How to make camera obscura with a box

The camera we see and use today has undergone many stages of development to arrive at where it is today. It started with what is called the darkroom or camera obscura. With progression, this dark room with a pinhole at one end reflects illuminated objects that are visible in the dark room. This was developed to a greater extent that we now have the DSLR, point-and-shoot cameras, and specialty cameras among others. In this article, you will learn how to make a simple camera obscura that can be used to explain the evolution of the camera. A camera in simple terms is a box that captures images on a light-sensitive material. Has the camera improved our civilization? If so then there is a need for you to understand how it first started for you to appreciate the importance of this great machine. In most beginning photography lessons, history of photography and the Camera Obscura is very important because it helps the students get the understanding of what photography has been before current improvements.

In this project, the following tools and materials are needed in no particular order:

• cutter knife
• pencil or pen 
• ruler, eraser
• paper cardboard and glue
• black paint
• wrapper (optional)
• lens
• tracing paper
• masking tape

Here are the steps to follow:

1. ) Make a simple sketch of the camera obscura. This is to serve as a guide. Working without any drawing is not the ideal way to come out with the best of a finished product. You can choose any form for the body but one thing that is important is getting the principle behind the camera obscura right.
   
   

   

   Process
   
   

   
   
   
2. ) Measure and cut the paper cardboard. Paint the part of the cut card to serve as the inside black. This is to prevent light from entering the box. 

3. 

   Inside of Obscura painted black

   
   
4. ) Hold the cut cardboard with masking tape temporarily before finally holding it with glue. Holding the cards temporarily with masking tape makes it easy to make adjustments before permanently attaching the cards together.
5. ) Make a hole at one end of the card where you will fix the lens. The camera obscura can still work with just a pinhole at one end but the lens helps to get a sharp image focused on the light-sensitive material. The light sensitive material can be a tracing paper of any other material that is light sensitive.

1. 

   Assembling the cards
   
   
   

2. ) Make another cut at the back of the box opposite the lens and fix the tracing paper there. The image formed in a camera obscura appears inverted and so a mirror can be used to correct this. To do this, put a mirror placed at an angle of about 45deg opposite the lens. Make a cut on top of the mirror and fix the tracing paper or any light-sensitive material there. The image appearing on the tracing paper will appear correct.
3. ) Finally glue the card to form an enclosed space and attached a wrapper (optional ) as a decoration for your camera obscura. The box needs to be closed tightly to prevent any light entry. This makes the image formed not to be blurry and faint.

A camera obscura

Get curious and make a camera obscura of your own. The camera indeed has opened many doors in the field of photography. Camera obscura is mostly done for teaching demonstrations among other uses and it's fun to learn and do it. After making a camera obscura, use it with observation to the underlying principles that form the basis on which it works.