SoFA photographers create room-size camera

In a room absent of light except for what comes through a small pin-prick, a panoramic view of the outside landscape can be seen. But, it’s not as mind-boggling as it might seem. The device that creates such a thing is called a “camera obscura,” and can be dated as far back as the ancient Egyptians, according to IU Assistant Professor of Photography Mariana Tres.\nTres, along with graduate students Garret Hansen and Rebecca Drolen, have constructed the primitive-type camera, which is currently on exhibit at the School of Fine Arts building. The size of a large room, the camera obscura, which is Latin for “dark room,” lets visitors view the landscape outside while inside a completely darkened and sealed room \n“Camera Obscura 415” was created inside of Tres’ studio in the School of Fine Arts building. Construction was simple: The windows in the room were covered with aluminum foil and duct tape in order to make the room as dark as possible. A pinhole was then poked in the aluminum foil to allow the image to come in. What could be considered the photo paper is actually a large sheet of white paper spanning the width of the room. \nThe viewers of the exhibit sit in a chair in the back of the room and slowly lets their eyes adjust to the dark. Within a span of about 10 to 15 minutes, the picture starts to come into focus; one can clearly discern trees, antennas, buildings, cars traveling on the street and anything else that might comes through from outside of Tres’ office window.\n“The great thing about it is that it takes a while for the image to become clear,” said Kyle Burson, Tres’ teaching assistant. “After sitting for a while, even colors start to form.”\nThe picture comes in through the pinhole upside-down, which Tres said could be explained by laws of optics. Light can only travel in a straight line, so when it reflects off the ground it comes through the pinhole and forms the top part of the image while light from the sky travels straight down on to the bottom of the paper.\nThe resulting image doesn’t only come into focus on the paper, but on the ceiling, floor and walls of the room. Because light comes through the pinhole at every possible angle, the picture of the outside landscape essentially surrounds the viewer. Though this is the first camera of its type to be built at IU, Burson said there are potential plans for constructing a permanent one somewhere on campus.\n “Camera Obscura 415” will be on display from 2 to 4 p.m. today in the Fine Arts Building Room 415.