*yes, that's the correct plural. It's a Latin term)
... and we're going to build one in Farnham!
It's possible just to use a pinhole (or, at this scale a hole about the size of a penny) but it's much, much better to use a lens. I have acquired a 102" (that's around 2600mm lens which will create an image 8 feet or more in diameter. It's a single meniscus (like a giant contact lens) which I've mounted into a frame for ease of attachment to other structures. Initial tests show a very sharp, bright image and a reasonably flat plane of focus.
A true camera obscura is a room which can be blacked out completely. any light leaks weaken the effect considerably so what we need is a light-tight box. As luck would have it the Fine Art dept. have just such a thing in the courtyard: The "Case Space" is a mini-gallery and resource, which course leader Paul Vivian is keen to lend out to interesting art projects. - and he's happy and enthusiastic for us to use it for this!
The plan is this:
At present, the Case Space has one small window set into the door. blacking this out will result in a fully dark space which is almost ideal in size. It's about ten feet (120") long which will allow some room for focussing (the lens-image distance will be 102" for infinity, but we will need to extend this distance to focus on objects in the courtyard as they are closer).
For initial tests, I propose to fit the lens in to the window space (see the photoshopped image opposite) and project onto the back wall. If this doesn't give enough focussing depth then we may have to build a temporary structure with a bellows or sliding box arrangement in front. The easiest way to do this is probably to build it into a replacement door.
Once the lens is fitted, the image can be projected onto the back wall. This can simply be painted white or a piece of white paper hung in place.
Obviously the box is fixed in position so the view is fixed. Attaching a mirror would let us move the angle of view slightly so as to look around. - Or it can be angled to look straight up, making an image of the sky.
Extending the use.
As a sculptural, aesthetic contemplative object, the camera obscura can stand alone. Just experiencing the image is enough for most people, but we can do more if we wish.
An early use for the camera obscura was as a drawing aid as this image shows:
If we hang large sheets of paper in the image plane, the image can be traced by hand as the chap above is doing. It will, of course be perfectly accurate in its perspective. Objects (or people!) can be arranged in front of it specifically to be recorded.
Another idea is to use photo paper. - capturing the image this way will make the box into an actual camera (and as most of you know I like absurdly large cameras!) There should be room inside to fit processing troughs so the camera would become its own darkroom. This adds a fascinating performance /installation aspect.
Timescale:
Paul has said he should be able to offer a choice of dates sometime early next term. This would be ideal as we want to be doing it with as big an audience as possible. It also ties in nicely with first year lectures on the lens etc.!
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS.
At this stage I'm not sure how much work is likely to be involved to make this happen. It could easily turn out to be minimal, but if we want to be more ambitious, with making images etc. more people will be required.
If you're interested, drop me an email on my UCA email prenn@ucreative.ac.uk. Let me know if you have any specific skills like carpentry or heavy lifting;-) or, most importantly if you have a great idea for how to use the camera obscura. I'll keep a list of interested people and contact you as and when the plan starts to come together.
Peter.
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