VA 428 PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY Instructor: Stephanie Paine SUMMER 2013 FASS 1015 Email:
[email protected] T 13:40-16:30, R 8:40-11:30 Office: FASS 2073 INTRODUCTION : The camera obscura, or literally dark room , was once considered a phenomenal device that was capable of projecting on its inside images of the outside world. Though upside-down and reversed, these projections were immediately recognized by 16th and 17th century draftsmen and artists as useful in creating more accurate representations of the world. The camera obscura also led to the birth of photography as it aided experimenters in their attempts to record an image onto a chemically sensitized surface. Even the mechanical photographic camera owes its basic structural design the camera obscura. Though developments in technology have made its use obsolete in the image-making process, a revival of similar devices has occurred throughout the 20th century. Lens-less, or pinhole, cameras were utilized by Pictorialist photographers who were interested in using its abilities to create soft focused, painterly-like images. And pinhole cameras continue to appeal to amateur, professional and fine art photographers as both an exciting novelty and a serious pursuit in artistic expression. DESCRIPTION : This studio course introduces the student to a variety of lens-less camera building techniques and photographic pinhole aesthetics. The course will discuss the uses of lens-less photography in historical and contemporary contexts. Students will be expected to work diligently during class hours. Each assignment will build upon the previous so it is crucial that the student attend each class session. The course will begin with a simple matchbox camera and advance to telephoto, wide-angle, panoramic and digital pinhole cameras.