This is the first unit of my Junior STEAM course Light, Sound and Time. In the first unit, Light, we learned about, well, light! We learned about the electromagnetic spectrum and light waves. We also worked on trigonometry where we studied unit circles, similar triangles, and sine and cosine waves. We also studied radians and degrees, as well as Snell's Law of refraction. We only went on one Field Experience this unit. We went to The Latin School, where we met with their photography teacher Ms. Ross. We used their darkroom to develop our pictures. This was a very important FE, because we couldn't have done the Action Project without her and the Latin School's support. We also did an experiment where we saw which lamp would raise the temperature of a piece of chocolate the most. This was so we could further understand how light and energy interact with different objects. For the first AP, we made a pinhole camera. We made the cameras in class and then took them to The Latin School where we took and developed the photos. We then had to calculate the light and distance between the lens and the object we took a picture of.
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| CM "Pinhole" (2019) |
What exactly is a pinhole camera? A pinhole camera is a type of simple handmade camera. It consists of a lightproof box, a manual shutter, and a lens. The pinhole camera can take pictures by placing an object in front of the camera and putting film inside the camera. Then, you let light through the pinhole which lets a small amount of light into the completely dark camera, where the image transfers to the film. The film is then developed, and if it works, you are left with an image. It is important that the inside of the camera is all black so it is completely light proof. The black inside of the camera makes sure all the light is absorbed and the only light coming through is through the pinhole. The pinhole camera does not refelct or refract light because light is not bouncing off anything, nor is it entering a different medium. This is the same principle as the camera obscura. This was a technique that painters used hundreds of years ago to paint realistic pictures. They would have an all dark room where there is only a small hole that lets light in which will project the image outside onto the back wall. The light that comes into the camera is part of the visible spectrum on the electromagnetic spectrum. This is a spectrum of wavelengths that includes everything from gamma rays to radio waves. The light acts as energy when it moves into the pinhole of the camera. Light can act as both a wave and a particle. This is because rays of light can pass through each other on not bounce off. Light acts as a particle because when it hits metal, the light is absorbed.
For this project, I used an empty oatmeal container. I punched a hole in it and then painted the inside black with black acrylic paint. I also painted the top so the whole thing would be lightproof. I then took an empty soda can and cut a circle out of it with an X-Acto knife. Then I used a pin and poked a hole through the aluminum. Then I sanded it with sandpaper so everything was smooth. This is the lens. I taped the lens behind the hole in the container and added another coat of black paint. Then I created a shutter out of black duct tape.
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| CM "Diagram" (2019) |
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| CM "Developed Photo" (2019) |
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| CM "Black" (2019) |
When we went to the dark room at the Latin School. I did everything I could to produce a picture. I tried twice, but both attempts did not turn out. The first one was all black which most likely means it was overexposed, even though the shutter speed was the recommended time. Shutter speed is how long the lens was letting in light for. For the first attempt with the plain white background, the recommended shutter speed was 3.5 minutes, which I followed. The second attempt had a checkered background which was 5 mins, which I followed. I also left the photo in the chemicals for the right amount of time. The second attempt, I chose the background that needs a longer shutter speed. I did this for the correct time as well, but this one also did not turn out. My best guess is that both attempts were overexposed. I don't know why, but I think I left them both out for too long.
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| CM "Camera" (2019) |
Here are my calculations showing the light rays interacting with my object.
Distance From Film to Pinhole (Diameter): 4 in
Pinhole Height: 3.25 in
Total Camera Height: 7 in
Curved Hemostat: 5 in
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| CM "Calculations" (2019) |
In the end, I really liked this project. It was very hands-on and we actually got to make something that may or may not work. This was a challenging product because we had to go somewhere else to do this project on a very limited time schedule. This meant that I only got 2 tries out of my camera with very little time to focus. This was a very unique challenge, and it made me think and work hard to figure out why my camera didn't work. I am proud of how my camera was designed, but I still don't really know why it didn't work.
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