Pin Hole Camera Photography - Blast from the Past

This self portrait was taken with an Oatmeal Box Pinhole Camera on September 11, 1986

at mid-day with my High School as a back drop.

 

The camera was made out of an old oatmeal box.  Back in the day the lids were made from cardboard and it fit tightly.

There are tutorials online for making them if you are interested.

I painted the inside of the box flat black with spray paint.  Then I made a hole in the side of the box  and filled the hole with a piece of foil with a hole in it.  Then using a piece of heavy black cardstock I made a door that was hinged with tape and help closed with rubber bands.

 

We used light sensitive photo paper as our film by loading the oatmeal box in the dark room then to expose the paper you'd swing open a cardboard door to expose the pinhole and count before closing it again.  It is amazing to see the detail that you can get without a lens of any kind.

 

If you'll notice there is a light vertical line that was caused by the cardboard seam in the box.

Also, the picture is an accurate representation of the 80s complete with permed hair, a big sweat shirt, stirrup pants and slouch socks with Reebock tennis shoes.

Aren't we glad not all styles repeat.

 

This is the original negative image.

 

Back in the day the teacher told us we could make a positive image if we wanted to in the dark room by laying the exposed, developed piece of photo paper on top of a new piece of photo paper right sides together and then expose it to light using the enlarger.

I did not choose to do this at the time.

So today I scanned it and inverted it in Photoshop Elements.

I am glad I kept a few things from my photo classes years ago.