THE WRIGHT CENTER

FOR
SCIENCE EDUCATION
Innovative Curriculum Series,
Edited by Cathleen Banister-Marx

The Camera Obscura & Pinhole Photography

Jim Kosinski

Wright Center for Science Education, Tufts University

Tufts Massachusetts Space Fondation H. Commonwealth Foundation for

University Grant Consortium Dudley Wright of Massachusetts the Future

Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, MA 02155

(617) 627-5394 • FAX (617)627-3995 • wright_center@tufts.edu
http://www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center
The Camera Obscura and Pinhole Photography
A Hands-on Process Approach

Jim Kosinski

Wright Center for Innovative Science Education

Tufts University
Medford, MA

Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................1

A Brief History of the Natural Camera ....................................2

Constructing the Camera Obscura............................................5

Observing the Basic Image in the Camera Obscura............8

Additional developmental Activities.................................... 11

Student Assessment..................................................................... 17

Meeting National Science Education Standards.............. 18

The Pinhole Camera...................................................................... 19

Constructing a Film Can Camera........................................22

The Black & White Darkroom Process............................... 25

Demonstrating the Darkroom Process.............................28

Contact Printing.......................................................................34

Disposal of the Chemicals.................................................... 36

Materials.......................................................................................... 37

References....................................................................................... 38
Introduction
In the teaching of arts and science, the creation of a room–sized giant camera and the use of
pinhole cameras generates a high degree of enthusiasm for learning in students of all ages.
The images formed by the camera obscura are fascinating. No special technology is required
and the entire event can succeed on even the smallest budget. Knowledge and appreciation of
light and image formation are gained directly in a hands–on, interactive environment. This
project will work well in elementary, middle and high schools.

The activities included here are developmental and designed for success. A giant camera can
be demonstrated in one or two class periods using only recycled materials and tape, or the
project can last a week or longer by adding a pinhole camera and darkroom component. With
small cameras made from recycled film canisters and pie tins and the use of small sizes of
photographic materials, the darkroom component is very manageable and can be amazingly
low in cost.

Black and white processing can even take place without a darkroom if you have a film
developing tank and a photographer’s changing bag to load the camera and to transfer the
paper into the tank for developing. Since it’s completely dark inside the changing bag, you can
manage the whole creative process in any location, either outdoors or in room light.

The term camera obscura (Latin) means “dark chamber”. Centuries ago it was found that a
small aperture would naturally form an image inside a dark space such as a cave, nomadic tent
or room. Artists would bring their materials into such a room to draw the surrounding scene in
great detail and people would entertain themselves by watching the images move in real time
(the first movies).

Entertainment & education in a Victorian camera obscura

http://www.brightbytes.com/cosite/cohome.htm

The camera obscura evolved into a portable tentlike device. This trend continued and cameras
became smaller and more boxlike. Apertures shrank along with camera size in order to
maintain sharp focus, finally reaching the diameter of a pin. This served as the prototype for
the first cameras that used chemical means of recording images. Lenses were added to
brighten and sharpen the image, but pinhole cameras have always been part of photography.
In our time, there is a widespread renewal of interest in photography without lenses.

1
A Brief History of the Natural Camera
The camera obscura is thought to be one of the first three optical devices used by man. The
second is the shadow. The third is described with an ancient joke that goes like this: “Hey, I’ve
invented a device that can see through walls!” “Really, what do you call it?” “A window!”

It has been known for centuries that in nature a small hole can form an image. This method of
natural image formation predates the use of lenses. Early recording of the image was done by
hand. At first, an artist or astronomer would create a dark room with a small aperture that
would cause an image to be formed inside the room. The image formed could be quite large
and could easily cover more than one wall. In fact, the image existed throughout the room but
was only visible when light was intercepted by a solid object, such as a wall, paper or canvas.
Translucent materials like onionskin also showed the image quite well.

At first the image baffled the artist-scientist. It was upside down and backwards compared to
the way the eye saw the scene outside. It was then discovered that a straight line could be
made from any point on the image, through the aperture to the corresponding point in the
subject. It held true for every point. These observations consolidated our understanding that
light forms rays that travel in straight lines.

Camera obscura showing light rays traveling in straight lines,

Reinerus Gemma-Frisius, 1544

http://www.cinemedia.net/SFCV-RMIT-Annex/rnaughton/CAMERA_OBSCURA.html

The artist could intercept the image anywhere inside the room. If it was captured close to the
aperture, the image had a wide angle of view. If an image farther back from the aperture was
chosen, the angle of view was decreased. From these early exercises the theory of perspective
drawing was developed and applied.

2
 An artist working in a portable camera obscura, Athanasius Kircher, 1646
http://www.cinemedia.net/SFCV-RMIT-Annex/rnaughton/CAMERA_OBSCURA.html

Most early practitioners were concerned with images showing normal perspective, which was
achieved when the screen was placed perpendicular to the axis of the aperture. However,
some experimenters placed the recording media at different angles resulting in distorted
perspective. Interestingly enough, images that looked distorted from one point of view might
look quite normal from another. This gave rise to the art of trompe l’oeil, French for “fooling
the eye”.

The camera obscura underwent the process of miniaturization. It was built as a portable tent
or room, further shrunk to the size of furniture and finally made small enough to be carried by
hand and placed on a tripod or solid object. As camera size decreased, it was necessary to
reduce the diameter of the aperture in order to maintain sharp images. As apertures became
very small, it became difficult to see the image. This problem was overcome when the lens,
which could focus light using a relatively large aperture and form a brighter image, was
introduced. The portable camera obscura with a lens is the first prototype of today’s view
cameras.

An artist drawing on a desk-sized camera obscura in the 18th century.

http://www.cinemedia.net/SFCV-RMIT-Annex/rnaughton/CAMERA_OBSCURA.html

3
The round hole and the lens produce two very different kinds of images. A round hole does not
focus light but allows rays of light to pass through. The rays are small and once passed the
aperture continue to widen inside the dark chamber. Every point in the subject, whether near
or far, is focused exactly the same way by the aperture. Since objects from the camera to
infinity are in sharp focus, the camera obscura and pinhole camera are said to have “infinite
depth of field”.

The lens, on the other hand, takes a ray of light from a point in the subject and bends it so that
it is completely refocused at a single point behind the lens, producing very sharp details.
However, the ability of a lens to accomplish this task does not extend to all objects in front of
the camera. It can only focus a range in the middle ground of the subject. This sharply focused
range is called depth of field, which shifts as the lens is focused on subjects nearby or far
away. Thus, images formed by lenses have areas of sharpness and areas that are not focused
sharply. The images are also upside down and backwards unless optically corrected by prism
devices.

Finally, with the introduction of chemically based photographic emulsions (c. 1820), it became
possible to capture a permanent image in a short time and reproduce the image easily. The
materials were placed in devices with and without lenses in order to make photographs.
Lensless cameras were small with apertures close to the size of a pin’s diameter and became
known as “pinhole cameras”. Apertures of this size have been made by countless amateurs
using pins. The pinhole camera became an important tool in education and the arts and also
evolved as a useful tool in science, astronomy and space exploration. The heritage of the
camera obscura along with pinhole cameras made by amateurs, professionals and camera
manufacturers continues to be rich and active and is undergoing something of a renaissance at
the present time.

Box camera obscura, early 1800s, prototype of the view camera still in use today
http://www.newcastle.edu.au/department/fad/fi/woodrow/anal-2.htm

4
Constructing the Camera Obscura (You can do this at home!)

Choose An Appropriate Room:

Interesting environments make interesting images. The view outside the camera obscura
should be bright and a room with an outdoor window works best. A higher interest level will be
gained if there are objects moving in the view, such as vehicles, rivers, flags, etc. The outside
should be accessible so that students can go out and get into the picture themselves. Also, it is
a big advantage if the sun shines on the window.

This bathroom is good for a camera

obscura because it has a small window
and the walls are white.

Here is the scene outside the way a digital camera sees it:

Cover the Windows:

The room must be dark inside in order to see the image clearly. If you like, the room-sized
camera can also be used as a photographic darkroom for further study. Many different
materials can be used to cover windows. Small sections can be taped together. Black tape can
be used to cover any small holes where light comes through.

5
Materials:
Here are a few materials that are inexpensive and easy to find:
Black plastic
Recycled cardboard
Photo-backdrop paper
Heavy duty aluminum foil on wide rolls
Black cloth
Wood panels

In some situations you might have to put on two layers to achieve sufficient darkness in the
room. If you want to use the room as a photography darkroom, all sources of white light must
be eliminated.

Apertures:

Different apertures are used to show different properties of image formation. These apertures
need an opening to be set into. Cut a 2-inch square pilot hole in the window covering, just
about in the middle of the wall. More than one pilot hole can be placed in the window to allow
for more than one group of students to be active or to study the optical effects of more than
one opening.

The window is covered. A pilot hole is Even the pilot hole will form a
cut out near the center of the cardboard. simple image inside the room.
The picture on the wall is blurry
because the pilot hole is large.

It is not actually necessary to use a room for this project. A large cardboard box, a handmade
cardboard structure, a van or school bus along with many other options are at your creative
fingertips. This will integrate the project with design, structure and architecture themes.

Simple materials should be used to make apertures, such as black paper, cardboard, aluminum
baking pans or soda cans. They can be cut with a scissors, X-acto knife or can be drilled,
depending on the capabilities of the students and teachers. Metal apertures need to be sanded
for safety to remove any burrs and sharp projections. An assortment of washers can be used to
make small apertures.

Basic apertures are round and the size of the apertures should vary. Common objects can be
used for reference. These include a quarter or dime. Washers and other readymade objects will
provide smaller apertures without the need for tools. The shape of the apertures can also vary.
Try squares, rectangles, triangles, slits, stars, ellipses, etc. Apertures with more than one
opening can also be created.
6
 The aperture on the left was made by tracing the shape of a coin with an X-acto knife.
The one on the right was made with a hole punch.

Apertures are placed over the pilot hole in the window. They should be easy to work with and
the pilot hole must be covered so that light only comes in through the aperture itself. To
accomplish this, the apertures can be taped onto a sturdy cardboard mount that is about 4-inch
square with the center removed to allow light to pass through the aperture.

Viewing Screen:
Viewing screens can be made from reflective or translucent materials like white paper, tracing
paper or drafting film. A translucent screen is easier to use in demonstrations because the
image can be viewed from both sides. Screen material can be taped onto a frame cut out of
cardboard, foam core or any other rigid material at hand. It can be any size, but a two-foot
square is adequate for most demonstrations.

7
Observing the Basic Image in a Camera Obscura
Once you have placed an aperture in the window and can see the image, the following
questions can be used to help students understand what is physically happening in the camera.
Start with an aperture about the size of a dime for rooms about ten feet deep. Larger
apertures can be used for bigger rooms.

Where is the image?

Without a screen, the image is located on all the surfaces that the light encounters. A hand-held
viewing screen will show that the image can be formed throughout the room.

How is the image oriented?

The entire image is upside down and backwards. Light rays from objects in the scene travel in
straight lines through the aperture to form the image.

How sharp is the image?

Discuss the relative sharpness of the scene. Sharpness changes with aperture size.

The aperture used to project the image on the left has a larger diameter than the one used
to create the image on the right. Image sharpness increases as aperture diameter decreases.

How bright is the image?

It may take several minutes for your eyes to adjust to the light level in the camera. At first the
image will be hard to see. After the eyes adjust, it will be much easier to see the details.
Brightness changes with aperture size.

Is there any motion in the picture?

Objects moving outside will move in real time inside the giant camera. This happens at the
speed of light! Students enjoy watching each other.

What about colors?

On a white wall the colors are accurate but they will pick up the tint of other colors on the wall
or screen.

8
Name Class Date

Observing the Basic Image in a Camera Obscura

1. Where is the image?

2. How is the image oriented?

3. How sharp is the image?

4. How bright is the image?

5. Is there any motion in the picture?

6. What about colors?

9
Activities for the Camera Obscura:

When the basic image is realized these follow-up activities can be helpful. They are easily
accomplished in one class period.

• Pass the viewing screen around the room to show that the image forms almost
everywhere. Try to find a place where the image does not form.

• Insert apertures of different sizes to show that image sharpness increases with smaller
apertures and brightness increases with larger apertures.

• Change the distance from the screen to the aperture to show that angle of view
increases as you approach the aperture. Different sized apertures will focus an image at
different distances. Smaller apertures focus closer to the window.

• Send a group of people outside to move around. Continue until everyone has had a
chance to participate.

• Put snow or water on the outside of the window and watch the movement in the camera.
When these slide down the window over the aperture, they will be seen as “sliding up
the wall” on the image, seeming to defy gravity.

• Place a simple lens, such as a magnifying glass, over the aperture to see how a lens
makes a sharper and brighter image. You’ll have to move the screen back and forth to
find the correct focusing distance from the pinhole. The distance at which far away
objects are focused by a lens is called the focal length of the lens.

• Encourage students to try a simple experiment of their own choice.

10
Additional Developmental Activities
Basic Activities:

• Make apertures with different shapes. Make apertures with more than one hole. Here
are some ideas:

• Place the viewing screen at different angles to the axis of the aperture for ‘special
effects’.

• Make a curved or bent viewing screen.

• Draw the projected image on a large piece of paper (a good group activity). Take the
drawing outside and compare it to the scene. Objects outside that are close to the
window will be magnified in the camera.

• Invite a photographer into your classroom.

Your own ideas:

11
Intermediate Activities

• Explore what kind of images form on the surface of different objects, such as a baseball,
ice cream cone, glass of milk or other objects. You can cover the objects with white
paper to see the image clearly.

• Place colored cellophane, gels or filters over the aperture to change the color of the
image. Color mixing can be studied. For example, blue + yellow = green.

• Draw portraits of people sitting outside the window.

• Use a mirror to redirect the image. How does a mirror change the orientation of the
image?

• Measure the angle of incidence of the sun (the angle between the ray and the floor).

• Take some photographs with a lens camera of the image inside the camera obscura.

• Will a tube form an image? Hold a bundle of straws together with a rubber band and
place it over the opening in the window.

• Search the web for camera obscura installations.

This Victorian era camera obscura in New York’s

Central Park was photographed with a stereo
camera so it could be seen with a 3D effect.
http://brightbytes.com/cosite/collection.html

Here’s a playful one in San Francisco,

constructed a century later.
http://www.cinemedia.net/SFCV-RMIT-
Annex/rnaughton/CAMERA_OBSCURA.html
• Take a class trip to an existing camera obscura installation.

• Your own ideas:

12
Advanced Activities

• Mark the location of the sun at different times of day. When the marks are connected,
you will have a “sun track” for that day. If this is extended over a period of time, you
will be able to chart the path of the sun over the course of a season or year. This
technique can be used to make a solar clock.

• Explore the optical properties of different lenses. Include image formation, focal length,
combinations of lenses, etc. Encourage students to try their own ideas.

• Design and build a cardboard camera–obscura room that can be carried from place to
place. Cardboard and duct tape are the easiest materials to use.

• Design a system for determining the speed of objects outside the camera obscura using
the image that is projected on the inside. Try cars, bikes, people walking, dogs, cats,
ants, etc.

• Try this at night if you are in a dark neighborhood. Turn on the lights inside the camera
obscura. Bring the viewing screen outside and hold it near the aperture. What do you
think will happen? This activity turns space into a camera obscura and is a good analogy
for microcosm and macrocosm.

• Make a camera obscura at home.

• Start a project to design and build a camera obscura in your community.

• Start a photography club.

• Your own ideas:

13
Name Class Date

Draw this scenic landscape as it would appear inside a camera obscura.

Draw this cup of coffee as it would appear in a camera obscura.

14
Teacher Page:

Draw this scenic landscape as it would appear inside a camera obscura.

Draw this cup of coffee as it would appear in a camera obscura.

15
Name Class Date

Angle of View
Measure the angle of view at different distances behind the aperture. Start very close to the
window. Graph your results.

Distance from Aperture Angle of View (Degree)

(centimeters or meters)

16
 Name Class Date

Aperture Diameter
For a series of round apertures of different sizes, measure the distance from the aperture to
the plane where the sharpest image forms. Graph your results.

Aperature Diameter Distance to Plane of Sharoest Image

(centimeters or millimeters) (centimeters or milimeters)

17
Student Assessment
Concept Basic Level Beyond the Basics
Image Formation A small aperture naturally The image forms throughout
forms an image in a camera the chamber and must
obscura. encounter a reflective
surface to be seen.

Image Orientation Images are formed upside Images can be reoriented

down and backwards with mirrors and prisms.
because light rays travel in
straight lines.

Image Sharpness A smaller hole makes a The distance at which a

sharper image. sharp image is formed is a
function of the aperture
diameter.

Perspective The images formed at right Perspective can be distorted

angles to the axis of the by changing the angle of the
aperture have normal, one- viewing screen or other
point perspective. surface the images fall on.

Angle of View An image closer to the Angle of view is a function of

aperture has a wider angle of the distance from the
view. aperture to the image.

Images Formed by a Lens A lens forms a sharper image The image formed by a lens
than a simple aperture. is restricted to a very small
volume of the room.

Colors The image colors are the Image colors can be

same as the subject if you modified with filters.
use a white surface for
viewing.

Motion You can see things moving Motion is projected in real

in the camera obscura. time at the speed of light.

18
Meeting National Science Education Standards
The combination of a camera obscura and making black and white photographs with pinhole
cameras is an ideal way to present a project that meets all of the educational standards in a
manner that is easy to implement and is designed for success in elementary, middle-school and
high-school programs. Here is a brief list of topics for each standard of science content. Topics
are easily integrated. Individual teachers can add to this list according to the uniqueness of
their educational environment.

Unifying Concepts • Biology: vision and model of the eye

• Physics: optics, light, total darkness – full spectrum
• Chemistry: chemical reactions, solutions, silver
• Extended to other fields (art, history, journalism)

Inquiry • Hands on learning of how things work

• Opportunity for personal inquiry, what if I….?
• I can record the world around me

Physical Science • Acids & bases

• Process control
• Time, fraction of a second - year
• Recovery of silver from used fixer

Life Science • Image formation by living creatures

• Pupil dilation related to apertures
• Chemical recording of images in the brain
• Medicine, recording growth in the womb (Nilsson)

Earth & Space Science • Study of the Earth’s path, sunspots

• Viewing an eclipse with a camera obscura
• Use of pinhole cameras on space mission

Science & Technology • Creating tools based on natural phenomenon

• Integrating diverse physical systems
• Study of high energy particles with pinhole cameras

Personal & Social Perspectives
History and Nature of Science
• Photography is used to help resolve social issues (see
work of Lewis W. Hine, Margaret Bourke-White, Farm
Securities Administration)
• Photography as holistic education
• Self discovery & communication
• A very interesting time line can be constructed using
the resources cited

19
The Pinhole Camera
A pinhole camera is a logical projection of the camera obscura. Making pinhole cameras from
recycled materials is a rich tradition in photography and in classrooms around the world.

The pinhole is an important part of the camera because it forms the image. It can be anything
from a hole quickly made in a piece of paper with a common pin to one that was calculated by
a mathematical formula and tooled with high-tech instruments. The important thing is to make
sure it is the best pinhole for your application. The camera body can be made from anything, as
long as it’s dark inside!

A tiny hole is needed for this type of photography. It does not have to be round to actually
form an image. Slits, slices and other configurations will form images unique to their shapes
and are worth experimenting with. However, the round pinhole is the true workhorse of this
genre.

There are a range of materials available for making pinholes. The most common are paper and
metal. If paper is used, it should be thin, opaque and sturdy enough to withstand the
penetration of a pin. The most common metals used are brass and aluminum. Thin brass and
aluminum stock can be purchased at hobby shops. Aluminum baking pans or soda cans are
widely used (foil is too flimsy). Pinholes have been made with gold, silver or lead worked into a
thin sheet. Silver can be placed in selenium toner for a few minutes for a protective coating.
Both paper and metal pinholes can be darkened with permanent marker to absorb stray light.

It is best to take time in making the pinhole in order to get the best results. It only takes a little
extra time and attention to turn an okay pinhole into a really good one. The hole should be as
round as possible and free of debris. A few minutes of care in drilling, sanding and checking the
hole will result in many hours, if not years, of enjoyable photography.

The two main variables that affect image formation are the diameter of the pinhole and the
focal length. The focal length is the distance from the pinhole to the paper or film. For sharp
pictures there is a direct relationship between the pinhole diameter and the distance from the
pinhole to the emulsion. Shorter distances require smaller diameters in order to maintain sharp
details.

If the hole gets too small, diffraction and interference effects will cause the image to become
unsharp. The image will also be out of focus if the aperture is too large. These observations
lead us to the idea that there is an optimum pinhole diameter for each camera length when it
comes to image sharpness. If the material is thick, the light acts as if it is passing through a
cylinder instead of a plane, again forming a more softly focused image. These are not errors,
they are attributes. A photographer uses these concepts creatively!

Very Precise Pinholes (optional)

There are so many published formulas to calculate the optimum pinhole diameter that it may
lead you to believe it does not exist! The reason for so many formulas is that they were
derived to fit the specific conditions of light and geometry used in the numerous experiments
of each practitioner. They can help in getting started, and you can try out different sizes to suit
your whimsy. The numbers in the formulas are oriented to very specific units, so be careful.
Here are a couple of handy ones:

20
 A = the square root of [55 times F] -or-

A = 7.416 times the square root of F

where A = the aperture diameter in thousandths of an inch

and F = the focal length of the camera in inches
(Renner, 1995, p118)

and

D = the square root of [0.00007 times V] -or-

D = 0.0084 times the square root of V

where D = the aperture diameter in inches

and V = the focal length of the camera in inches
(Photo Lab Index, 1971, p9-29)

Let’s see what happens if we want to design a ten-inch camera using these two formulas (the
square root of 10 = 3.162).

A = 7.416 x 3.162 = 23.5 thousandths = 0.0235 inches

D = 0.0084 x 3.162 = 0.0266 inches

These figures differ by about 11%. In practice, this difference is nothing to worry about when
you make pinholes with a sewing needle!

Measuring Pinhole Diameters

Close inspection of a needle reveals quite an interesting fact. They are not of uniform diameter
from tip to eye! The very tip has one angle of taper while the rest of the needle is tapered at
another angle altogether. Where does the diameter listed in the chart apply? Suppose you have
needles and don’t know their size?

A simple technique can be used to measure diameter quite accurately.

It was used by Isaac Newton, the father of classical physics, in his
studies of light. Simply line up a number of needles until they equal a
measuring unit and then divide the total length [span] by the number
of needles. The most accurate arrangement is when every other
needle faces in the opposite direction and they are taped together to
keep from moving. With a good ruler, you can easily measure the
diameter at any point on the needle using this method.

These needles were placed on a magnet. It took 13 needles to

precisely measure 3/10 of an inch on this architect’s ruler. The needle
diameter is 0.3 inch divided by 13 = 0.23 inch. Your precision will
increase as more needles are added. You can enlarge this
demonstration on an overhead projector if you use a transparent ruler
and clear tape.

21
Creating Pinholes

In forming the pinhole a combination of pressure and rotation is used to make the hole. Since
needles are very hard to handle it is best to make a simple tool to accomplish the task. The
needle can be pushed into a pencil eraser or a small piece of wood or it can be placed in an
Xacto knife holder. Some people just wrap masking tape around the eye end, making it easier
to hold.

The best pinholes are made a little at a time. Start by pushing and turning the needle until it
just pokes through the pinhole plate if using soft materials (or a small dimple is formed on the
back side if using hard materials). Alternatively, you can push the needle with one hand while
rotating the metal with the other hand. Use a fine grit sand paper to remove the dimple. Then
place the needle on the same point and repeat the motion. Sand it down. Keep repeating the
process until your hole is formed and the needle is far enough through the hole to create the
diameter you need.

In practice, especially with younger folks, the needle often pushes through on the first try. Not
to worry! It will still form a pleasing image. Another problem shows up when the needle misses
the first hole and makes another one right next to it. This can be seen when you check the
pinhole closely with a magnifier, reading glasses or loupe. A camera lens, detached from the
body, makes an excellent magnifier when you look through the front. You can put the pinhole
in an enlarger or a slide projector to check it. An overhead projector works, too. Be extra
careful of sharp edges when you bring that piece of metal close to your eye to check
it!

If there is any debris in the hole, it can be removed using the point of the needle and sand
paper. For thicker metals, initial sanding can be done with a medium-fine material (e.g. 240
grit) while final sanding should be done with very fine material (400 or 600 grit). For thinner
metals, use very fine grit only. Sand both sides for smoothness and also to reduce the metal’s
thickness.

22
Constructing a Film Can Camera
Two black plastic film canisters, a pinhole and some black vinyl tape are all you need to make
this whimsical camera. There are some advantages to this camera size. Due to its short focal
length the exposures are relatively fast. You can work outdoors with exposures less than five-
seconds if it’s a bright day. Film cans are readily available. Photo shops like to give them away
for recycling. These cameras can be made quickly with no special tools. Students can each
make more than one camera for flexibility and experimentation.

The film canisters can be cut with scissors. The one on

the left is for the shutter and was cut to make a
revolving slit: Remove the bottom completely and then
cut a vertical slit about 1/8-inch wide all the way from
the top to the bottom. Use the second canister to make
the camera body. Punch a small hole (use a one-hole
punch) near the center of the canister. This acts as a
window for the pinhole plate. Make sure the cap fits
tightly. A pointer of some sort placed on the cap helps to
locate the pinhole when you are ready to take a picture.

Materials:

• Scissors or other cutting device and black vinyl tape

• Small rectangle of metal (the pinhole plate) cut from a soda can,
• Aluminum baking pan, etc. (3/4" square)
• Sand paper (Very fine-240 or 400 grit)
• Needle (size 9 or 10) inserted into a pencil eraser
• Mat or thick piece of paper to work on so your table won’t get scratched

Procedure:

To drill the hole: rotate and push the needle into the pinhole plate until it goes through the
metal. Sand the metal until it is smooth. Open the hole a little at a time, alternating sanding
and drilling. For these small cameras, the needle should penetrate just a little, keeping the
pinhole diameter to a minimum.

23
Hold the pinhole up to a light and check it for roundness and clarity. You can use your eye, a
magnifier, a pair of reading glasses, etc. Be very careful if you bring that piece of metal
close to your eye, it has sharp edges. If the pinhole is not clean you can gently work the tip
of the pin to remove any debris. Sometimes you have to sand the back and front to get a
completely clean pinhole. Clear the pinhole by blowing air through it.

Black vinyl tape is placed all around the pinhole plate before it is placed into the camera body.
The tape must keep all light from coming into the camera around the edges of the pinhole
plate. Set the pinhole in the center of the punched hole and press the tape down inside the
camera to make a good seal all around the plate.

The pinhole plate is surrounded by black

vinyl tape and placed in the camera.

The pinhole shows through the round window

that was made with the hole punch.

Cover the pinhole with the rotating shutter.

The camera can now be loaded with photographic film or paper in your darkroom.
A satin or matte surface paper is recommended to reduce glare inside the camera.

During an exposure the camera is pointed at a subject. To start an exposure the shutter is
rotated to allow light into the camera through the pinhole. At the end of the exposure time the
shutter is rotated to cover the pinhole up again.

24
THE BLACK and WHITE DARKROOM PROCESS

Background

Conventional photographic emulsions contain silver salts of the halide family (Cl, Br, I) that are
sensitive to light. They are applied in emulsions on film or paper. Since the materials are light
sensitive, they must be carefully handled in the proper light environment to preserve their
usefulness. Generally speaking, all films are handled and processed in complete darkness and
black and white papers are handled and processed in darkroom safelight, which is in the red to
amber range. There are exceptions for both films and papers.

When a photographic emulsion is exposed to light, a disturbance takes place in the molecules
of the silver salts. This disturbance, from point to point, is directly proportional to the intensity
of the light reaching the emulsion. The resulting effect, although still invisible, is called a
latent image and can last a very long time (I have developed film that was exposed forty years
previously and obtained excellent results.)

In black and white photography the image is brought into view by placing the exposed material
in a developer solution, which is alkaline. The developer reaction converts exposed silver salts
into elemental silver. The amount of silver formed by the reaction is also directly proportional
to the amount of light that reached the emulsion at every point. The image becomes visible
during development.

When development reaches the desired level, the material is placed in a second solution to
stop the reaction. The second solution is called a stop bath and can either be properly acidic,
which neutralizes the developer, or it can be water, which dilutes the developer enough to halt
chemical activity. At this point, there are two forms of silver in the emulsion—some of the
original silver salts that did not participate in image formation and silver metal that formed the
image.

It is necessary to remove all remaining silver salts if the image is to be permanent. If the silver
salts are left they will become exposed to light and turn dark on their own. They are removed
by placing the material in a third bath called the fixer. The fixer, also acidic, dissolves all of the
unused silver salts and leaves only metallic silver. After washing the fixer out of the emulsion,
the image is permanent.

In conventional black and white photography a continuous gradation of gray tones from white
to black can be formed on an image. The tones on the first image are an inversion of the tones
perceived in the physical subject. Darker tones in the image are areas of dense silver build-up
and are created where an abundance of light from the subject’s bright zones reached the
emulsion. Lighter tones in the image are created where less light from the subject reached the
emulsion. What looks bright in the subject will look dark in the image and vice-versa. This is
called a negative, which forms on either film or paper.

Since most people preferred to see tones as they are perceived in the subject, the negative
tones from the original image needed to be inverted. Passing light through the negative will
invert the tones in the negative’s emulsion to positive values similar to those seen in the
original subject. A new piece of photographic material is positioned to capture these positive
values and then developed to create a positive image.

If the positive is to be the same size as the negative, the positive image can be formed without
a lens using a method known as contact printing. This is done by placing the emulsions of the
negative and the new sheet of material in direct contact and passing light through the back of
the negative in order to expose the positive.
25
If the positive is to be a different size from the negative, the new image must be formed by
projection. The negative must be positioned above the new sheet of material and focused onto
the material by an appropriate lens before the new sheet of material is exposed.

Interestingly, a positive image can be made by taking a picture of the negative using film for
prints or photographic paper. This does not hold true with slide film or digital cameras.

Safety in the Darkroom

Before you begin, take a few minutes to become familiar with safety procedures in the
darkroom. Fortunately, the Black and White process is not dangerous. Many products found in a
supermarket pose more of a health hazard! Safety glasses, rubber or plastic gloves and an
apron are the maximum personal protection recommended industrywide when working with
black and white chemistry.

Good air quality is important, so if your space is small, open the door frequently to let fresh air
in. A good ventilation arrangement is to have clean air coming in at the bottom of the space
and exhaust air flowing out at the top. An exhaust fan helps a lot, but a stand-alone fan inside
a small space does not.

There are four ways chemicals can interact with you; breathing, swallowing,
through the skin and in the eyes.

• Rinse with plenty of water for skin contact.

• For eye contact, rinse with cool water (not cold!) for 15 minutes.

• If breathing is difficult, go out of the darkroom into the fresh air.

• If chemicals are swallowed you may experience nausea, dizziness, vomiting or

headache. Induce vomiting and seek medical attention if this occurs. Photographic
concentrates should be washed off skin right away with plenty of water.

One ingredient in many photo developers, metol, is known to cause an allergic skin reaction,
but this is not common. If you have any form of contact dermatitis, using photo chemicals
might be a problem. In practice, I have not encountered one medical problem in over 20 years
of teaching photography to students from kindergarten to adulthood. This project is designed
to use small amounts of chemistry and a water stop bath for maximum safety.

Proper disposal of the small amounts of chemicals in the kit will not harm the environment.
However, do not mix developer and fixer directly, as a small amount of ammonia may
form, which could prove to be unpleasant.

Darkroom Preparations

The items you will need for a functioning darkroom can be purchased from a photo or science
supplier for convenience. They can be adapted from items easy to find in local stores or they
can be made from recycled materials. This includes containers for measuring, mixing and
storing chemical solutions, containers for developing prints, a method of measuring
temperature and a device for keeping track of time.

26
Metal containers should not be used with photographic chemistry with the one exception of
photo grade stainless steel. Glass is fine but not recommended as it breaks easily. Plastics are
the best materials for photographic solutions. Polyethylene and polypropylene are
recommended. Look for these letters on the bottom of containers: HDPE, LDPE, PET
(sometimes marked PETE) and PP.

Warnings

• Do not store chemicals of any sort in food or drink containers!

• Keep chemicals well beyond the reach of children!
• Always provide adult supervision and guidance!

Solutions should be mixed according to the manufacturer’s instructions and used in the range
of 65°F to 80°F. Many developers will not fully develop prints if the temperature is below this
range. Temperatures above the range may damage papers by softening the emulsion. The
chemistry should be mixed long enough in advance to allow it to reach the right temperature
for processing. Since this is often room temperature, you can mix the chemicals the day before
use and leave them in the room overnight.

Chemicals come in concentrated form, as powders or liquids. They are mixed with water to
form solutions. You will encounter both working solutions, those making direct contact with
the photo materials, or stock solutions, which are more conveniently stored and further diluted
with water to make working solutions.

Each solution has a specific capacity for processing prints or films. This is usually stated on the
concentrate’s package or in the directions.

Solutions have a finite shelf life. Developers oxidize more quickly than fixers. The shelf life of
solutions can be extended if you remove as much air from their containers as is possible. To
accomplish this, you can squeeze the container before placing the cap on or add glass beads
and marbles to the container in order to displace the air. Recently, a test with glass beads
showed that a developer with a two-week shelf life expectancy was still good after ten weeks
when enough beads were placed in the container to eliminate all the air. Solutions can be
refrigerated to extend their shelf life, but not frozen.

Notes on Black and White Print Developers

Print developers are different from film developers. They are fairly flexible to work with in
terms of processing time and temperature. The minimum time would be the length of time it
takes to develop a full black on the paper. This can be determined from a fully exposed piece
of paper. Beyond the upper limit of time print density remains constant. Different papers have
slightly different ranges, but in general, a minimum of 1/2 minute and a maximum of 2 minutes
can be used for developing resin-coated (RC) papers.

Dilution also plays an important role in print development. Most developer packages provide a
standard dilution. Working solutions can be further diluted, which lengthens the developing
time. This is especially useful if you want to make just a few prints or if you’re trying to
spread a project out over several days (less concentrate is used). Additional dilution can also
make the image contrast softer, but this depends on the particular components of the
developers.

Powdered developers often mix to form a stock solution first, which is further diluted to make
a working solution. For Kodak’s “Dektol” mix one part stock solution with two parts water to
make a working solution. For Ilford’s “Bromophen” mix one part stock with three parts water.
27
When print developer is exhausted, it will produce prints that are not dense and are discolored,
or mottled or have a combination of these symptoms.

A Note on Black and White Fixers

Fixers can be used for both film and paper. There are two types: Fixers labeled rapid fixer
employ ammonium thiocyanate to dissolve silver salts and they have more capacity in addition
to working more quickly. Papers should be fixed in one minute after being placed in a rapid
fixer bath. Fixers without any special rapid designation use sodium thiocyanante to remove the
salts. Prints should stay in these baths for two to five minutes. A good test for fixer exhaustion
is to place a small piece of unexposed black and white film in the fixer. If it does not clear in
one minute then the fixer is almost saturated with silver and should be replaced.

DEMONSTRATING THE DARKROOM PROCESS

The black and white process is easy to set up and fits in a small space. This photo shows that
the whole process can be done in a space the size of an 8" x 10" tray. The developing
container is made from a recycled quart-soda can. The 500 ml beakers hold developer, water
and fixer. Water for rinsing is at the side. One method of processing is to pour the solutions in
and out of the developing tube, which is more of a large motor skill. Alternatively, you can
move the paper from solution to solution using tongs which requires fine motor control. Use
separate tongs for the developer and fixer.

This paper was fully exposed to light before

placement in the developer solution.
It developed to the maximum black tone that
the paper can produce.

Here is a way to demonstrate the sensitivity of photo paper to room light as long as you keep
the paper supply from being exposed to white light: In safelight or in total darkness take out a
sheet of photographic paper from the black bag. Reclose the bag to protect the remaining
paper supply from exposure. Bring the sheet of paper into room light for observation. Tear a
small piece from the paper and place it on a table. Cover half of this piece with a book or other
opaque object and leave it there for several minutes.

Place a solid object over a portion of the

paper to demonstrate light sensitivity.

28
Look at both sides of the larger piece of paper and identify the emulsion and the back. The
emulsion side reflects more light, has texture and usually has a creamy color. Hold the paper
up to the light to check the difference in the reflectivity of each side. The emulsion will also
absorb moisture. If you hold your finger in one place it will feel a little bit sticky after a few
seconds. The emulsion side must face the pinhole in order to capture the image in the camera.

After you pass the paper around to the students for inspection, it will be fully exposed. In fact,
the emulsion may begin to turn gray because the silver salts are light sensitive. When you
remove the book from the small piece of paper you put on the table you can easily see the
effect of light sensitivity. The picture below shows a piece of paper exposed to room light by
sliding the book farther along the paper every four minutes. The lightest tone is no exposure.
The next two exposures are 4 and 8 minutes. The darkest tone is 12 minutes exposure. You
can create a human experiment with exposure time and sensitivity by putting band aids on
your skin and spending time in the sunshine!

Photo paper exposed to room light for 0,

4, 8 and 12 minutes.

Cut the larger piece of paper into small sections, about 1" x 2" in size. Place a piece of exposed
paper in the tube and add the developer solution. Watch the photochemical reaction until the
paper turns fully black. Pour the developer back into its own container. Next, proceed with the
water stop bath for 15 seconds, followed by the fixer for one minute. Gentle agitation should
accompany each step of the process. Rinse the paper thoroughly before handling.

This effectively demonstrates the process of development exactly as it will take place under
safelight conditions later, after exposures are made in the camera.

Close-up: fully exposed and developed

piece of photographic paper in the
developing “tube”.

The fixer removes any silver salts left on the paper after the image is formed. This can be
demonstrated by placing the paper in the fixer first, rinsing thoroughly and then placing it in
29
the developer. Reverse the process to demonstrate the role of the fixer. A more direct method
of demonstrating the role of the fixer is to place a small piece of unexposed black and white
film in the solution until the emulsion is dissolved and you can see through the film base.

After RC prints are fixed and rinsed they need to be washed for two to five minutes. A print
with a long wash time will last longer. If you have a batch, shuffle the prints continuously to
bring clean water to the surface of every one and exchange the water in your tray often. Very
little washing activity takes place in RC papers after ten minutes. Wipe excess water from the
surface of the print with a squeegee or sponge and air dry it on a line with clothespins, on a
fiberglass/nylon screen or with a hair dryer set on low. Do not stack prints with wet spots
because they will stick together permanently.

Loading the Camera Takes Place in Safe Lighting Conditions

At this point the darkroom safelight is turned on and white light must be extinguished. Black
and white photographic paper is the easiest material for beginning students to use as it is
designed to be handled in safelight. Almost all other films require total darkness. It is much
easier if the paper is precut to fit the camera. A good size for the film can camera is 1 1/2 " x 2
1/2 ". This can be done with a paper cutter or scissors in the darkroom.

A single piece of paper is removed from the opaque, black bag and placed inside the camera
opposite the pinhole for exposure. The emulsion side of the paper must face the pinhole in
order to capture an image. Make sure the paper does not cover up the pinhole itself.

A piece of paper inserted properly in the camera.

The emulsion side must face the pinhole to
capture an image.

Reseal the black bag to safeguard the remaining paper supply. The camera must be recapped
and the shutter must be rotated to cover up the pinhole. Line up the pointer on the cap with
the pinhole to make it easier to aim the camera. With the camera light tight and safely sealed
the white light may be turned on again.

A camera loaded, closed and ready to use.

30
For fieldwork, or if you do not have a darkroom space, these small pinhole cameras can be
loaded and unloaded in a photographer’s black changing bag. The paper should be precut to
size and stored in separate light-tight holders, one for unexposed paper and one for exposed
paper.

Items for photographing in the field include camera, paper supply and
photographer’s changing bag. Also shown is a daylight film developing tank
made from stainless steel. The paper can be moved from the camera into the
developing tank inside the changing bag for processing in daylight or room light.

A simple but effective darkroom field kit for black and white photography: paper or film,
pinhole camera, daylight film developing tank (stainless steel), photographer’s black changing bag,
garbage bags, developer working solution, fixer working solution, lots of water, beakers (or other
containers), funnel, clothespins and line. Paper towels, extra buckets and soap are also handy.

31
Taking a Picture With the Pinhole Camera

The photographer selects a subject and points the pinhole

towards the subject. The exact exposure time is usually
determined from experience, but some suggestions follow. The
shutter is rotated to allow light through the pinhole to start the
exposure and rotated to cover up the pinhole again when the
exposure is finished. It really is helpful to line the pointer up
with the pinhole when loading the camera.

For good results in the beginning:

The pinhole is uncovered
• Select subjects that are easy to identify by shape;
during the exposure.
• Keep the sun behind the camera;
• Look for good contrast such as light objects against a dark background or dark objects
against a light background;
• Pick a subject with bright, medium and dark areas.

Suggested exposures for getting started with the film–can pinhole camera and RC paper
negatives:

Bright sun 2-4 seconds

Open shade 6-8 seconds
Indoors near a window 30 seconds
Classroom with fluorescent lighting 2 minutes

Bright subjects need less exposure and dark subjects require more exposure. When your
exposure is finished the paper is ready for developing in the darkroom.

Interesting Photo Experiments

Exposure time (a science approach):

How long must an object be exposed in order to record an image? Line up several similar
objects for a photograph. Remove one object at a time at regular intervals during the
exposure. Although this may seem a little impractical for small cameras because daylight
exposures are so short to begin with, the solution is to make the test in subdued light or
indoors. (For example, if you have a 20-second exposure place five objects in the scene and
remove one object every four seconds.)

Motion (an arts approach):

Photograph objects moving at different speeds. Moving vehicles and people walking by will
not be recorded in a long exposure. You need to be in the scene for about half the exposure
just to make a ghostly image. Have someone standing in one place for the first half of the
exposure and move to a different place for the second half. Have people wave their arms,
shake their heads, dance, jump, etc. during the exposure.

32
Evaluating the Negative

The first image from the camera is a

negative (top). Light objects appear
dark, and dark objects appear light.
Many positive prints (bottom) can be
made from one single negative.

Check the negative for good exposure. If it’s too dark, the exposure was too long
(overexposed). If it’s too light, the exposure was too short (underexposed). Adjust the
exposure time to get the results you want. If it’s all black you might have a light leak in the
camera or darkroom. The pinhole could be uncovered or the top could be loose. Put black tape
around the seal if you can’t get the top on tightly.

A good negative, like this one of a coffee pot

sitting on a windowsill, will have details that
are easy to see in the areas of the picture that
are most important to you. Once you have
determined a good exposure in a particular
light condition you can use it all the time. It
only takes a few tries to master each type of
light. Keep good notes!

33
CONTACT PRINTING: How to Make Positive Prints

In darkroom safelight, the negative is placed in contact with a new piece of paper, emulsion to
emulsion. The exposure is made by passing white light through the back of the negative to the
new paper. This reverses the tones to make a positive print. You can also use this contact
printing procedure to make prints from any developed films you already have (color or black
and white) and to make new paper negatives from old family photographs or even slides!

Light Sources: A white 15-watt bulb placed in a light fixture two to four feet from the paper
works well, but a 25- or 30-watt bulb can also be used. Use the room lights, small lamp or
flashlight. For safety, make sure there is a switch to turn the bulb on and off!

Exposures are often less than 30 seconds and should be tested for best results. Similar
exposures can be used for all negatives with similar densities. You can adjust the light
intensity by moving the bulb nearer to or farther from the paper, blocking some of the light
with thin white paper, changing the bulb, etc.

Contact printing can be done without glass by wetting the two pieces of paper so they stick
together during the exposure. In safelight, soak the negative and new piece of paper in water
and remove excess water with a sponge or squeegee. Then place the papers emulsion to
emulsion. Remember—the light must first pass through the back of the negative during the
exposure.

Testing for correct exposures

When using small pieces of paper, you should make different exposures on individual sheets of
paper to find the best exposure for your positive. With larger negatives a test strip allows you
to get several exposures on one sheet of paper. Be sure to test the most important part of the
image.

For example, let’s say you want to test exposures up to 16 seconds long. Use four separate
pieces of small paper and give the first piece a 4-second exposure, the second piece an 8-
second exposure, the third piece a 12-second exposure and the last piece a 16-second
exposure.

Or, to make a test strip for a larger negative, set up the contact print and make a 4-second
exposure over the entire image. Then cover the first 1/4 of the paper with opaque blocking
material (mat board, black plastic, cardboard, etc). Now make another 4-second exposure. The
paper under the light blocker has a 4-second exposure and the rest of the image has 8 seconds.

Now slide the light blocker along to cover the first 1/2 of the paper. Make another 4-second
exposure. Finally, slide the light blocker along to cover 3/4 of the paper and make the last 4-
second exposure. You will have created exposure bands of 4, 8, 12 and 16 seconds. Develop
your test strip and check the results.

34
This test strip shows a series of 4-second exposures on one piece of paper. The bands are 4, 8, 12
and 16 seconds. Choose the one that looks best (or a time in between the bands) to expose the
whole print. The 12-second exposure was used here to make the final print. It provided a pleasing
range of tones.

Evaluating the Test

It might take a few tries to get a good test but once successful it will always be easy. Here are
some typical results:

too dark (overexposed), reduce exposure: use less exposure time, move the light farther
away, use a less powerful bulb, block some of the light, etc.

looks right (properly exposed), make your final print using the exposure that looks best (or
estimate a time in-between bands)

On the right, the positive image of the coffee pot sitting on a windowsill looks good.

too light (underexposed), increase exposure: use more exposure time, move the light closer,
use a more powerful bulb

Once a good exposure is found for a particular negative the final positive print is made by
contact printing.

Take out a new piece of paper and place it emulsion up on the flat surface. Then place the
negative, emulsion down, on the new piece of paper. Put a sheet of glass over them and make
one exposure using the time you liked best from the test. The same time will work well for
other negatives with similar density. Keep a record of your work— it will save lots of effort in
future printing sessions.

35
ADDITIONAL PHOTO ACTIVITIES

Photograms (basic)

Photograms are a kind of image made by placing objects directly on the paper in the darkroom
and then exposing the paper to white light. The light can come from above (or from the side to
create shadow effects). The print will show the shape and translucency of things you placed on
the paper. Objects collected from nature or found around the house make great images.
Photogram exposures are usually pretty short—use just enough light to create a black tone on
the uncovered part of the paper.

Adding color to prints (intermediate)

Some black and white papers have color bases, such as red, blue or silver, so the color is
automatic. Other methods of coloring that take place after the print is made include toning
and hand coloring with photo oils and pencils. Try toning prints in coffee or grape juice. Paints
and markers can be applied to the print. Sew buttons on the prints. Anything goes!

Changing print contrast (advanced)

Many papers have built in variable contrast. They are described with terms like VC, multigrade
or polycontrast on the package. Standard multicontrast filters can be used to change print
contrast in the darkroom. You place the filters between the light source and the paper. Low
numbered filters make soft, low-contrast prints. Higher numbers increase contrast. You can
also place these filters in the camera, behind the pinhole, to change a negative’s contrast,
which requires an increase in exposure time and should be tested.

Matching exposures to a light meter (advanced)

If you have a light meter (hand held or in camera) you can make an accurate exposure chart for
any photo material you work with. Take your meter along and record the meter reading for the
subject you are going to photograph with the pinhole camera. Match up good pinhole
exposures to your meter readings.

36
DISPOSAL OF THE CHEMICALS

Used developer and water can be flushed down the drain as you exhaust it. Save the used fixer
in a separate container; it contains silver, a heavy metal. Silver from photography is quite
stable but it’s better to keep metals out of the environment, so a simple silver recovery
demonstration follows. Used fixer, after the silver is removed, can be flushed down the drain.
If you are on a municipal waste system, silver and other metals are removed from the liquid
waste at the processing plant. If you are on a home septic system, it is widely recommended
that the total amount of photography chemicals plus photo wash water be less than 10% of
your total daily waste disposal. Check your local regulations.

Silver Recovery Demonstration (an excellent class demo!)

The presence of silver in used fixer can be shown with a short piece of copper. Scrape it down
to bright metal with steel wool, sandpaper, etc. and place it in a small amount of well-used
fixer. You should observe the silver building up on the wire in a minute or two. Rinse with
water. (You can reuse the same wire many times if you scrape off the silver.) New fixer
solutions have no accumulated silver, so this test will show no silver buildup in unused fixer.

A copper nail is placed in used On the left is a new copper nail

fixer solution to demonstrate the right out of the box. The nail on
presence of silver in the fixer. the right is coated with silver
after a short immersion in the
used fixer solution.

A small amount of steel wool provides a simple method of recovering the silver from used
fixer, making the fixer safer for disposal. Observe the condition of the new steel wool. Place
four grams of steel wool (that’s about the amount that you can squeeze into a 35 mm film
canister) per liter of used fixer in a plastic container. If you tie a string around the steel wool
you can lift it from time to time in order to see the silver building up. You should see some
silver quickly, usually in less than a minute. The silver here will appear black. Since the silver
and iron are trading places you might see some rust in the solution. This is normal and it can be
safely flushed down your drain (or the solution can be filtered).

If you leave the steel wool in the solution for 24 hours, the silver concentration will be reduced
from approximately 5,000 parts per million to the range of 0 to 5 parts per million! When you
test with copper after silver recovery and the copper has no silver buildup after 20 minutes,
you have achieved a silver level of 0 to 5 parts per million (5 ppm is the federal EPA standard).
If no silver builds up on the copper after one hour, you have reached a 0 to 2 parts per million
silver level. Rinse and dry the metals. The recovered silver is very stable and safe to handle,
just like jewelry. You can save it or place it in your waste basket.
Many thanks for helping to preserve a clean and healthy environment. It’s a smart thing to do!
37
Materials
The things you need for the camera obscura project are very common and can usually be found
locally.

Materials to cover the windows:

• Recycled cardboard boxes, black plastic (local hardware store) or any other materials
you can find
• Duct tape and black vinyl electrical tape
• Scissors
• X-acto knife (optional)

Materials to make apertures include:

• Recycled soda cans

• Thick aluminum baking pans or pie tins (recycled or supermarket)
• Paper

Materials to make a viewing screen include:

• Plain white paper

• Tracing paper
• Drafting film
• Thin, white plastic bags
• Cardboard to make a frame for the screen

A simple magnifying glass can be used as a lens

Things you need for pinhole photography are a mix of easy to find local items
and some items from a photographic supplier.

Materials to make a pinhole camera include:

• Recycled black film canisters

• Aluminum for the pinhole plate (use baking strength, not foil)
• Sewing needles (#9 or #10)
• Fine sand paper (400 grit)
• Black vinyl electrical tape
• Scissors
• One-hole punch

38
Materials to set up a darkroom include:

• Darkroom safelight
• Container for mixing chemicals (plastic or glass measuring cups, beakers, graduated
cylinders)
• Stirring rod (plastic straw works well)
• Containers for storing chemicals (recycled plastic HDPE, PP, PETE)
• Containers for processing the prints (plastic as above)
• Squeegee or sponge
• Thin line and clothespins for drying prints

Photographic supplies:

• Black and white photographic paper

5" x 7" RC paper, satin or matte surface
Avoid papers that have the manufacturer’s name on the back (like Kodak)
because it will show up on the final prints
• Black and white paper developer (liquid concentrate)
• Black and white fixer (liquid concentrate)

39
Resources
Photographic sources

Starlight Cameras
www.paintcancamera.com
innovative pinhole cameras and darkroom kits with complete instructions
offer complimentary pinhole cameras to teachers

Unique Photo
http://www.netphotostore.com/
full line supplier

Freestyle Photo Supplies

http://www.freestylesalesco.com/
full line supplier

LINKS

Camera Obscura

The Camera Obscura: Aristotle to Zahn

http://www.acmi.net.au/AIC/CAMERA_OBSCURA.html

The Magic Mirror of Life http://brightbytes.com/cosite/cohome.html

Pinhole Sunspots or, Could the Ancient Egyptians Have Observed Sunspots?
http://users.erols.com/njastro/barry/bar-page/pinhole.htm

Views of a Solar Eclipse http://www.astro.indiana.edu/solar/

Pinhole Photography

Pinhole Visions - http://www.pinhole.com

Pinhole Discussion List - http://www.pinhole.com/discussion/

Handmade Photographic Images by George L Smyth ???

http://members.home.net/hmpi/Pinhole/Articles/FAQ/pin_faq.htm

Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day - http://www.pinholeday.org/

Pinhole Resource - http://www.pinholeresource.com/

Photography with a Pinhole Camera - http://acept.la.asu.edu/PiN/rdg/camera/camera.shtml

Agfa’s Black & White Darkroom Course - http://www.agfanet.com/en/cafe/photocourse/

Ilford Teacher’s Lounge - http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/teachers_lounge/index.html

40
References

Horenstein, H. Black and White Photography : A Basic Manual, 1983, Bulfinch Press, Boston.
Paperback - 229 pages 2nd Rev edition, ISBN: 0316373141

James, C. The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes, 2001, Delmar Publishers, Florence.
Paperback - 400 pages 1st edition, ISBN: 0766820777

Renner, E. Pinhole Photography : Rediscovering a Historic Technique, 1999, Focal Press,

Woburn.
Paperback - 192 pages 2nd edition, ISBN: 0240803507

Schull, J. The Beginner’s Guide to Pinhole Photography, 1999, Amherst Media, Buffalo.
Paperback - 80 pages, ISBN: 0936262702

Pinhole Journal (periodical published 3 times a year)

http://www.pinholeresource.com/pinholejournal.html

From Pinhole to Pixel (CD)

Peggy Jones
http://www.pinholeresource.com/books.html

41