Pinhole-box 1

I found a science kit about Light, aimed at kids age 7 to 11. One experiment is to make a crude camera obscura. Five sides of a box fold together, and wax paper is secured across the open side. A pinhole opposite that and a bright subject casts the image on the wax paper. To increase the intensity and sharpness I added a small magnifying lens in front of the pinhole, which means that, technically, this is no longer a pure pinhole camera obscura. . . In order to see the image on the wax paper I made a light shielding tube with black construction paper.

Now I could see the faint image well enough to focus on it. With two tripods and a dark-cloth improvised from a black sweatshirt, I succeeded in photographing it.

The crude optics cast an image that falls off sharply from the center, so getting a recognizable image must include a blown out highlight. . . you can view the set up here: sta.sh/0pda5nicp6w