8X10 foldable pinhole camera

Step 7 How to take a picture

ok this is going to sound oversimplified but i cant help it ,it is simple.
what you need to do now is take your camera into the darkroom{it needs to be very dark}
take off the back cover , put a sheet of black and white photo paper in it with the emulsion facing the
pinhole, use clamps to hold the back on so it doesnt slip off or leak light ,put a scrap of tape over the lens{hole} for a shutter or if your real clever build a shutter inside the box ,lord knows theres enough room in there}. put the camera into the cover of the 3rd box tape it in place so it cant move too easily
bring it outside, point it at the object or scene you want to photograph {dont try to handhold}and leave it alone for 15 minutes.
when the exposure is complete put the tape back over the hole again.
take it back to the darkroom and develop the negative.
now this bit is not so simple.
if you dont know how to develop the paper go to the library and take out a book on black and white printing or find a friend who has a darkroom.
a lot of art programs in schools can set up a darkroom for the students to use for this very thing.
black and white printing is old hat to me {i have been doing it professionally for 23 years}
i will be happy to answer any questions about it
next the result

Comments

[hermit_penguin]

I love your tutorials!!! They are awesome

[marlin4622]

how long was your exposure??? And how big was the actual image? Did it take up most of the paper?? thanks in advance

[lennyb]

it was about 2 minutes but that was in bright sunshine. and could vary from pinhole to pinhole. the image you see is the entire surface of the 8x10 paper sheet. if you get all the image in the center then the camera is too short. thanks for looking