CAMERA OBSCURA

Light as it plays in a dark room…

CAMERA OBSCURAS… The term is latin for “dark room or chamber”

Ancestor of the modern camera

Principle of capturing light or pinhole cameras was know to

man in ancient times…described in Chinese writings in 5th

century B.C.

Aristotle wrote about camera obscura principles in 4th

century B.C.

Basically a hole in the wall of a dark room with a screen for

capturing the inverted image…but image not permanent.

Camera Obscuras are still in use today…many are tourist

spots and educational sites

From the 15th century onward camera

obscuras were used by artists as drawing

devices…helped with outlines

Gradually they become portable devices and

were fitted with lenses and mirrors

PORTABLE OBSCURAS

Light travels in a straight line…image is inverted

unless directed by a mirror and lens system

LARGE OBSCURAS

San Francisco

Southern California

Edinburgh, Scotland

LARGE OBSCURAS

THE HUMAN OBSCURA…

CAMERA OBSCURA VIEWS

Notice that the images are upside down and seem to wrap around the room.

CAMERA OBSCURA VIEWS

C R E AT E Y O UR O W N C A M E R A O B S C UR A

Get in groups of 2-3 …you may work alone if you

insist

Follow the steps on the provided handout and

create your own portable camera obscura

Each member of the group will be responsible for

the work…you will list your specific job description

on the reflection sheet you turn in with your

camera obscura…so no slacking off!