The prototype Portable Camera Obscura was designed and built by Jenny and Pete in Pete’s back garden in Stirchley in June 2014. It measured 1mx2m and was on wheels so could go pretty much anywhere.
It was in use during the summer and autumn of 2014 but has now been retired to make way for the new and improved version.
How it came to be
We started with a plan…
Which turned into a frame…
Which we covered in black plastic and put lens on top of…
and spent a long time looking in…
And it worked!
So we put a big mirror on…
Attached some old BMX wheels…
And took it for a walk around Digbeth…
But the “looking in the top” thing wasn’t ideal, and it took too long to light-proof, so we moved the plastic to inside the frame, cut a hole in the side so people stuck their heads right in, fixed a hood on and covered it in gold…
And the rest was gravy!