Eat Cookies! Workshop Camera Obscura for people of age 7-99 by Götz Rogge, Berlin / www.halqa.de

The eye is the window to the soul Leonardo da Vinci

The Story of the Camera Obscura (latin, dark room) dates back a long time... Its function is based on a natural phenomenon. In its most simple form the CO consits of a darkened space with a small pinhole through which Light streams in; ie from a sunlit garden. On the wall opposite the pinhole opening a reversed image appears. The focus and brightness of the image depends on the size of the hole. The Camera Obscura resembles the human eye and is the archetype of any camera. She also plays a key role in the spatial depiction as found in the paintings since the Rennaissance.

The „Eat Cookies Workshops“ can be tailored to meet every age group – from elementary school children and college graduates to curious adults. Cookie tins have proven themselves as ideal camera material once their original content has been enjoyed- hence the workshop title. The workshops are designed to address a variety of concepts and skills depending on the age group. Such as: - creative construction of the camera - applied physics - playfully seeing the upside down world in a frame - historic and philosophic context

Workshop description:

Part 1 inside the camera obscura

To fully understand the phenomenon, we will build a camera big enough so people can step inside. For Example, a completely darkened room, box or trailer with a small opening can serve this purpose. Participants are invited to step into the pitchblack space and once the eyes have adjusted, the outside image beginns to appear on the wall across the pinhole opening and out of the darkness shapes and colors become visible.

Here is a fun opportunity for participants to create a lively almost theatrical scene outside for the spectators inside the camera. Wittnessing this „magical appearance“ is just as impressive for people today as it was 1000 years ago.

construction workers vehicle as Camera Obscura / Gemany

This „walk in Camera Obscura“, can also serve to take pictures on large format photographic paper - or be simply for demonstration. Part 2 Building a camera and Exposure to lightsensitive materials

Following the experience of being inside the camera (part 1) building ones own small camera from a cookie tin or cardboard box becomes more comprehensible. The tin or box will be painted black on the inside and a pinhole is nailed into the lid. Since the focus of the picture depends on the precision of the hole a laser cut pinhole (ø >0.5mm) is placed over this opening. Once the camera is ready it will be loaded with one piece of photographic material (paper or negative- the walk-in camera can serve as a dark room).

At his point the participants will look for their a motif, with their one picture at a time camera obscura.The fact that there is but one exposure makes for a very concious choice of motif.

Now the element of time is coming into play.... Depending on the intensity of measured sunlight, the exposure is calculated and can last between 3-60 minutes. Due to the long exposure moving objects do not appear in the picture. The journey of the sun as well as wind and clouds become creative participants. For more than one exposure, the cameras need to be reloaded.

Taking a piture in this way, is the antidote to our fast moving world and offers a moment of poetic refection. the choice of photographic materials are: Black & white or color, paper or flm, positive or negativ.

The images will be developed in the lab or dark room and due to the work with chemicals not included in the group work.

Pinhole cameras can be made from the funniest objects spanning from a nut, shoe to a vacumcleaner pipe and tailored to the choice of motif and even panorama shots or a solar eclipse can be captured in this way. Optional: Postproduction Part III Printing technique

In the event that the image was captured on a negative gel, a positive print on paper would be the next step. Usually this takes place in a lab or dark room, but it also offers the opportunity for more creative explorations suited for a workshop. Through the use of extremely low speed emulsions, as in the early days of photography, we can take the developing process outside into direct sunlight . This offers yet another magic moment for the participants as they can witness the appearance of the positive image on the paper. A contact print is of superior quality, since there is no loss through enlargement.

The simplest version uses silver based photopaper, which produces a print in shades of „coffee brown“. This is very well suited for a workshop with children.

For teenagers and adults the printing technique known as Cyanotype is very intruiging: the emulsion is based on iron citrate and the print turns out a deep Prussian blue, aka Berliner Blau. Unlike the silver print, here the fxation is done with water.

An emulsion like this one is not limited to paper but can be applied to other materials like canvas, wood, metal, stone, etc. and offers itself for a combination with the photogram technique.

Optional: Historic Background Part IV: Picture presentation

The Camera Obscura has played an integal part in our human history and has been a catalyst for Art and science since Aristotles. This 90 min talk gives an overview of its uses since the frst discoveries in China, Egypt and Ancient Greece to its application in high-tech Space explorations and the contemporary Camera Obscura art scene. Condemmed by the Catholic church as „devils work“, painters of the Rennaissance had to use this tool in utter secrecy in order to achieve new horizons in realistic painting, dramatically close to photography. This shifts modern photography into a new historic context to the fne arts. Indeed, working with the Camera Obscura is is much like painting with light. Workshops range from one to eight days (part 1-4)

Introductory, 1-2 days, Part 1-2 reccommended for ages 7-14

• Transformation of a room into a Camera Obscura • construction of personal camera • fnding the right motif, exposure • development of negatives

Intensive, 5-8 days Parts 1-4 High school students and adults

Course description for Intensive:

• History/ Fine arts, Physics • Transformation of a room into a Camera Obscura • construction of personal camera • fnding the right motif, exposure • develoment of negatives • creating 1x1 contact prints from negative • theory of lightsensitive materials • printing techniques (ie. Cyanotype, Platin print) • making of liquid photoemulsions and the application onto various materials (wood, canvas, paper, stone etc) • Final presentation with exhibit of participants work.