Camera Obscura

National Swimming Academy, University of Stirling

N.B Some areas appear out of focus due to the projection screen becoming loose.

Sports Centre, University of Stirling

N.B Some areas appear out of focus due to the projection screen becoming loose.

Cottrel Building, Main Reception, University of Stirling

N.B Some areas appear out of focus due to the projection screen becoming loose.

Bus Stop, in front of the Cottrel Building, University of Stirling

N.B Some areas appear out of focus due to the projection screen becoming loose.

 Bus Stop, in front of the Cottrel Building, University of Stirling

N.B Some areas appear out of focus due to the projection screen becoming loose.

Interior Bridge to the Atrium, University of Sterling

N.B Some areas appear out of focus due to the projection screen becoming loose.

Pathfoot Building, University of Stirling

N.B Some areas appear out of focus due to the projection screen becoming loose.

Outside of the Atrium, University of Stirling

N.B Some areas appear out of focus due to the projection screen becoming loose.



Camera Obscura Report

Building the camera obscura is a new experience for me. I was excited about the idea, but I did have problems when it came to the construction of it. In this report I will be discussing the problems I had with the construction of my camera obscura and how it affected the way I could take my pictures. I will also be discussing my own photographs in relation to the photographs taken by the 19^th century master photographer Roger Fenton.

One of the problems I encountered with my camera obscura relates to the way I mounted the projection screen. No matter how tight I tried to put it on, the projection screen came loose. The wind was no help both as it was blowing through the back hole where the camera lens would go in and when I opened the top to adjust the focus. A closely related problem was that the frame for the projection screen was sticking up slightly too high. So when I closed the top the frame would bend and distort the projection screen. It was difficult to know if I had the right measurement. Even before putting on the screen I checked and it seemed fine, so I just went ahead and stuck on the screen. This phenomenon also affected how I took pictures more than just being partly in focus, but that could also be a fault of my camera lens. Although I was extremely frustrated, I feel I now understand that a DSLR is not made for shooting through a camera obscura. A lot of the times the lens would focus back and forth, which meant it couldn’t find a focus point. When I look through the camera while I have the lens in the camera obscura it seems like the camera lens should be able to focus, but it clearly had trouble focusing most of the time. When it came to the loose screen I found that blowing onto it so that it was in focus when the wind was not present then trying to take the picture actually helped. Speaking of the windy weather, holding it is much better than setting it up, otherwise your camera obscura will blow away. Another thing I found is that the size of the camera obscura does matter. If you have a really big one it might be hard to hold it and take pictures with your digital camera. Luckily mine wasn’t big so I was able to hold it, although it was still awkward when it came to holding the DSLR in one hand and the camera obscura in the other. For me though, setting the camera obscura on an object like a table isn’t an option most of the time as I would not have achieved the compositions I did by holding it. I will say that my pictures through the camera obscura are only partly in focus or just soft, but still able to see general detail. While trying to take the pictures it was a challenge when it came to pointing the camera obscura at the subject as everything is inverted. I had to point left to move the composition to the right, point it up if I wanted the image to move down and vice-versa. It’s almost like looking inside a mirror. While I was taking my pictures, I attracted the attention of people around me who were curious about my camera obscura. Most people would just look at me surprised, and I even noticed people in a bus that was passing by turning their heads to look at me. Some people asked me what it was and whether it was for taking pictures. When I confirmed that it was a device to take pictures with they were extremely interested. The good thing is that no one seemed to feel threatened by the camera obscura. The pictures I took with the camera obscura were around campus and there weren’t that many people walking around that area. I’m sure that if I went to town with my camera obscura I would have come across more people who would have shown an interest in my project and asked me more questions.

The photographs I took were of buildings around campus. I took pictures of the different buildings and the bus stop in front of the Cottrel Building. I was taking these pictures so I can show what goes on around campus and I was also documenting what is there on the campus.

A 19^th Century photographer I found interesting is Roger Fenton. I have looked at a few of his images and found that a couple of his images are similar to the way I take photos of buildings. For example, one of his images ‘Salisbury Cathedral: The Spire’ (1) was taken in a similar way as I would take the photo. If I were trying to capture a building I would put it near the centre of the image. The tall point of the Cathedral is near the top of the frame of the photo, which is how I would have done it. One thing I have noticed is the lake in the foreground. I would still include a bit of the water, but I would have the camera pointed up slightly. Another one of his images ‘External walls of the Kremlin, Moscow’ (2) shows that he is positioned in the interior of walls while taking the photo, looking at what is outside those walls You can see the top of the walls. Although you can see what is outside of the walls, the image seems to focus where the wall leads and the central focus is the monument that sits on the wall.

To conclude I have to say that this is an unusual project as it was nothing I have done before or even thought about that the camera obscura is the pioneer of cameras. I am looking forward to what I will be doing next.

Bibliography

(1)                   Roger Fenton, Salisburg cathedral: The Spire, c. 1860 - http://masters-of-photography.com/F/fenton/fenton_salisbury_full.html

(2)                   Roger Fenton, External walls of the Kremlin, Moscow, 1852 - http://masters-of-photography.com/F/fenton/fenton_kremlin_full.html

Reconstruction of the projection screen

I have realised that there are two sets of lines caused from the distortion of the screen, which appear in the photograph. This is because of the way I mounted the screen onto the frame. I used thin bags for the screen, which means that I put two layers of the same linen bag. I replaced it with another bag which is thicker and more effective to project images from light. 

Below are a couple of photos as an example of the improvement it has made by replacing the screen.

 Cottrel Building, Main Reception, University of stirling

Atrium, University of Stirling

As you can see, it has also improved the focus. More of the projection is in focus, rather than just small spots being in focus.