Pinhole Photography with AAG

Light, Sound, and Time is a course in which we learn about the different math and science concepts behind these topics. This unit focused specifically on light. We learned about the *speed of light, *refraction, *reflection, how our eyes capture light, how light travels through different mediums, *wave-particle duality pertaining to light, and we even learned about how unit circles and the *Pythagorean theorem can apply to graphing the waves. When the action project time came around we were asked to make our own pinhole cameras, which apply basic light concepts into practice.

By creating our own pinhole camera we would be able to capture light onto photosensitive paper which then can be developed in a dark room into our very own pinhole photographs. Our cameras could even help explain wave particle duality as light enters through our pinhole in what appears to be a wave-like form but when captured on our photo paper might appear as particles. The light would enter our pinhole in harmony acting as both a wave and a particle. 

(Wave-Particle duality, Live Science,2012)

We started the building process right away. Many of us used a shoe box to build our camera and we started by making an opening for light to enter. Afterwards it was time to make sure our box did not have any other openings that would possibly let light in other than the opening we made. In order to ensure that no other light enters into the camera we painted the inside black and made sure to cover up any places where it could get in.This is when we noticed that our pinhole cameras would not be showing neither refraction or reflection. We noticed that the light entering the pinhole would not be bouncing off anything making it impossible for it to use reflection. It also was not going to make light pass through a different medium and change directions therefore it could not be refraction.The inside of the camera is black since we did not want any other light entering other than the light coming in through the pinhole. If it were white the inside would not capture the light as well and it could possibly let in way more light than is needed. I then proceeded to make a pinhole  with a squared piece of aluminum I cut out of a Jumex soda can. With my aluminum pinhole ready I taped it on and aligned it with the opening on the side of my box. With my camera all finished up it was time for the fun part, taking photos!

(Inside of Pinhole Camera, AAG ,2022)

(Outside Pinhole Camera, AAG, 2022)

I decided to take photos of some hotwheel cars on top of 2 stacked books. Like this:

(Hot Wheels On Books, AAG, 2022)

With my very photogenic subjects ready it was time to calculate things like distance from camera to very photogenic subjects and in order to do this I used some math concepts like similar triangles. 

 Once my calculations were ready it was time to officially take the photos.But before showing the final result It would be rude to not tell you about the science and development it takes to make these photographs. So here is a quick explanation, as the light enters through a pinhole and is directed to hit the photosensitive paper. My shutter speed/exposure time for this specific photo was 5 minutes, meaning I let the light hit the paper for about 5 minutes. After it hits the paper and the paper fully absorbs the light we transfer it to a dark room where we place it in developer for about 30 seconds, quickly switch it to the stop bath in order to make sure we don't over-develop, afterwards we place it in some fixer which makes sure the photo doesn't fade away with time. Finally we place it in some water to wash away any excess chemicals. 

After completing the whole process we finally arrive to our final photograph:

(Books, AAG, 2022)

My final photograph came out better than I expected since I wasn't expecting the words on the book spine to be visible. I also realized later on that I had placed the tape on the wrong side and as we can observe it did show up, but as I believe it was a "happy little accident" since it did add a cool effect to it. 

In conclusion building a pinhole is a lot of work and involves calculating a lot of things but seeing light at work in our pinhole cameras and being able to enjoy our very own photographs as the end result is a great experience. Thank you for reading!

* Additional information 

Speed of light: 186,000 miles per second 

Wave-Particle duality: quantum physics phenomenon where light displays behavior of both a wave and particles   

Pythagorean Theorem: a^2 + b^2 = c^2.

Refraction: light passing from one medium to another 

Reflection: light bouncing off without being absorbed