Many people would be surprised to learn that you can make a camera out of pretty much anything. Artists have made them out of cardboard, clay, wood, even vegetables. I chose this coffee can for its convenient size and shape, and the top opening did not need to be sanded down or prepared as you would with a drinks can or similar.
Firstly, the container needs to be light-proofed- I did this by spraying the inside using a black paint with a matte texture to prevent light from being reflected around. I also constructed a removable lid using opaque cardboard and used tape to ensure that no light could leak in. The lid needs to be long enough to ensure that light does not enter through the rim.
Next, I drilled a hole halfway down. I taped a piece of tin foil on the inside over the hole, and made a pinhole through the foil- this is the aperture for light to enter through. Lastly, using cardboard and tape, I made a flap over the pinhole which will act as a manual shutter so I can control the exposure time. Once completed, I could load the Coffee Cam with photographic paper, ensuring that the lid was securely on before leaving the darkroom.
The completed Coffee Cam
Anatomy of a pinhole camera
It took some experimentation to determine the optimal exposure time using the Coffee Cam. The time will be determined by size of the pinhole made, as well as the light level on the day. The below image was my second attempt, where I exposed it for 30 seconds. Using this process, the developed image will be a negative, but as you can see the image came out a little too dark, meaning it was exposed for too long.
Below it, you can see a photocopy I took where I have reversed the tones. I like how the image came out and enjoy how the shape of the building was emphasised by the curvature of the coffee can. One of the advantages of using a curved container is that you can make a wide angle image, so next time I will attempt this using a longer strip of paper in the Coffee Cam.
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