“Trace Heavens” is a series of gorgeous light installations by James Nizam. To create these images James painstakingly made incisions into the structure of a house to capture and manipulate sunlight into light sculptures.
This just completely interrupted my day. I am so unbelievably amazed by these. (I took a picture of my reaction but it was waaaay too embarrassing.)
I want to be in these rooms. I NEED to be in these rooms. This is…I don’t know what this is. I haven’t reacted like this to anything in so long. Please, someone, TAKE ME TO THESE ROOMS. I NEED TO BE IN THESE ROOMS.
WOW.
(via cafeaulaittt)
Source: booooooom.com
Pinhegg, created by Francesco Capponi, is a pinhole camera crafted from an eggshell. The “camera” is only good for one shot and must be sacrificed in order to reveal the image.
Learn how to build your own Pinhegg here.
This is incredible. I’ve got to try this sometime!
Source: ranesang
Winter Term: Final Photos
WEDNESDAY, FEB 1:
I took my final Winter Term photos on Wednesday…and in my opinion, they’re my best.
Because I had some light leak issues with the new Box, I decided to use the old one for my last day. I took it out to the woods behind my high school again, this time opting for some lake reflection photos. Throughout my Winter Term, I’ve underestimated how long the exposure should be for my photos, so this time I decided to overestimate just a little. Turns out that was the magic I needed.
[45 minute exposure]
This first photo was a simple test to see if I could get a reflection. It worked, looks great, and encouraged me to experiment more…
[45 minute exposure]
In my opinion, this is one of the best photographs I’ve ever taken, but it’s really hard to understand that from the picture above. What’s interesting is that the reflection (the lower half) is a more balanced exposure than the actual subjects. This means there’s better detail and more contrast in the reflection than the rest of the photo. Overall, I’m so proud of this photo.
[45 minute exposure]
I took a final photo in which I tried to get a large reflection while also showing the curved edge of the pond. This photo came out nicely except it’s underexposed. Even though the exposure time is the same as the previous two photos, I forgot to account for end of day changes in light: while the Box was out exposing, the sun began to drop, and so there was less light. However, because of that, the contrast is really high. There’s a lot of black and white, with very little gray.
Overall, my last day turned out to be my best day! I’m very pleased that all my hard work and learning about pinhole photography could culminate in three very nice photos, one of which I consider my personal best.
Building a Better Box
THURSDAY, JAN 26 and FRIDAY, JAN 27:
With the new Box’s main panels cut, I first covered them with a clear vinyl tablecloth as waterproofing. I then needed to cut panels for the lid and corner tabs to attach all the panels. The tabs are as tall as the main part of the Box and are 6 inches wide. To make the tabs bendable into corners, I cut a thin groove down the middle lengthwise. This allows me to bend the cardboard at a right angle.
To help conceptualize the corner tabs, I will use a diagram of a cube plan with tabs:
This is the design for a paper cube that can be folded up. The trapezoids on the edges of some of the cube faces are tabs for holding the cube together. Similarly, my new Box uses tabs to attach the panels to each other. The design for my Box differs from this diagram in that there are only five panels: there is only one panel sticking out because there is no top to the Box but instead a separate lid.
I attached the five panels in a way similar to the above diagram. I hot glued one half of one corner tab to one panel, then glued another panel to the other half. However, I DID NOT connect the two end panels; not yet!
Before I could close up the Box, I had to spray paint the inward side matte black so that light doesn’t bounce around the inside of the Box. After that dried, I closed up the Box by hot gluing all of the tabs and then taping over them to prevent light leaks.
With the Box sealed (minus a lid), I then covered it with a second layer of waterproofing, also covering the tabs. I then made a small holder for the paper on the inside back.
The last step was to build a lid. I first cut all the panels and tabs for it and attached them to each other. I then spray painted the inward side matte black, taped everything to prevent light leaks, and waterproofed it with the vinyl tablecloth.
MONDAY, JAN 30 and TUESDAY, JAN 31:
With the new Box finished, I took my first test image and was easily disappointed: I had a light leak. That means that somehow, somewhere light was getting into the Box. I checked all the corners and edges of the Box and found no leaks. I then deduced that light must have gotten in under the lid. To ensure no light would get in under the lid, I attached a black shower curtain that hangs down from the lid.
I tested the box again - no more light leaks!
Source: gwydir.demon.co.uk
Long Day, Long
- This is the post for WEDNESDAY, JAN 25. -
Wednesday was a very busy day. Six hours of carrying, composing, re-shooting, planning, measuring, cutting, waterproofing, developing…busy busy busy.
First, I wanted to re-shoot Tuesday’s underexposed image. I decided I need to double the exposure time, so I trekked the Box out to the stream and left it for an hour.
While the Box was out, I went back inside to work on building a new Box. I planned it out with slightly smaller dimensions - less wasted space - and got to work on measuring and cutting the cardboard.
After an hour, I fetched my box and developed the photo. Still underexposed but better; you can see some details in the lower half, but it’s hard to make out what exactly they are.
I needed to try this photo one more time (1.5 or 2 hour exposure), but I really wanted to work on the new Box more. Logically, it would have been smart to set it out again so it exposed while I worked, but…instead I went straight back to work for at least another hour before coming to my senses.
I cut the five main panels of the new Box - no top panel because I’ll make a separate lid. For waterproofing, I bought a clear plastic table covering; I measured and cut it to fit each of the panels. Thought this all sounds simple, it actually took more than an hour.
At this point, I realized I should take the current Box out before it got too dark. I hiked it out and left it to go back to construction work.
Back in the art room, I finished weatherproofing the new Box’s panels. I had cut the plastic covering so that there would be an inch border all the way around the panel; the extra border allowed me to easily tape the plastic to each panel. I obsessively taped every last inch of the plastic to the five panels, then took a break.
I really needed a break. I got a snack, walked around a little, cleaned up my scraps, and chatted with a current 12th grader about the end of the IB and about college. I then went out and brought back my Box.
Here’s the two hour image:
Much better. At the bottom, the blurry area is the stream: it’s blurry because it’s moving or because it’s too close to the pinhole. You can see the detail of the ground next to the stream (middle right), and the fence in the upper half looks great.
After developing this image, I cleaned up and called it quits…almost.
One last project for Wednesday: during my senior year, I created three smaller pinhole cameras out of biscotti tins. I loaded these up, took them home, and then tried to get some interesting composite night shots. While my mom drove around at night, I braced a camera against the dashboard. I was unsure of the exposure time, so I did a different time for each camera: 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes.
Busy, busy day. Six and a half hours of work…Wednesday wore me out!
I worked A LOT today (technically yesterday…).
I just don’t have the energy to write my post today.
So here’s a picture of the dark room door. I took it today because I thought it looked cool.
Keep an eye out for a big update soon!
