London Photos with a DIY Camera Obscura

Photography with a handmade camera obscura, a study of London. I built it for the challenge as much as the results.

This is another of my experimental photography projects. After reading an article about camera obscura photography, I could not help but build my own. I bought a second-hand barrel lens for an 8x10 large-format camera and created an obscura which projects an image onto a white screen at the back of the camera, then photographed the projected image with a digital camera to create the final photographs.

I ran into many technical issues and went through multiple modifications. I enjoyed the challenge, but I also realised it is not a practical camera at all. It takes time to set up, is difficult to carry around, and is cumbersome to use for taking photographs. Yet it creates a distinctive look in the photographs. It was not easy, but I enjoyed every part of the process.