Camera obscura

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A camera obscura is the natural phenomenon in which light passing through the small hole of a dark chamber or box will project an image of a scene outside the chamber onto the surface opposite to the

A camera obscura image in Wat Phra That Lampang Luang in Thailand

An image of the stupa projected onto a wall of Ubosot of Wat Thong Laplae [th] in Thailand by the gap built between the window panels and the windowsill

An image of the New Royal Palace at Prague Castle projected onto an attic wall by a hole in the tile roofing

Illustration of the camera obscura principle from James Ayscough's A short account of the eye and nature of vision (1755 fourth edition)

Pinhole camera

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A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens but with a tiny aperture —effectively a light-proof box with a small hole in one side. Light from a scene passes through the aperture and projects an

Camera obscura

…cubiculum tenebricosum, conclave obscurum, and locus obscurus. A camera obscura without a lens but with a very small hole is sometimes referred to as a "pinhole camera", although this more often refers to simple (homemade) lensless cameras where photographic film or photographic paper is used. Rays of light travel in…

A camera with home-made pinhole application

A fire hydrant photographed by a pinhole camera made from a shoe box, exposed on photographic paper to create the negative image (top). The positive image (bottom) was created digitally from the negative image. The length of the exposure was 40 seconds. There is noticeable flaring in the bottom-right corner of the image, likely due to extraneous light entering the camera box.

A home-made pinhole camera (on the left), wrapped in black plastic to prevent light leaks, and related developing supplies

An example of a 20-minute exposure taken with a pinhole camera