Pinhole Cameras Part Deux

Now the student's cameras are ready to be loaded with a piece of photographic paper in the darkroom which serves as the "film." The students then take their cameras outside and remove the paper and tape covering their openings and let the light expose their paper for 2-5 minutes, depending on how bright a day it is and how large their pinhole was made. Then the students return to the darkroom, open their cameras, and develop their pinhole images. The images they get are actually negatives and are upside down and backwards, see illustration of the concept below.

The students should be posting their first images in the next few days, please give them some feedback!

Making Pinhole Cameras

Our first project this year is making pinhole cameras. These can be made out of pretty much any used household container that has a removable top.  The students learn how they can make a basic camera by making the container light tight (blocking light entry with black tape and painting it black inside to minimize light reflections). Then they make a hole in the box using a pin or small drill bit. The opening is covered up with a piece of black paper held onto the camera with tape.

Below is a pict of 5th grade Stetson Shutterbug Rashawn Pittman with his pinhole camera and first image.