In the age of digital photography, how a camera functions is somewhat of a mystery for most new photographers. What is the function of the lens, the shutter, and where does the image gets recorded? Many of us built a pinhole camera to explore these questions and discover the answers. Well, as it turns out, you can still do that today with Kelli Anderson‘s pop-up book, appropriately titled “This Book is a Camera.” Open it, and a fully functional pinhole camera pops up, ready to be used.
The book (US $29) includes:
– a piece of paper folded into a working 4×5″ camera
– a lightproof bag
– 5 sheets of photo-paper “film”
– development instructions (use household ingredients or photo chemicals)
– a satisfying demonstration of the connection between design & science / structures & functions
As stated, it comes with a starter pack of B/W Ilford photo paper and instructions on how to use the camera to take photos. Where it gets dicey is that you’ll also need to pick up some developer fluid and have a (completely) dark room to load and develop the photo in. A red lightbulb in the room will allow you to see what you are doing without exposing the film. Not sure if your friendly camera retail store will stock and sell the developer fluid these days.
This Book is a Camera from kellianderson on Vimeo.
More information at kellianderson.com/camera/.
Purchase at: kellianderson.com/books/thecamera.html
via Colossal