Jacob Stern
Photographing the Urban
Professor Sylvia Borda
Camera Obscura
The
theme of this group of pictures taken through the lens of a homemade camera
obscura was the Old Town of Stirling Scotland. Many of the buildings in this
area are hundreds of years old and even those that are in use by modern
citizens remain in their ancient shells. This scenery provides a subject close
to what the original photographers would have seen.
As this plastic screen was too thin, another screen and set of eight pictures were taken at the University of Stirling Campus, these pictures are located at the bottom of this post.
As this plastic screen was too thin, another screen and set of eight pictures were taken at the University of Stirling Campus, these pictures are located at the bottom of this post.
Flats on Bow Street: Old Town, Stirling
The Old Town Jail, Stirling
Viewfield Church: Old Town, Stirling Scotland
Youth Hostel, former church: Old Town, Stirling
John Cowanes Hospital at Old Town, Stirling
Auchenbowies House
Holy Rude Church: Old Town, Stirling
The Crown of Old Town: Stirling Castle, Stirling
Using the homemade camera obscura presented several
challenges relating to optical limitations of both the box and camera, the
physical difficulties associated with use, and the poor quality of the
construction materials. Due to these limitations the photographs are by no
measure perfect, although the process was a learning experience. In part the
poor quality of the photos is due to the low level of light present on the day
of the shooting and on the quality of the camera.
The
optical limitations of the camera include: the point of light at the center of
each photograph, the wrinkles that sometimes appear on the screen, and the size
of the box. The point of the light in each picture where the light from the
lens focuses most intensely is due to the convex curve of the lens. Because light
always travels in a straight line1, the light is most intense at the
center of the image as the center is exposed to the largest number of points of
light. This became most problematic in well lit areas, or when the camera was
pointed up, limiting the perspectives available. Several attempts were made to
overcome this difficulty; the light perception settings on the camera was
adjusted based upon the scene in question and the size of the view passing
through the outer camera obscura lens was shuttered with cardboard and tape.
These attempts were largely unsuccessful in removing the halo but did help to
reduce it. The wrinkles on the screen appear when pressure is applied to the
outside of the box and because the screen lost its tautness as time progressed
and the tape fixing it to the side began to give. The boxes size makes it
difficult to obtain large panoramic images that offer and detail.
The
challenges of the camera obscura are not only rooted in the pictures and inside
of the main chamber; the boxes size also presents a notable challenge. It is
important to note the physical difficulties that come with holding a box and
camera still, at the same time, and often in a precarious position such as the
street or on a wall.
Lastly,
the poor quality of the construction materials contributed to the picture
quality and difficulties. The cardboard box offers too much flexibility with
too many holes through which light can enter. Additionally, the plastic sheet
used to build the projection screen in the camera obscura is too translucent
and stretchable. These problems are visible as the screen loses its tight fit
throughout the photographing session and through the presence of the large halo
in the center of many of the pictures.
While
not all of these problems were faced by the original masters of photography,
some are applicable: building materials and methods, and optical limitations
and restrictions of understanding surely plagued early artists and
experimenters as they strove to perfect their techniques. As humankind’s
understanding of optical principles improved, so too did the camera obscura.
The construction and function of
the camera obscura is a combination of science and art because it involves the
application of optical principles of light and finding the right subject to
record, in the right light. While the camera obscura has existed for only about
200 years, this convergence of science and art has been slow, beginning at
least in 300 B.C. with Euclid in Alexandria and continuing onward through the
advent of the convex lens in 1267 A.D. by Sir Roger Bacon in England2.
Although science reached a point where it could produce the first camera
obscura, in the fourth century3, art also progressed through to a point
where it required a more simple and accurate method of recording their subjects,
moving on from freehand sketching and painting to the gridded method of the
seventeenth century4. The two ideas did not come together until the eighteenth
century, when artists such as Canaletto (1697 - 1768) and Paul Sandby (1730 –
1809) implemented them to record city-skylines and other large subjects. The
use of the camera obscura slowly progressed and technology was developed which
allowed it to reach the handheld size and use a mirror to flip the inverted
image back the right way. This then morphed into the modern camera as light
sensitive paper was developed which allowed the recording of imaging through
the efforts of Talbot and Daguerre in the nineteenth century4. After this discovery, both the use of the
camera by artists and the technology related to the camera exploded in popularity
and scope until the advent of the modern camera.
Works Cited
2. BBC. (2002, February 11). The
History of Optical Science - Edited Entry. h2g2 - The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy: Earth Edition. Retrieved June 23, 2014, from http://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A666128
4. Drawing Techniques. Victoria and
Albert Museum, Digital Media webmaster@vam.ac.uk. Retrieved June 23, 2014, from
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/d/drawing-techniques/
Fraser of Allander House, University of Stirling
Andrew Stewart Hall, University of Stirling
Willow Court, University of Stirling
Cottrell Building, University of Stirling
Gannochy Sport Center, University of Stirling
Cottrell Building, University of Stirling
Andrew Miller Building, University of Stirling
Andrew Miller Library, University of Stirling
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