Photographic Devices Throughout The History Of Photography
Photography was discovered on August 19, 1839, by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre. According to the textbook, Photography: a Cultural History, “photography was invented by individuals working independently from each other, in a relatively short period during the early years of the Industrial Revolution” (Marien 3). While there are many different types of photographic devices, there are only three different types of photographic devices that I decided to look at; a pinhole camera, a camera obscura, and a zoetrope. All three devices were important in the history of photography.
A pinhole camera is a very simple type of camera. It is made out of a light cylindrical container that has a pinhole that is used as a lens. The pinhole lens is at one end of the container and a light-sensitive film or piece of paper is on the other end. The purpose of pinhole cameras is to produce softtone, wide-angle pictures with minimal detail. To make a pinhole camera there are many steps that you have to go through. First, you need to gather all your materials before making this. The materials used to make a pinhole camera are, an empty Pringles chip can, a marker, a ruler, an X-Acto knife, a thumbtack or pushpin, masking tape, aluminum foil, scissors, and a nice clear day.
My process for making the pinhole camera was super easy. The only material I didn't have at my house was a Pringles can which was very easy to buy. After I got all my materials, I simply just followed the steps given. The difficulties I encountered while making this pinhole camera was that after cutting the Pringles can in half, I struggled to actually hold it back together. However, I used a ton of tape as well as aluminum foil to keep it secure.
A camera obscura is literally a darkroom, “the camera obscura was originally a darkened, room size chamber, in which a tiny opening in one hole acted like a lens, focusing an upside-down image of the scene outside onto the opposite wall” (Marien 6). Just like the room size chamber, there was also a smaller and portable version of a camera obscura. This had lenses on it and Amir inside so that the image shown on the mirror could be traced on paper. To make a camera obscura there are also many steps that you have to go through. The materials you would need before making this are a room with one window, 3 or more 28 inches by 22 inches black poster boards, a flashlight, a utility knife, and duct tape.
A pinhole camera is a very simple type of camera. It is made out of a light cylindrical container that has a pinhole that is used as a lens. The pinhole lens is at one end of the container and a light-sensitive film or piece of paper is on the other end. The purpose of pinhole cameras is to produce softtone, wide-angle pictures with minimal detail. To make a pinhole camera there are many steps that you have to go through. First, you need to gather all your materials before making this. The materials used to make a pinhole camera are, an empty Pringles chip can, a marker, a ruler, an X-Acto knife, a thumbtack or pushpin, masking tape, aluminum foil, scissors, and a nice clear day.
My process for making the pinhole camera was super easy. The only material I didn't have at my house was a Pringles can which was very easy to buy. After I got all my materials, I simply just followed the steps given. The difficulties I encountered while making this pinhole camera was that after cutting the Pringles can in half, I struggled to actually hold it back together. However, I used a ton of tape as well as aluminum foil to keep it secure.
A camera obscura is literally a darkroom, “the camera obscura was originally a darkened, room size chamber, in which a tiny opening in one hole acted like a lens, focusing an upside-down image of the scene outside onto the opposite wall” (Marien 6). Just like the room size chamber, there was also a smaller and portable version of a camera obscura. This had lenses on it and Amir inside so that the image shown on the mirror could be traced on paper. To make a camera obscura there are also many steps that you have to go through. The materials you would need before making this are a room with one window, 3 or more 28 inches by 22 inches black poster boards, a flashlight, a utility knife, and duct tape.
After I got all my materials, I also just followed the steps given. My process for making the camera obscura was pretty easy, however, I had some difficulties that I encountered while creating it. One challenge that I had while making the camera obscura was that it was hard to make sure the black paper was secure on the window. Because it was hard to secure the paper onto the window, I used more tape then I was supposed to, even though in the picture above it doesn't look like it. Another difficulty that I had while creating this was that it was hard for me to find a room in my house that only had one window because many of the rooms in my house have more than one window. Other than those two difficulties creating the camera obscura was quite simple.
A zoetrope is an old version of a motion picture projector. It has a series of still images on the inner side that creates the illusion of motion when looked at. Just like the camera obscura and the pinhole camera, there are some materials you would have to get before making this zoetrope. The materials used for this are a coffee can lid, white paper 20 inches by 1 ½ inches, black paper 20 inches by 3inches, glue, a craft knife, a pencil, and a ruler.
Just like the camera obscura and the pinhole camera, after I got all my materials, I followed the steps given. There was only one difficulty that I encountered while making this, and it was that the black paper took a while to actually stick on to the coffee lid after I glued it down.
After I finished making all of these photographic devices, it was very interesting to see how they work. I tested them all out, and they all work really well even though they are homemade and not professional. Personally, for anybody who is interested in learning about some of the photographic devices in the history of photography, I would definitely recommend trying to make some of them at home.
A zoetrope is an old version of a motion picture projector. It has a series of still images on the inner side that creates the illusion of motion when looked at. Just like the camera obscura and the pinhole camera, there are some materials you would have to get before making this zoetrope. The materials used for this are a coffee can lid, white paper 20 inches by 1 ½ inches, black paper 20 inches by 3inches, glue, a craft knife, a pencil, and a ruler.
Just like the camera obscura and the pinhole camera, after I got all my materials, I followed the steps given. There was only one difficulty that I encountered while making this, and it was that the black paper took a while to actually stick on to the coffee lid after I glued it down.
After I finished making all of these photographic devices, it was very interesting to see how they work. I tested them all out, and they all work really well even though they are homemade and not professional. Personally, for anybody who is interested in learning about some of the photographic devices in the history of photography, I would definitely recommend trying to make some of them at home.
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Marien, Mary Warner. Photography: a Cultural History. 4th ed. London: Laurence King Publishing ltd, 2014.