Pinhole Cameras: A Do-It-Yourself Guide

14

The History of Pinhole Photograpy

Chapter

1 Archival illustration showing ho w a p inho le w o rk s

The history of pinhole photography goes hand in hand with the invention of the camera obscura. Used for drawing and architecture, the camera obscura consisted of a box or room with a hole on one side in which light from an external source entered and struck a surface within the enclosure, reproducing an exact image of whatever was in view of the hole, upside down, in color, and in linear perspective. This image was then traced onto paper to create an accurate visual reference used for painting or drawing. A pinhole camera differs from the camera obscura only in scale.

15

14

The History of Pinhole Photograpy

Chapter

1 Archival illustration showing ho w a p inho le w o rk s

The history of pinhole photography goes hand in hand with the invention of the camera obscura. Used for drawing and architecture, the camera obscura consisted of a box or room with a hole on one side in which light from an external source entered and struck a surface within the enclosure, reproducing an exact image of whatever was in view of the hole, upside down, in color, and in linear perspective. This image was then traced onto paper to create an accurate visual reference used for painting or drawing. A pinhole camera differs from the camera obscura only in scale.

15

observes and comments upon the principle of the pinhole camera after viewing a partially eclipsed sun projected through holes in a sieve.

300 BC

Euclid

(fl. 300 BC)

presupposes the notion of the camera obscura, in his book Optics, by determining that light travels in a straight line.

AD 900

Yu Choa-Lung

(fl. AD

900-950) uses a camera

obscura to project images of model pagodas onto a screen.

1000 Further camera obscura inventions are built by scientist Abu Ali Al-

The

History

of

Pinhole Photograpy

Hasan Ibn al-Haytham (965–1039 AD), whose experimentation with light and optics establishes the correct theory and demonstrates a successful scientific projection of a full outdoor image onto an indoor screen.

1834 1558

Giovanni Battista della Porta (1538–1615) writes extensively about the pinhole camera obscura in his book Magia Naturalis. Later on he adds a lens to a camera obscura, rendering the images brighter and clearer.

1604 German astronomer

Johannes Kepler (15711630) coins the term

camera obscura. In Latin, camera means “vaulted chamber or room” and obscura means “darkened.”

1727 German scientist Johann

Heinrich Schulze (1687–1744) mixes chalk,

nitric acid, and silver in a flask and notices that the mixture darkens when exposed to sunlight, thus creating the first solution of photosensitive compounds.

1826 By the 1800s, the typical camera obscura is a small portable box with a simple lens or pinhole.

French lithographer

Joseph Niépse (1765– 1833) creates some of the

Hercules Florence coins the terms photography and photograph.

1880 English archaeologist

Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853– 1942) captures some

of the earliest pinhole photographs still in existence today, taken with a simple lens placed in front of the pinhole.

The photographs are of his excavation work in Egypt.

1839 French painter Louis

1884

Jacques Mandé Daguerre

George Eastman (1854-

(1787–1851) invents

1932) of Rochester, New York, develops photographic paper film to replace photographic plates. In 1885, he switches to celluloid film.

the daguerrotype—a direct positive image on a silver-coated copper plate of his own making.

British mathematician, scientist, and inventor

William Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877) succeeds in producing images on silver chloride paper, later patented as the calotype process.

English astronomer

Sir John Herschel (1792-1871) develops a method of fixing exposed images to render them permanent. He defines photography as “the art of obtaining images upon sensitized surfaces by the action of light” and coins the terms positive and negative in relation to this process.

1850 Scottish scientist Sir

David Brewster (17811868) conducts the first

experiments with pinhole photographs.

1890 Pinhole cameras gain popularity and are mass-produced worldwide. Several models of disposable pinhole cameras are developed and sold in mass quantities over the next thirty years.

1930 Pinhole photography is eclipsed by the growing popularity of the modern box cameras and falls out of favor in popular culture.

1940

Frederick Brehm (1871– 1950) designs the Kodak Pinhole Camera and stresses the importance of pinhole photography’s inherent educational value.

1960 Pinhole photography reemerges as an art form and practitioners begin to develop various techniques.

1982 First national exhibition of pinhole photography organized by Willie Anne Wright at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum.

1985 Author Lauren Smith publishes The Visionary Pinhole, the first comprehensive book to document pinhole photography.

1988 The first international exhibition of pinhole photography, Through a Pinhole Darkly, opens at the Fine Arts Museum of Long Island.

1995 Pinhole Resource (www. pinholeresource.com) is established as a valuable pinhole photography reference on the Internet.

2000 The World Wide Web widens global interest in pinhole photography.

Many art galleries are now presenting pinhole exhibitions.

2004 In June of 2004 Tom Persinger launches f295 (www.f295.org),

a website for pinhole enthusiasts.

17

2005

Chris Keeney creates his first pinhole cameras: the SPAMera (a pinhole camera made from a SPAM tin); the PinHolga (a pinhole camera made from a Holga toy camera); and the MintyCam (2006) (a pinhole camera made from an Altoids mint tin).

2007 To help further broaden the interest in pinhole photography, Chris Keeney starts an online resource page (www. chriskeeney.com/ photography/pinhole) featuring the work of pinhole photographers from around the world.

2010 As the popularity of pinhole photography grows, companies such as Holga and Lomography start making and marketing pinhole cameras.

Pinhole Photograpy

400 BC

Aristotle (384–322 BC)

world’s first photographs in a camera obscura, using a light-sensitive petroleum derivative called bitumen of Judea on pewter as an early version of film.

of

(470–390 BC) is the first known figure to mention pinhole light principles when he refers to an early device called a “collection plate” (what we now think of as film) or a “locked treasure box” (what we now think of as the camera).

Mo-Ti

1500 The use of the camera obscura develops as a drawing aid for European artists and is described

by Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) in his book Codex Atlanticus.

History

500 BC Chinese philosopher

The

16

observes and comments upon the principle of the pinhole camera after viewing a partially eclipsed sun projected through holes in a sieve.

300 BC

Euclid

(fl. 300 BC)

presupposes the notion of the camera obscura, in his book Optics, by determining that light travels in a straight line.

AD 900

Yu Choa-Lung

(fl. AD

900-950) uses a camera

obscura to project images of model pagodas onto a screen.

1000 Further camera obscura inventions are built by scientist Abu Ali Al-

The

History

of

Pinhole Photograpy

Hasan Ibn al-Haytham (965–1039 AD), whose experimentation with light and optics establishes the correct theory and demonstrates a successful scientific projection of a full outdoor image onto an indoor screen.

1834 1558

Giovanni Battista della Porta (1538–1615) writes extensively about the pinhole camera obscura in his book Magia Naturalis. Later on he adds a lens to a camera obscura, rendering the images brighter and clearer.

1604 German astronomer

Johannes Kepler (15711630) coins the term

camera obscura. In Latin, camera means “vaulted chamber or room” and obscura means “darkened.”

1727 German scientist Johann

Heinrich Schulze (1687–1744) mixes chalk,

nitric acid, and silver in a flask and notices that the mixture darkens when exposed to sunlight, thus creating the first solution of photosensitive compounds.

1826 By the 1800s, the typical camera obscura is a small portable box with a simple lens or pinhole.

French lithographer

Joseph Niépse (1765– 1833) creates some of the

Hercules Florence coins the terms photography and photograph.

1880 English archaeologist

Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853– 1942) captures some

of the earliest pinhole photographs still in existence today, taken with a simple lens placed in front of the pinhole.

The photographs are of his excavation work in Egypt.

1839 French painter Louis

1884

Jacques Mandé Daguerre

George Eastman (1854-

(1787–1851) invents

1932) of Rochester, New York, develops photographic paper film to replace photographic plates. In 1885, he switches to celluloid film.

the daguerrotype—a direct positive image on a silver-coated copper plate of his own making.

British mathematician, scientist, and inventor

William Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877) succeeds in producing images on silver chloride paper, later patented as the calotype process.

English astronomer

Sir John Herschel (1792-1871) develops a method of fixing exposed images to render them permanent. He defines photography as “the art of obtaining images upon sensitized surfaces by the action of light” and coins the terms positive and negative in relation to this process.

1850 Scottish scientist Sir

David Brewster (17811868) conducts the first

experiments with pinhole photographs.

1890 Pinhole cameras gain popularity and are mass-produced worldwide. Several models of disposable pinhole cameras are developed and sold in mass quantities over the next thirty years.

1930 Pinhole photography is eclipsed by the growing popularity of the modern box cameras and falls out of favor in popular culture.

1940

Frederick Brehm (1871– 1950) designs the Kodak Pinhole Camera and stresses the importance of pinhole photography’s inherent educational value.

1960 Pinhole photography reemerges as an art form and practitioners begin to develop various techniques.

1982 First national exhibition of pinhole photography organized by Willie Anne Wright at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum.

1985 Author Lauren Smith publishes The Visionary Pinhole, the first comprehensive book to document pinhole photography.

1988 The first international exhibition of pinhole photography, Through a Pinhole Darkly, opens at the Fine Arts Museum of Long Island.

1995 Pinhole Resource (www. pinholeresource.com) is established as a valuable pinhole photography reference on the Internet.

2000 The World Wide Web widens global interest in pinhole photography.

Many art galleries are now presenting pinhole exhibitions.

2004 In June of 2004 Tom Persinger launches f295 (www.f295.org),

a website for pinhole enthusiasts.

17

2005

Chris Keeney creates his first pinhole cameras: the SPAMera (a pinhole camera made from a SPAM tin); the PinHolga (a pinhole camera made from a Holga toy camera); and the MintyCam (2006) (a pinhole camera made from an Altoids mint tin).

2007 To help further broaden the interest in pinhole photography, Chris Keeney starts an online resource page (www. chriskeeney.com/ photography/pinhole) featuring the work of pinhole photographers from around the world.

2010 As the popularity of pinhole photography grows, companies such as Holga and Lomography start making and marketing pinhole cameras.

Pinhole Photograpy

400 BC

Aristotle (384–322 BC)

world’s first photographs in a camera obscura, using a light-sensitive petroleum derivative called bitumen of Judea on pewter as an early version of film.

of

(470–390 BC) is the first known figure to mention pinhole light principles when he refers to an early device called a “collection plate” (what we now think of as film) or a “locked treasure box” (what we now think of as the camera).

Mo-Ti

1500 The use of the camera obscura develops as a drawing aid for European artists and is described

by Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) in his book Codex Atlanticus.

History

500 BC Chinese philosopher

The

16

18

Finding the Right Container for Your Camera

Chapter

2

Half the fun of making your own pinhole camera is choosing the container you plan to use. Pretty much anything you can make lighttight can be made into a pinhole camera. I’ve seen pinhole cameras ranging in shape and size from a pineapple to a Volkswagen bus.

Once you start looking around for containers, you’ll begin to see creative potential in all kinds of objects, small and large, things you never imagined could be turned into working cameras.

19

18

Finding the Right Container for Your Camera

Chapter

2

Half the fun of making your own pinhole camera is choosing the container you plan to use. Pretty much anything you can make lighttight can be made into a pinhole camera. I’ve seen pinhole cameras ranging in shape and size from a pineapple to a Volkswagen bus.

Once you start looking around for containers, you’ll begin to see creative potential in all kinds of objects, small and large, things you never imagined could be turned into working cameras.

19

20

21 For the purposes of the exercises in this book, I focus on containers that can be easily found at your local grocery or hardware store or even around your own house. But that shouldn’t limit you from finding other objects at swap meets, thrift stores, garage sales, etc. In essence, you’re creating art that creates art; keep that in mind when searching for your container.

In my experience the best container is small enough to handle easily, can be made light-tight, and is durable enough to resist being crushed or bent. If you’re going to make a camera that uses film (instead of photographic paper negatives), you’ll need to create a system to advance the film once you’ve made an exposure. This can be tricky to build from scratch, so it may be easier to find an old film camera and convert it by removing the lens and replacing it with a pinhole.

Also keep in mind the distance between the pinhole and the film plane: the further the light has to travel, the longer the exposure time. And a longer exposure time means you’ll need to avoid movement from both the camera and your subject (unless you’re going for a blurry image). Obviously, the larger the container, the larger the negative you’ll be able to fit inside of it.

But with that added space comes bulk, which makes the camera

ABOVE 5 x 7 in. paper negative p inho le ca mera ma d e o u t o f a pie tin bought at a garage sale.

RIGHT 120 mm film pinhole c a m e r a m a d e o u t o f S PA M t i n BE LO W Vo l k s w a g e n Va n C a m e r a & Jo Ba b co ck , b u i l t f o r N Y S C A Grant, 1990

Camera for Your

• Cereal box

container ideas that

• Old vintage

• Candy tins

aren’t covered in this book:

cameras • Paper towel roll

• Soup cans

Right Container

• Metal pen case

th e

A short list of

Finding

Finding

th e

Right Container

for Your

Camera

less portable and less user-friendly.

20

21 For the purposes of the exercises in this book, I focus on containers that can be easily found at your local grocery or hardware store or even around your own house. But that shouldn’t limit you from finding other objects at swap meets, thrift stores, garage sales, etc. In essence, you’re creating art that creates art; keep that in mind when searching for your container.

In my experience the best container is small enough to handle easily, can be made light-tight, and is durable enough to resist being crushed or bent. If you’re going to make a camera that uses film (instead of photographic paper negatives), you’ll need to create a system to advance the film once you’ve made an exposure. This can be tricky to build from scratch, so it may be easier to find an old film camera and convert it by removing the lens and replacing it with a pinhole.

Also keep in mind the distance between the pinhole and the film plane: the further the light has to travel, the longer the exposure time. And a longer exposure time means you’ll need to avoid movement from both the camera and your subject (unless you’re going for a blurry image). Obviously, the larger the container, the larger the negative you’ll be able to fit inside of it.

But with that added space comes bulk, which makes the camera

ABOVE 5 x 7 in. paper negative p inho le ca mera ma d e o u t o f a pie tin bought at a garage sale.

RIGHT 120 mm film pinhole c a m e r a m a d e o u t o f S PA M t i n BE LO W Vo l k s w a g e n Va n C a m e r a & Jo Ba b co ck , b u i l t f o r N Y S C A Grant, 1990

Camera for Your

• Cereal box

container ideas that

• Old vintage

• Candy tins

aren’t covered in this book:

cameras • Paper towel roll

• Soup cans

Right Container

• Metal pen case

th e

A short list of

Finding

Finding

th e

Right Container

for Your

Camera

less portable and less user-friendly.

22

Camera for Your BO T T O M Fo r ty - s ev en Sui t c a s e Ca m e r a s , S a n F r a n c i s c o , Ar t s p a c e , 1 9 8 9 T H IS PA GE T O P 1 0 0 0 C a m e r a s , A r t i s t - i n - R e s i d e n c e P ro j e c t , R a y k o P h o t o C e n t e r, s ummer 2 0 1 0 BO T T O M As s o r t m e n t o f b o xe s a n d t u b e s , w h i c h c a n b e c o n ve r t e d into ho mema d e p inho le c a m e r a s

Right Container

made out of a rusted chili can found in Baja Mexico TOP RIGHT CAPTION TK?

th e

O P P O S I T E PA G E T O P L E F T: B u s i n e s s c a r d - s i z e p a p e r n e g a t i v e p i n h o l e c a m e r a

Finding

Finding

th e

Right Container

for Your

Camera

23

22

Camera for Your BO T T O M Fo r ty - s ev en Sui t c a s e Ca m e r a s , S a n F r a n c i s c o , Ar t s p a c e , 1 9 8 9 T H IS PA GE T O P 1 0 0 0 C a m e r a s , A r t i s t - i n - R e s i d e n c e P ro j e c t , R a y k o P h o t o C e n t e r, s ummer 2 0 1 0 BO T T O M As s o r t m e n t o f b o xe s a n d t u b e s , w h i c h c a n b e c o n ve r t e d into ho mema d e p inho le c a m e r a s

Right Container

made out of a rusted chili can found in Baja Mexico TOP RIGHT CAPTION TK?

th e

O P P O S I T E PA G E T O P L E F T: B u s i n e s s c a r d - s i z e p a p e r n e g a t i v e p i n h o l e c a m e r a

Finding

Finding

th e

Right Container

for Your

Camera

23

42

43

Oatmeal Can N egative type :

5 x 7 in. photographic paper F ocal length :

100 mm F - stop :

250

P inhole diameter :

0.016 in. or 0.4 mm

M aterials

18 oz. oatmeal can • flat black spray paint •

•

(tempera or acrylic paints can

(electrical tape can also be

be used as well)

Pair of nitrile gloves newspaper • Ruler with a metal edge • Needle-nose pliers • Soda can, tin foil, baking tin, or 2 mil copper foil • small sewing needles

used)

600 grit sandpaper wooden pencil with eraser • X-ACTO knife (with no.

•

•

•

•

(extra fine beading needles can also be used)

1 in. black photographic tape

11 blade or scissors)

Thick cardboard or chipboard (cutting surface) • 8 ½ x 11 in. manila file folder or thin chipboard (like a cereal box) •

42

43

Oatmeal Can N egative type :

5 x 7 in. photographic paper F ocal length :

100 mm F - stop :

250

P inhole diameter :

0.016 in. or 0.4 mm

M aterials

18 oz. oatmeal can • flat black spray paint •

•

(tempera or acrylic paints can

(electrical tape can also be

be used as well)

Pair of nitrile gloves newspaper • Ruler with a metal edge • Needle-nose pliers • Soda can, tin foil, baking tin, or 2 mil copper foil • small sewing needles

used)

600 grit sandpaper wooden pencil with eraser • X-ACTO knife (with no.

•

•

•

•

(extra fine beading needles can also be used)

1 in. black photographic tape

11 blade or scissors)

Thick cardboard or chipboard (cutting surface) • 8 ½ x 11 in. manila file folder or thin chipboard (like a cereal box) •

Prepping and Painting the Can

Start with an empty 18 oz. oatmeal container, one that is clean and in good condition. Decide if you’re going to use black spray paint or a water-based black paint, such as tempera or acrylic.

The advantage of using spray paint is that it takes less time and doesn’t rub off on your paper negatives when inserting and removing them from the can. Also, some oatmeal can lids are made out of plastic, and tempera paint does not stick to plastic.

Find a well-ventilated area and spread out newspaper to protect your work surface. Wearing a pair of nitrile gloves, paint the interior of the can with a thin layer of flat black spray paint.

[Figure: 05.1_DIYpin_oatmeal-4.tif] Apply the paint slowly to avoid building up large amounts of paint in any one area. This will help keep the paint from pooling and creating drips and streaks.

Let the can dry in an area out of the wind, so that small particles of dust don’t fall onto the paint when it’s wet.

1

2

3

Make sure the seal between the lid and the container is lighttight.

The lids to some oatmeal cans are made with a translucent plastic ring and a paper center. Wrap the entire plastic ring with black tape. This will prevent light from passing through the plastic as well as making a lighttight seam between the can and the lid. I recommend spending the extra money and buying photographic tape, but electrical tape can be used in a pinch.

With the ruler, measure 2.5 in. from the bottom and mark with a pen or pencil. This is where the pinhole will be centered.

With the X-ACTO knife, cut out a .25 x .25 in. square section from the container, with the mark you just made at the center.

4

45

oatmeal can

44

Prepping and Painting the Can

Start with an empty 18 oz. oatmeal container, one that is clean and in good condition. Decide if you’re going to use black spray paint or a water-based black paint, such as tempera or acrylic.

The advantage of using spray paint is that it takes less time and doesn’t rub off on your paper negatives when inserting and removing them from the can. Also, some oatmeal can lids are made out of plastic, and tempera paint does not stick to plastic.

Find a well-ventilated area and spread out newspaper to protect your work surface. Wearing a pair of nitrile gloves, paint the interior of the can with a thin layer of flat black spray paint.

[Figure: 05.1_DIYpin_oatmeal-4.tif] Apply the paint slowly to avoid building up large amounts of paint in any one area. This will help keep the paint from pooling and creating drips and streaks.

Let the can dry in an area out of the wind, so that small particles of dust don’t fall onto the paint when it’s wet.

1

2

3

Make sure the seal between the lid and the container is lighttight.

The lids to some oatmeal cans are made with a translucent plastic ring and a paper center. Wrap the entire plastic ring with black tape. This will prevent light from passing through the plastic as well as making a lighttight seam between the can and the lid. I recommend spending the extra money and buying photographic tape, but electrical tape can be used in a pinch.

With the ruler, measure 2.5 in. from the bottom and mark with a pen or pencil. This is where the pinhole will be centered.

With the X-ACTO knife, cut out a .25 x .25 in. square section from the container, with the mark you just made at the center.

4

45

oatmeal can

44

47

Making the Pinhole

It’s now time to make your pinhole. The best pinhole is as round as possible and is drilled through the thinnest and strongest metal you can find. Aluminum foil is thin and easy to find, but it can tear or wrinkle easily. I like to use the aluminum of a soda can or baking tin. It can be thinned with 1000 grit sand paper and makes for nice round pinholes. I also use 2 mil copper foil, which can be ordered on the Internet in ten-sheet packets.

Use the smallest needle in a common sewing kit—a no. 12 in most sewing kits—or a thin beading needle. Since the pinhole diameter impacts the quality of the exposure, take your time making the pinhole.

punctured hole, making sure that there are no sharp edges. If you’re using aluminum from a soda can, make sure you sand all the paint and coating off the metal. Finally, rinse the pinhole with water to free debris that may have accumulated during the sanding process.

Your goal is to make a perfectly round .016 in. pinhole. The only way to verify that you’ve made the correct size is to scan the pinhole at high resolution and then measure it using a computer.

This step is covered in detail in the “Making the Pinhole” chapter of the book.

You will need to create a drill in order to puncture the metal. To make a pinhole drill, stick the blunt end of your needle into the eraser end of a wooden pencil with a pair of needle-nose pliers.

If you’re using a beading needle, which is longer than a sewing needle, you’ll need to trim it down to .25 in. before inserting it into the pencil eraser.

On the cardboard cutting surface, use an X-ACTO knife or scissors to cut out a .5 x .5 in. square of metal from the soda can, baking tin, copper foil, or brass shim stock. Make sure it is flat and remove all rough edges and sharp corners with sandpaper.

should we put a quote here? or more images?

Place the metal square on the cardboard and use the pinhole drill to delicately poke a small hole through the metal. Since the actual diameter of that needle may be larger than 0.017 in., only drill deep enough so that the tip of the needle is just poking through the other side. Use the 600 grit sandpaper to smooth down the

46

47

oatmeal can

oatmeal can

46

47

Making the Pinhole

It’s now time to make your pinhole. The best pinhole is as round as possible and is drilled through the thinnest and strongest metal you can find. Aluminum foil is thin and easy to find, but it can tear or wrinkle easily. I like to use the aluminum of a soda can or baking tin. It can be thinned with 1000 grit sand paper and makes for nice round pinholes. I also use 2 mil copper foil, which can be ordered on the Internet in ten-sheet packets.

Use the smallest needle in a common sewing kit—a no. 12 in most sewing kits—or a thin beading needle. Since the pinhole diameter impacts the quality of the exposure, take your time making the pinhole.

punctured hole, making sure that there are no sharp edges. If you’re using aluminum from a soda can, make sure you sand all the paint and coating off the metal. Finally, rinse the pinhole with water to free debris that may have accumulated during the sanding process.

Your goal is to make a perfectly round .016 in. pinhole. The only way to verify that you’ve made the correct size is to scan the pinhole at high resolution and then measure it using a computer.

This step is covered in detail in the “Making the Pinhole” chapter of the book.

You will need to create a drill in order to puncture the metal. To make a pinhole drill, stick the blunt end of your needle into the eraser end of a wooden pencil with a pair of needle-nose pliers.

If you’re using a beading needle, which is longer than a sewing needle, you’ll need to trim it down to .25 in. before inserting it into the pencil eraser.

On the cardboard cutting surface, use an X-ACTO knife or scissors to cut out a .5 x .5 in. square of metal from the soda can, baking tin, copper foil, or brass shim stock. Make sure it is flat and remove all rough edges and sharp corners with sandpaper.

should we put a quote here? or more images?

Place the metal square on the cardboard and use the pinhole drill to delicately poke a small hole through the metal. Since the actual diameter of that needle may be larger than 0.017 in., only drill deep enough so that the tip of the needle is just poking through the other side. Use the 600 grit sandpaper to smooth down the

46

47

oatmeal can

oatmeal can

46

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

48

Measure and cut a 2 x 11 ž in. strip from the manila file folder.

Put two small pieces of black tape on the center of the paper (you can also use a black marker instead of tape). Place the strip on the cardboard and cut out a .25 x .25 in. square from the center, now covered in black tape. [Figure: 05.1_DIYpin_oatmeal-26.tif] Place a piece of black tape at each end of the strip and wrap it around the oatmeal can, aligning the square hole in the can with the square hole in the paper strip. The fit should be snug. [Figure: 05.1_DIYpin_oatmeal-28.tif] With the remaining piece of manila file folder, measure and cut a 1.5 x 3 in. strip of paper. This strip will be your shutter.

Completely cover one side with black tape or black marker. From any corner, measure 1 in. up along the 3 in. height and .75 in. in along the 1.5 in. width and mark this point. With the point at the center, cut out a .25 x .25 in. square. [Figure: 05.1_DIYpin_ oatmeal-29.tif] Insert the shutter vertically between the can and the manila folder strip that wraps around the camera. [Figure: 05.1_DIYpin_oatmeal-30.tif] Take the metal square with the drilled pinhole and tape all four sides with black tape as close to the pinhole without covering it (this side will face the negative inside the can, and if there is large section of metal showing, light could reflect off the metal and onto the negative). Make sure enough tape hangs over the edge of the metal so that it will stick to the inside of the oatmeal cylinder. Insert the pinhole inside the can, align, and attach.

[Figure: 05.1_DIYpin_oatmeal-31] Voila! You’re done. [Figure: 05.1_DIYpin_oatmeal-pinhole-34.tif] [Figure: 05.1_DIYpin_ oatmeal-pinhole-36.tif].

49

oatmeal can

Making the Shutter

48