The camera obscura is a very large version of a camera, said to be invented before the year 1300 by Roger Bacon. Camera Obscura is Latin for dark room. The camera obscura was invented before lenses were and the purpose of this invention was to produce images just like cameras would today. These objects were very large, about room size. The way this worked was each camera obscura had a very small hole on one side and the light from an outside scene would pass through the very tiny hole to create an image on the opposite wall on the inside. This technique was used for drawings. The image that was projected on the inside was actually seen upside down but could be traced on paper that was hanging on the opposite wall. This invention helped lead up to what photography is today. Camera obscuras were improved in the 16th century and became portable boxes, which included lenses and mirrors. Room size camera obscuras were very popular because images projected were a lot larger and could be viewed from inside the room. By the end of the 20th century camera obscuras decreased in popularity. There aren’t many room size camera obscuras left today but few still remain in the United States. After researching the camera obscura, I found this technology very interesting. It seems like it is just like a pinhole camera that we sometimes use today but obviously room size is a lot large. I think it would be a very cool technique to try to use and see what the image actually looks like on the inside of the room. I wonder how clear the image actually is when it’s projected inside. I guess ill have to create my own room size camera obscura to find out!
References
Gernsheim, H., & Gernsheim, A. (1965). A concise history of photography . New York: Grosset & Dunlap.
Leggat, R. (2008, September 23). A History of Photography, by Robert Leggat: CAMERA OBSCURA. Some of the sites managed by Robert Leggat. Retrieved February 4, 2011, from http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory/history/cameraob.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment