Re: Making a portable 4x8 feet pinhole camera

Many thanks for the comments/suggestions. They are very helpful.

Perhaps I need to go back to square one and define my project. I want to
make a series of very-large format (4x8 feet give or take a bit) pinhole
paper negatives (museum quality) of several architectural structures and/or
wide urban landscape here in Montreal.

Up to now, I have used a variety of rooms (hotel, offices, etc...) to make
this type of work. This time around, I am running into the constraints that
the only spaces available are spaces that either cannot be closed into
camera obscura and/or cannot be appropriated for the time necessary for
conversion into camera obscura plus exposure time. Hence the need for a
portable light-tight device allowing me to set up camp for a short period of
time, expose the paper and pack-up without disturbing surrounding
activities. The camera needs to be as small as possible to allow working
in tight quarters and will be used both inside and outside..

It goes withouty saying that the camera should be constructed such that (1)
the pinhole panel (front panel) remains rigorously immobile relative to the
paper panel (back panel) and (2) that the two panels remain rigorously
immobile in relation to the scene being captured. Not a problem when
working inside but a real challenge when working outside, even under the
most favorable weather conditions.

Finally, and most important, the camera needs to have a slick look to it.
Imagine a Zero Image 4x8 feet collapsible pinhole camera designed by Zernike
Au...! This would be the summum of bliss...

Did I hear you Zernike?

That's it folks... Your continuing ideas are most helpful. More to come as
I move along this project.

Best to all,

Guy

2008/5/3 Tom Miller <tomwmiller@comcast.net>:

> > Guy Glorieux, Friday, May 02, 2008 wrote:
> >
> > I am working on designing and building a 4 x 8 feet pinhole
> > camera
> > which I will be using in about a month time for a project here in
> > Montreal.
> > I'd be happy to hear if anybody has experience in this area.
> <clip>
>
> Guy, this is a delightfully wonderful and crazy idea. I don't have direct
> experience making a camera like you're describing, but here are a couple
> of
> thoughts that might help.
>
> 1/4-inch plywood is not light-tight. You'd have to use something to make
> it
> opaque, like lining the wall with plastic black-out from Porter's Camera
> or
> finding a thick paint or something similar. This is a link showing the
> first Ice Shanty Obscura that Chip Lindberg made. The squares above his
> head in the photo are pop can pinholes mounted on thin plywood. From
> inside
> the shanty, the plywood glowed. Chip made some excellent photos in this
> house, including several 360-degree panoramas.
> http://www.pinhole.com/archive/415
>
> This is Chip's second shanty obscura. The MN Center for Photography and I
> 'rented' the shanty from Chip to conduct a public pinhole photo-making
> event
> on ice last January. This shanty is made of panels of extruded
> polystyrene
> fastened together. To make it light-tight, Chip covered the inside with
> black vinyl-coated fabric.
> http://www.f295.org/Pinholeforum/forum/Blah.pl?b-local/m-1201759280/
>
> My main point is that you'll have to do something to make the plywood
> walls
> light-tight. Neither of Chip's ice shanty designs is easy to move, which
> is
> one of your main criteria. On the other hand, Montreal is on the same
> latitude as the Twin Cities, and my guess is that there would be places
> nearby that manufacture or sell portable ice fishing shanties. You may be
> able to incorporate some of their design ideas and knowledge into your
> camera, especially what they do for ease of setup and light-weight
> materials
> for portability.
>
> > Regards to all
> > and congratulations for WPPD 2008 to the organizers and the
> > participants.
> > A fantastic success
>
> Thank you, Guy. You were one of the founders of this amazing event, and
> you
> built a strong foundation for your successors.
>
> Tom
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--
Que la douceur de l'amitié soit faite de rires et de plaisirs partagés.
Khalil Gibran
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