Tin Cans

I've been pretty busy the past few weeks and I haven't done anything with my oatmeal box pinhole camera in a while. Yesterday I though I'd try something a bit different. One of the big problems with the oatmeal box camera is that light seeps in from all the seams in the cardboard, and even through the cardboard itself because it's just too thin. Light also was seeping in from the place where i inserted the metal tab with the pinhole, and from all around the shudder. I figured there was a better way to design a pinhole camera.

I headed out to the thrift stores in my neighborhood and bought three tin canisters in different sizes. Instead of cutting out a place to insert a pinhole tab, I just made the pinholes in the canisters themselves since they're made of metal. The cans are thick and the lids fit snuggly so there are no light leaks in the cameras whatsoever! Finally, I am using thin pieces of magnetic tape as the shudders. They ensure a light-tight seal and are really easy to open and close. Here's a look at the new cameras.

I took the little guys out to play today in Balboa Park. In retrospect, tourist traps like Balboa probably aren't the best places to use a pinhole camera. In order to take a shot, the shudder needs to be open for several seconds. With so many people bumbling around, someone is bound to walk right through your shot and there's nothing you can do about it. Furthermore, people don't recognize these as cameras. Generally, when someone sees a person taking a picture, they wait for the picture to be taken before walking in front of the camera. They don't pay the same notice to someone standing patiently holding a cookie tin. Still, patience paid off and I got a nice shot of the Botanical Building with the koi pond in front of it. You can even see the reflection of the building in the pond!