00:07 Can preparation 01:03 Light-proof cap 03:54 Pinhole 04:44 Light-proof shutter 05:20 Loading the paper 07:31 Darkening demonstration 08:58 Sealing the camera 09:45 Final touches & Warnings 10:59 Film pot version 11:25 Taking down & Scanning
For all you Canadians out there wanting to make a six month pinhole camera, gaffer tape is duct tape in our world :) thanks for the great videos Justin, loving this.
Excellent project and tutorial! This was a fun video to watch, and it'll be fun to do with the kids. Developing the paper is the only reason we haven't done pinhole photography with them yet-I've never just left photo paper out, so I had no idea it would darken without chemicals! One thing I'd recommend (at least in the States) if you're planning to leave it in a public place, is to not attach it to park benches, play equipment, etc. Wouldn't want anyone to think it's a dangerous device someone placed (especially if it's partially hidden). Around here attaching it to a bench leg like that would result in a guest appearance by the bomb squad. I'm excited to browse through the other videos here! This one was super cool, thank you for sharing your design!
I took down my first can today and the photo turned out great! I'm trying different exposure times so there are still several cameras out there :) Thanks for the video!
Back in the mid-50s when I attended YMCA summer camp, the science cabin guy showed us how do put paper in a glass and wood frame with leaves on top of the paper then expose it to the sun. Were they called SolarGraphs? I want to think he somehow permanently fixed the images but don't recall after over 60 years. Like you said, if someone developed the paper it would be black or if they used fixer, the image would go away. Is there a way to permanently process the images?
You should search for an video "bw photographic paper chemical processing" i think. Thought, there may be different processing ways for a different type of paper.
This is awesome thank you for sharing. I teach high school adaptive special education and I am always looking for artsy activities to do! I believe my students would think this is pretty neat.
I come from a film background for my pinhole photography. I've never used photo paper the way you've described. I'm very surprised that there are no hard and fast exposure times for the paper. A usable image can be made with an exposure time of a single day up to a full year of light exposure? Have you tried this with Ilford's direct positive paper?
Absolutely brilliant! I plan to build one, and put it on the balcony of my flat (which I haven't visited for ages--the balcony, I mean). Even better, I get to have a beer first. ;D
Hi all! This is great and I am ready to try it, but am just curious. What type of photo paper would be better for this - fiber based or resin coated? Thanks! John.
I’m hoping this isn’t a dumb question. I’m building a few of these now and assume that you take the shutter tape off once it’s installed and ready to capture an image?
Fantastic training material. But I have attention. Photosensitive paper placed on the concave wall of the can causes distortion of the image. I suggest trying to put the photosensitive paper on a flat surface, on the opposite side of the hole. Use a shoe box as a "camera obscura", for example. It used to be negative film, now the transducers are flat.
Please explain. You put photosensitive paper in the can in full (not sun) light, you leave it out for 6 months....... what is the shutter for? Those few photons making it to the paper while you place it will not make any difference compared to what happens/happened will it? The idea however is awesome. Will do this.
You won't get the cool swirly lines leaving it out short term. The longer you leave it out, the more rotations the sun makes, therefore, the more cool swirly lines you have on your final image. It just depends on what you're trying to capture.
if you want to increase the duration by 50% you have to reduce the light by 50%. solution 1: reduce the diameter of your hole by 50% solution 2: Block 50% of the light by taping some dark foil (aprox. 50% light gets through) in front of your hole
JustinQuinnell i maked my one pinhole camera from a box but i need the right photographic paper. Does ilford paper work? And can i scan that paper afterwards?
I was thinking the same thing. What I would do is leave the pin in place thereby blocking the paper from shifting around. And then once the can is set up, remove the pin to start the exposure.
Thanks for the great demonstration, I've learned all I need to know about making a solargraph and will have a crack at it when I get some photographic paper :) . I wondered how these solargraphs worked given such long exposures, never thought they didn't need developing too. Cool to see a Fosters beer can in the the video, that beer is almost non-existent downunder, seems to be more popular overseas than in its country of origin lol, Victoria Bitter and Tooheys New are the top selling beers here in Oz.
@@orxanr5955 Yes I did a few pinhole solargraphs during 2015, I would link you to the photos but TH-cam will delete my comment. So just google the words solargraph troy walters and you will find one of them.
I did some experimenting with 'lumen prints' and you may be able to fix these images to some degree in a saturated salt solution. I say it may work as I have only used salt to fix lumen prints, not pinhole prints.
Normally pinhole-fotos take a few minutes for nice enough light comming in. How is it possible that its not completely black after month made by too much light comming in during this extremely long exposure?
Thank you so much for explaining the process!!!!!!! When I first saw your images I thought you processed them in chemicals! This is awesome! I want to try to do a long exposure pinhole photo!!! Yay!!!
Thanks so much for a fantastic video love it just wondering though I am working with a group of students with a disability creating a pin hole camera and taking photo what is the minimum time to leave the camera out I know you said month but I need it to be probably no more than a day or two will that matter if it is a sunny day? thanks
+Trace Davis I am taking a class in school and we do them with about 1 minute of exposure. However, we develop the photos in chemicals and i believe the paper is of different material.
Thanks Gabe I actually got onto Tarja Trygg and she said 2 days is ok which suits me and will definitely suit the kids. I have seen the same paper used but instead of using chemicals you can use dried mint tea which we will do as well to develop still need a dark room etc but that is ok. I just love this one as there is not messing about and keeps it simple for the kids. Thanks so much for your reply.
There are tons of people on youtube making the same pin hole cameras and doing 20 second exposures. What is it that is different that allows them to go for 6 months?
I would say scanning these lumen prints works fine, but most scanners give slight scanning lines, and don't pick up all the subtle detail. I've got better results copying the prints with a DSLR - even better if you have a macro lens. Use Raw, rather than Jpeg, for proper control to bring out all the lovely tones, in either Lightroom or Photoshop.
He covered that. Developer will create a completely black image. Regular fixer will erase the image. I also wish there was a way to keep the actual image, too.
you would not believe it but it works! Quite well! He is using foto-paper , so you can not use an enlarger. To invert the image you can use - as shown- a scanner and the free software "gimp" e.g. the problem is only the correct hole size and its accuracy.
Yes it will work after just one day if the sun's shining - you'll just get one sun "track". You won't get nearly so much background detail after just a day though.
To prevent light getting to the photographic paper. Once you've installed the camera - yes - you open the shutter and leave it like that for the duration of the exposure.
Hi, all the videos ive watched for this uses cans. Is it possible to do it with boxes? Or would that affect the way the light hits the paper in some way? Thanks.
ok i have a question, its probably a stupid one but, do you have to use photo paper, like is there a way to use regular blank paper and use that for the pinhole camera, cause im confused
Bobert, you MUST use actual photographic paper. Buy some online in 5X7 at Ebay, or if there is a handy old time photographer living/working nearby, ask for a sheet. Or try the local photo store. Something like this is what you need: www.ebay.com.au/itm/ILFORD-MG-44M-5-X-7-PHOTOGRAPHIC-PAPER-PACKAGE-STATES-25-SHEETS-/201089754726?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ed1e22666
but where do you ge that film and wich film is it couse he just said the size not the name or iso and so couse the iso must be super litle for 6 mounth in my mind so where can I get it adn what name has it
Do I need to buy "photographic" paper, or "photosensitive" paper? reason i am asking is because i thought "photographic" paper will get messed up as soon as light hits it.
+ZER012345678 Photographic paper is not that much sensitive, that is why it is used to make the prints, because you can work on them easily by adding seconds and more seconds. It would be pointless if it took fractions of a second like with film.
+DieQwietscheente developing the paper will result in a black image because the role of the developer is basically to accelerate the exposing process. You will already have an image when you take out the paper.
You could, but would need a much shorter exposure. We made pin hole cameras in college, using photographic paper, and we developed them to create a "negative". Then we used them to create a contact print onto another sheet of paper. Of course scanning at this stage would provide a sharper image as due to the thickness of the paper, it made the image less sharp. The exposure was 5 days I think.
So don’t use gaffer tape across, so you use less gaffer tape. Three seconds later, because you’re obviously now obsessed with gaffer tape, you might as well just unnecessarily use another strip on top again…
Gaffer tape is used by movie and TV crews. It is much more expensive than duct tape. But regular duct tape should work OK. I would just worry about duct tape's glue drying out when exposed to sunlight for a couple months.
in theory yes, but you would need a colour darkroom (almost full darkness) and much less exposure. It would not work for the scanning part. The light from the scanner would flood the image and ruin it.
Very nice. But I kinda winced when you were so casual about handling the paper in normal room light. I can just see someone doing that then ruining a whole pack of paper that could have been used for normal darkroom enlarging work.
If any of you are going to make this and need to know what photo paper to buy here is a link. www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/755287-REG/Ilford_1168309_Multigrade_IV_RC_Deluxe.html
How is this possible with ISO P 500 paper? Or with any paper at all? Similar paper in my pinhole camera experiments with ~ f:120 aperture has to be exposed for ~20-40 s on a sunny day. The only difference I can see is that I develop my papers and he scans them. I want to try this but want to be as sure possible that picture comes out after half a year :)
00:07 Can preparation
01:03 Light-proof cap
03:54 Pinhole
04:44 Light-proof shutter
05:20 Loading the paper
07:31 Darkening demonstration
08:58 Sealing the camera
09:45 Final touches & Warnings
10:59 Film pot version
11:25 Taking down & Scanning
This must be the best TH-cam tutorial I have ever seen. This got me motivated to try it
For all you Canadians out there wanting to make a six month pinhole camera, gaffer tape is duct tape in our world :) thanks for the great videos Justin, loving this.
Faaaaaaanx
Excellent project and tutorial! This was a fun video to watch, and it'll be fun to do with the kids. Developing the paper is the only reason we haven't done pinhole photography with them yet-I've never just left photo paper out, so I had no idea it would darken without chemicals!
One thing I'd recommend (at least in the States) if you're planning to leave it in a public place, is to not attach it to park benches, play equipment, etc. Wouldn't want anyone to think it's a dangerous device someone placed (especially if it's partially hidden). Around here attaching it to a bench leg like that would result in a guest appearance by the bomb squad.
I'm excited to browse through the other videos here! This one was super cool, thank you for sharing your design!
Exposure time is not just seconds/minutes?
What happens if you use colour paper?
Love this video. You should do more! You're a great teacher, and i'd love to see more vids. Thanks!
I took down my first can today and the photo turned out great! I'm trying different exposure times so there are still several cameras out there :) Thanks for the video!
Back in the mid-50s when I attended YMCA summer camp, the science cabin guy showed us how do put paper in a glass and wood frame with leaves on top of the paper then expose it to the sun. Were they called SolarGraphs?
I want to think he somehow permanently fixed the images but don't recall after over 60 years. Like you said, if someone developed the paper it would be black or if they used fixer, the image would go away. Is there a way to permanently process the images?
Hi Terry, the process you are mentioning is called cyanotype, and the image remains fixed permanently afterwards with just a rinse in water
What is the recommended ISO or speed of the paper?
After browsing through hundreds of woodworking videos I must say I love your comment when you tear off the gaffa...
Hey Justin, great vid. Could you post a link to a recommended retailer for the paper at all?
Thank you for this demo. My question if you want to save or keep the photo, how you can do that??
I guess you just save it as an image on the computer, then print it or something
You should search for an video "bw photographic paper chemical processing" i think. Thought, there may be different processing ways for a different type of paper.
@@DmitryKiktenko thank you Sir
This is awesome thank you for sharing. I teach high school adaptive special education and I am always looking for artsy activities to do! I believe my students would think this is pretty neat.
Great video (and fun to watch!), me and my housemate have just put two up today!
Did you remember to go back and retrieve them??
We are interested in your results, bro :-)
Amazing tutorial learned a lot, will it work with cyanotype or x-ray Filim with the same technique???
I come from a film background for my pinhole photography. I've never used photo paper the way you've described. I'm very surprised that there are no hard and fast exposure times for the paper. A usable image can be made with an exposure time of a single day up to a full year of light exposure? Have you tried this with Ilford's direct positive paper?
Absolutely brilliant! I plan to build one, and put it on the balcony of my flat (which I haven't visited for ages--the balcony, I mean). Even better, I get to have a beer first. ;D
This is great, never heard of a long term pinhole. The tip about saving one peice of gaffer was hilarious!
Hi all! This is great and I am ready to try it, but am just curious. What type of photo paper would be better for this - fiber based or resin coated? Thanks! John.
I’m hoping this isn’t a dumb question. I’m building a few of these now and assume that you take the shutter tape off once it’s installed and ready to capture an image?
Fantastic training material. But I have attention. Photosensitive paper placed on the concave wall of the can causes distortion of the image. I suggest trying to put the photosensitive paper on a flat surface, on the opposite side of the hole. Use a shoe box as a "camera obscura", for example. It used to be negative film, now the transducers are flat.
Please explain. You put photosensitive paper in the can in full (not sun) light, you leave it out for 6 months....... what is the shutter for? Those few photons making it to the paper while you place it will not make any difference compared to what happens/happened will it?
The idea however is awesome. Will do this.
@newforestobservatory9322 Thanks. That makes a lot of sence. I keep underestimating the power of the sun.
Can you scan using a photocopy scanner please?
I would like to do this with my class for a science experiment. Would a 3-4 month period be sufficient?
This video is wonderful. A very well done tutorial. Thanks for sharing!
Pretty cool!
Great video.
Do you have any comments on placement of the camera, for the duration of months?
Thanks.
You won't get the cool swirly lines leaving it out short term. The longer you leave it out, the more rotations the sun makes, therefore, the more cool swirly lines you have on your final image. It just depends on what you're trying to capture.
Any chance you have a copy of the directions you would send home? Will be trying with my MS students this Spring.
Any recommendations on making this work for 1 year instead of 6 months? Would this design overexpose?
if you want to increase the duration by 50% you have to reduce the light by 50%.
solution 1: reduce the diameter of your hole by 50%
solution 2: Block 50% of the light by taping some dark foil (aprox. 50% light gets through) in front of your hole
What size of photographic paper would you recommend suitable?
JustinQuinnell i maked my one pinhole camera from a box but i need the right photographic paper. Does ilford paper work? And can i scan that paper afterwards?
Was fantastic to see you on the George Clarke programme just now! With a modernisation of the development technique 😁
Lovely! I plan on doing this. Is there a need to secure the paper inside so it does not rotate in the can and obscure the pinhole?
I was thinking the same thing. What I would do is leave the pin in place thereby blocking the paper from shifting around. And then once the can is set up, remove the pin to start the exposure.
Subscribed just after watching this video, very informative and an excellent teacher you are!
Thanks for the great demonstration, I've learned all I need to know about making a solargraph and will have a crack at it when I get some photographic paper :) . I wondered how these solargraphs worked given such long exposures, never thought they didn't need developing too. Cool to see a Fosters beer can in the the video, that beer is almost non-existent downunder, seems to be more popular overseas than in its country of origin lol, Victoria Bitter and Tooheys New are the top selling beers here in Oz.
did you come around doing something like that?! i know it has been 8 years since your comment but thats what peaks my curiosity )))
@@orxanr5955 Yes I did a few pinhole solargraphs during 2015, I would link you to the photos but TH-cam will delete my comment. So just google the words solargraph troy walters and you will find one of them.
If the image is scanned straight in as opposed to developing with chemicals, will it fade over time?
help! there is a street light in front of my camera which turns on at nights. is it going to burn the paper and ruin the image?
Amazing! That is so cool. Now I need to get my hands on the photographic paper, wow, thank you!
can I use any type of scanner? does it matter what type of light it uses?
I did some experimenting with 'lumen prints' and you may be able to fix these images to some degree in a saturated salt solution. I say it may work as I have only used salt to fix lumen prints, not pinhole prints.
One last question, how do you take the top off the can? I tried a can opener, but that doesn't work.
Normally pinhole-fotos take a few minutes for nice enough light comming in. How is it possible that its not completely black after month made by too much light comming in during this extremely long exposure?
the image isnt developed, just scanned
So when you put up the camera, do you take off the piece of tape you put on the pinhole, or do you leave it on as sort of a filter?
I wonder if you could contact print the paper negative and process normally then you could have a more permanent positive to frame and hang up.
Yeah I was wondering the same thing. It might be tough to get high enough contrast, though, but worth a try.
ANY processing will destroy the image, even just fixing.
Will Kodak Endura (RA-4 process) paper work?
Hi Justin. Can you please tell me what program you are using when you invert? Thank you!
Thank you so much for explaining the process!!!!!!! When I first saw your images I thought you processed them in chemicals! This is awesome! I want to try to do a long exposure pinhole photo!!! Yay!!!
Thanks for the lesson Justin, I know you said B&W paper but would it work with color photo paper?
Thanks so much for a fantastic video love it just wondering though I am working with a group of students with a disability creating a pin hole camera and taking photo what is the minimum time to leave the camera out I know you said month but I need it to be probably no more than a day or two will that matter if it is a sunny day? thanks
+Trace Davis I am taking a class in school and we do them with about 1 minute of exposure. However, we develop the photos in chemicals and i believe the paper is of different material.
Thanks Gabe I actually got onto Tarja Trygg and she said 2 days is ok which suits me and will definitely suit the kids. I have seen the same paper used but instead of using chemicals you can use dried mint tea which we will do as well to develop still need a dark room etc but that is ok. I just love this one as there is not messing about and keeps it simple for the kids. Thanks so much for your reply.
I loved this video and he saved the best for last. The whole video I was wondering how to get the image.
can we use just matt paper? instead of semi matt
Would ILFord Pearl Multigrade be fine?
There are tons of people on youtube making the same pin hole cameras and doing 20 second exposures. What is it that is different that allows them to go for 6 months?
Una Sola Vida Photography the others are using film, this is using photographic paper.
and what scanner do you have ?
I would say scanning these lumen prints works fine, but most scanners give slight scanning lines, and don't pick up all the subtle detail. I've got better results copying the prints with a DSLR - even better if you have a macro lens. Use Raw, rather than Jpeg, for proper control to bring out all the lovely tones, in either Lightroom or Photoshop.
thanks Justin that was great, I will try pinhole photos soon.
How do I fix the image? Is it enough to just put it in the fixer or throw it first into developer?
He covered that.
Developer will create a completely black image.
Regular fixer will erase the image.
I also wish there was a way to keep the actual image, too.
Wow. I'm sooo trying this in summer.
you would not believe it but it works! Quite well! He is using foto-paper , so you can not use an enlarger. To invert the image you can use - as shown- a scanner and the free software "gimp" e.g.
the problem is only the correct hole size and its accuracy.
Hi. I am a photo student. Can you please send me a link to a pinhole photo?
What about if you used stop?! With that make it stay?! And I love you personality! I'm doing this...!
beautiful! two questions: does it work with shorter time like a week?
and
is there some way of using / showing the original paper from the can ?
Yes it will work after just one day if the sun's shining - you'll just get one sun "track". You won't get nearly so much background detail after just a day though.
What is the use of the shutter? When it is installed do you just leave the shutter open?
To prevent light getting to the photographic paper. Once you've installed the camera - yes - you open the shutter and leave it like that for the duration of the exposure.
Hi, all the videos ive watched for this uses cans. Is it possible to do it with boxes? Or would that affect the way the light hits the paper in some way?
Thanks.
This might help you th-cam.com/video/2Glok5NJEqg/w-d-xo.html
Does the camera have to be directed at the sun or can you place it any direction?
No, direct it at the subject, in his case the landscape.
here i got " canon photo paper plus glossy II" that comes free with my printer....would it be fine? thanks
Ugo Greco no that would not work. It has to be darkroom photographic paper.
ok i have a question, its probably a stupid one but, do you have to use photo paper, like is there a way to use regular blank paper and use that for the pinhole camera, cause im confused
Bobert, you MUST use actual photographic paper. Buy some online in 5X7 at Ebay, or if there is a handy old time photographer living/working nearby, ask for a sheet. Or try the local photo store.
Something like this is what you need:
www.ebay.com.au/itm/ILFORD-MG-44M-5-X-7-PHOTOGRAPHIC-PAPER-PACKAGE-STATES-25-SHEETS-/201089754726?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ed1e22666
could I use sheet film instead of paper?
+Gam er It would be too sensitive and you would end up with a blacked out sheet for this large amount of exposure time.
but where do you ge that film and wich film is it couse he just said the size not the name or iso and so couse the iso must be super litle for 6 mounth in my mind so where can I get it adn what name has it
CopperCab JR it's not film it's enlarging paper.
but how dos that react to light vs film
Its extremely similar, paper is just much less sensitive, usually people rate it at around ISO 6 or so.
What site did you get the paper from? I've done some searching and come out with the paper you print things on.
Wonderful... I'm going to find my can and get out there! Thank you
I'm so excited to try this! Thank you! :)
Do I need to buy "photographic" paper, or "photosensitive" paper? reason i am asking is because i thought "photographic" paper will get messed up as soon as light hits it.
photographic paper
+ZER012345678 Photographic paper is not that much sensitive, that is why it is used to make the prints, because you can work on them easily by adding seconds and more seconds. It would be pointless if it took fractions of a second like with film.
Try a photo webshop which sells analog and/or darkroom material.
bhphotovideo in the US and processuk in the UK
Would someone explain to me why i can't develop the image?
+DieQwietscheente developing the paper will result in a black image because the role of the developer is basically to accelerate the exposing process. You will already have an image when you take out the paper.
You could, but would need a much shorter exposure. We made pin hole cameras in college, using photographic paper, and we developed them to create a "negative". Then we used them to create a contact print onto another sheet of paper. Of course scanning at this stage would provide a sharper image as due to the thickness of the paper, it made the image less sharp. The exposure was 5 days I think.
Is there a way to get a 4 hr exposure? (it sounds stupid i know)
Stupid questions don't exist.
If u want a 4 hour exposure, just let the camera 4 houres
Sorry for the bad english, i'm french
Well done Justin
I am going to build this, totally. (btw, did you see this video because I shared it on fb?)
So don’t use gaffer tape across, so you use less gaffer tape. Three seconds later, because you’re obviously now obsessed with gaffer tape, you might as well just unnecessarily use another strip on top again…
Is gaffer tape "duct tape" to an American?
+John Stilley No duct tape stands for conductive tape, electrician tape. But try it, I don't see why it would not work!
+rooseveltEroosevelt duct tape is gaffer tape .conductive tape is completely different from the plastic electricians tape .
Gaffer tape is used by movie and TV crews. It is much more expensive than duct tape. But regular duct tape should work OK. I would just worry about duct tape's glue drying out when exposed to sunlight for a couple months.
@@kennyk4134 ; Duct tape *is not* Gaffa tape. Two different animals. Ask a roadie.
will it work with colur fillm
I ment colur paper
in theory yes, but you would need a colour darkroom (almost full darkness) and much less exposure. It would not work for the scanning part. The light from the scanner would flood the image and ruin it.
This is absolutely amazing.
helping me in my science project
Thank you so much for sharing this. ♥️♥️♥️
A 1mm aperture is way to large for that focal length
Bought my supplies today :D Thanks for the video!
Thanks for this lesson in my late 30th. ) A little bit envy novadays chikdren can get such great classes.)
Keep going! )
so.. you put the camera somewhere for 6 months and then just scan it?
so where are you going to store those 2TB harddrives to save all recorded footage?
Nalin P ur kidding me right?
no just adulting
Really really great Vid. Thanks a million for sharing.
Brilliant
They charge these for £16, called a solar can when u can make this at home...
Gaffa Tape, the elixir of life!
Very nice. But I kinda winced when you were so casual about handling the paper in normal room light. I can just see someone doing that then ruining a whole pack of paper that could have been used for normal darkroom enlarging work.
thanks
Lovely
This is the best. You are the best!
Fantastic video 😍✌️
If any of you are going to make this and need to know what photo paper to buy here is a link.
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/755287-REG/Ilford_1168309_Multigrade_IV_RC_Deluxe.html
How is this possible with ISO P 500 paper? Or with any paper at all? Similar paper in my pinhole camera experiments with ~ f:120 aperture has to be exposed for ~20-40 s on a sunny day. The only difference I can see is that I develop my papers and he scans them. I want to try this but want to be as sure possible that picture comes out after half a year :)
Aaand I watched it again and the information is there - the scanning and right paper that produces a latent image are the differences :)
Thanks
Well done 👍