")

5) X-acto Knife

6) Scissors

7)Sheets of foto paper

8) reliable timer (to find exposure times)

9) Darkroom (and all other photo developing materials)

First you need to paint the inside of the shoebox with the flat black paint. let it dry overnight. in the morning you will need to find the center of the shoebox lid then divide the halves into quarters. On the lines that mark the quarters ( the outside two) you will cut a small square out at the midpoint of the line for your metal pinhole shutters to go.You can also place one pinhole on the "top" of the shoebox and one on the front (long) side. Then, cover all seams corners or undesired holes with the black tape. Take your time Light Leaks Destroy Pictures!!

Now, set the shoebox aside. (don't worry we won't take long enough for separation anxiety to set in.)

Use scissors or tin snips to cut squares out of the tin cans. Make sure the squares will cover the holes you cut out of the shoebox COMPLETELY. Use the X-acto Knife to "drill" tiny holes in the tin squares. Hold the Knife perpindicular to the tin with the point in the center of the square and roll it back and forth in your hands till a tiny, almost invisible hole appears. The tinier the hole, the sharper the Image.

Using the black tape secure the "shutters" in their holes, being careful to tape both sides to prevent leaks.

(We're on the Home Stretch! don't give up!!!)

Finally, using the tape you can make a light tight cover for your shutters that will also keep itself open!

Yay! now the camera is finished!! (read on for some quick instruction on taking the photos.

Now you can take Photos.

do this by taping a peice of foto paper to the inside of the box opposite the shutters. (do this in a darkroom. same applies for removing the paper) for best results use paper cut to the dimensions of the box.

For a surreal look open both shutters at once and expose. you will see the same subject but from two perspectives super imposed on one another. Another trick is to use an 8x10 sheet of photo paper and wrap it around the inside of the box. (produces distorted images).

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