Pinhole & Camera Obscura

In  this workshop, participants will explore the construction of wearable  cameras as a way to experience image making at its most basic level,  following the path of light and the interaction between space, objects,  and image formation. The session introduces reflections on  simplicity as a complex process and reconnects participants with the  origins of image-forming devices through slow photography. Through  hands-on experimentation, participants will work directly with the  materiality of light to reflect on how images are created and how this  process relates to the way we imagine and shape the world around us. The focus is on understanding image formation through direct physical experience. During  the practical phase, participants will assemble camera obscuras in  different formats, using surfaces with varied characteristics for image  formation and intentionally generating anamorphic distortions as part of  the creative process. Anamorphic distortion is embraced as a creative strategy rather than a technical flaw.

Outline

1. Brief introduction of the participants

2. Brief explanation of the camera obscura phenomenon

3. Division of the group into pairs for mutual assistance

4. Photographer and camera dynamics

5. Construction of the wearable camera

6. Experimentation with the camera

7. Possible modification of the camera

8. Decoration and customization of the camera through cutting and pasting

9. Final discussion and collective reflection on the experience of seeing differently

In this workshop, participants will explore pinhole cameras and long exposure techniques as tools for creating ghost like and fragmented images, including self portraits and other experimental variations. The focus is on understanding how extended exposure reshapes the way the body appears within the frame.

By working with camera stillness and controlled movement, participants will observe how figures can emerge, dissolve, or partially disappear over time. The session highlights the relationship between time, presence, and absence in image formation, using blur, transparency, repetition, and layered motion as expressive resources.

Through guided experimentation, participants will test different strategies for self representation and performative interaction with the camera, discovering how long exposures transform space, gesture, and identity. The aim is to experience time as an active element in the construction of the photograph.

Outline

1. Introduction to pinhole cameras and long exposure principles

2. Demonstration of how movement and stillness affect ghost like imagery

3. Practical exercises creating self portraits and experimental long exposure images

4. Testing variations: body movement, partial presence, and multiple exposures through time

5. Review and discussion of results and experimental approaches

In this workshop, participants will explore an unconventional approach to pinhole photography using biscuits as multi aperture pinholes to produce abstract and unexpected images. The session introduces the basic principles of pinhole photography and the construction of simple cameras made from found containers.

The core of the workshop focuses on building biscuit based pinhole cameras, where the biscuit itself functions as a multi aperture pinhole, allowing participants to explore distortion, abstraction, and unusual visual results. The aim is to understand how the structure of the pinhole directly shapes the final image.

Through experimentation and adjustment, participants will learn how camera construction affects the outcome, working through testing, observation, and modification. The emphasis is on hands on experimentation and iterative camera design.

Outline

1. Introduction to pinhole photography and use of basic box pinhole cameras

2. Construction of biscuit pinhole cameras

3. Experimentation with biscuit cameras and adjustment of camera construction and images

In this workshop, participants will explore minutera photography as a direct and performative process where shooting, developing, and printing unfold in one continuous action. The session introduces the historical origins of the technique, its basic principles, and the specific functioning of the minutera camera, with particular attention to light control, exposure times, and the use of paper negatives.

The core of the workshop is practical and takes place outdoors, allowing each participant to produce complete portraits from negative to positive in real time. The emphasis is on experiencing the full photographic process within a single uninterrupted workflow.

With guided supervision and immediate corrections, participants will refine their technical approach while working on site. The session concludes with a collective review focused on improving contrast, sharpness, and consistency in the final results.

Outline

1. Welcome and introduction in the classroom: presentation of the minutera process, history, basic principles, and preparation of chemicals and materials

2. Minutera camera operation: camera components, preparation of paper negatives, light control, and exposure

3. Outdoor practice: portrait making with the minutera camera, including negative development inside the camera and positive printing, with real time guidance

4. Final review and analysis: corrections, tips for better contrast and sharpness, and open questions

Este  taller propone una aproximación práctica y conceptual a la solarigrafía  como una forma de trabajar con el tiempo más que con la imagen. A  través de exposiciones prolongadas al sol, exploraremos cómo la luz  registra el paso de los días y transforma el paisaje en una huella  expandida, donde el tiempo deja de ser invisible y se vuelve cicatriz.

Se  abordarán sus principios básicos y su relación con la fotografía  estenopeica, poniendo especial atención en la lógica del proceso: la  duración, la espera y la transformación lenta del material fotosensible.  La solarigrafía será entendida como una práctica que desplaza la idea  de control y nos invita a convivir con lo imprevisible.

Cada  participante construirá su propia cámara de solarigrafía, comprendiendo  sus principios de funcionamiento y los criterios básicos para su  colocación. Se analizará cómo el recorrido solar y el entorno inciden  directamente en la imagen final.

También  se recorrerá el proceso completo: desde la apertura de la cámara y la  extracción del papel hasta la digitalización, edición y conservación de  la imagen, entendiendo que el resultado final es tanto un registro solar  como una experiencia extendida en el tiempo.

Cronograma

• Introducción teórica y contexto histórico. Diferencias con la  fotografía estenopeica clásica.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      -  Referentes: tipos de cámaras y experiencias desarrolladas en diferentes  partes del mundo.

• Armado de la cámara: cada participante  realizará al menos una cámara de solarigrafía durante el taller. Se  brindarán todas las instrucciones necesarias para su instalación y sus  posibles variantes.

• Extracción y escaneado: procedimiento para retirar el papel de la cámara y digitalizar la imagen.

• Digitalización y edición de la imagen. Métodos de conservación.

In  this workshop, participants will explore the construction of self-made  image-producing devices to create photographs beyond the traditional  Cartesian perspective. The focus is on generating anamorphic images through direct interventions inside cameras built by the participants themselves. Through  hands-on practice, students will work with the camera obscura principle  to understand how images are formed, including the inversion and  upside-down projection of light inside the device. The aim is to experience image formation as a physical and spatial process rather than a purely optical one. Participants  will design and build their own anamorphic cameras, use them to produce  photographs, and then develop the results in the laboratory. The session concludes with a collective analysis of the images, reflecting on distortion as an expanded way of seeing.

Outline

1. Student introductions and sharing of experiences with photography

2. Brief explanation of image formation principles inside a photographic camera, including inverted light projection

3. Construction of a viewing camera (portable camera obscura)

4. Observation using the viewing camera

5. Intervention in the viewing camera to obtain anamorphic images

6. Construction of homemade cardboard cameras and study of where to create apertures

7. Laboratory setup and explanation of chemical processing

8. Outing to photograph

9. Processing the photographs in the laboratory

10. Selection of one image for positive printing

11. Printing in the laboratory

12. Final discussion and evaluation

In this workshop, participants will get a hands on introduction to building pinhole cameras from found objects, focusing on experimentation, material choice, and the behavior of light. After a short introduction to the history and principles of pinhole photography, the group will explore basic box cameras before heading out to search for potential camera bodies in local thrift stores or markets, or using objects they bring themselves.

The emphasis is on unexpected forms and materials, observing how each choice affects both the camera structure and the final image. Back in the workspace, participants will transform their selected objects into working pinhole cameras through trial and error, with the goal of understanding the direct relationship between camera design and photographic result.

There is also the possibility of adding simple lenses, depending on the chosen objects and individual approaches. The workshop concludes with image selection and a collective discussion, and, if space allows, a small exhibition of the cameras produced during the session.

Outline

1. Introduction to pinhole photography

2. Playing with basic box pinhole cameras

3. Searching for camera bodies and lunch

4. Constructing the pinhole cameras

5. Experimenting with the cameras

6. Refinements and adjustments to the cameras

7. Selecting images for sharing and group critique

En este taller se presenta la fotografía minutera como un proceso directo, manual y performativo, donde la toma, el revelado y el positivado suceden en un mismo gesto continuo. Se abordará el origen histórico de la técnica, sus principios básicos y el funcionamiento específico de la cámara minutera, poniendo el foco en el control de la luz, los tiempos de exposición y el trabajo con papel negativo.

La parte central del taller es práctica y se desarrolla en el espacio exterior, donde cada participante realizará retratos completos, obteniendo negativo y positivo en tiempo real. El objetivo es experimentar todo el proceso fotográfico dentro de una única acción continua, con acompañamiento y correcciones directas.

El cierre se dedica a una revisión colectiva, analizando los resultados y compartiendo estrategias para mejorar contraste, nitidez y consistencia. Esta instancia final busca consolidar el aprendizaje técnico a través del análisis conjunto de las imágenes.

Cronograma

1. Bienvenida e introducción en aula: presentación del proceso minutero, historia, principios básicos y preparación de químicos y materiales

2. Funcionamiento de la cámara minutera: partes de la cámara, preparación del papel negativo, control de luz y exposición

3. Práctica de retrato en espacio externo: realización de retratos completos (negativo y positivo), revelado dentro de la cámara y positivado, con supervisión en tiempo real

4. Revisión y análisis final: correcciones, mejora de contraste y nitidez, y espacio de preguntas abiertas

In this workshop, participants will explore a critical and experimental rethinking of the Camera Obscura as an unstable and playful image making laboratory. Instead of treating it as a tool for faithful representation, the device is approached as a system open to error, distortion, multiplicity, and uncertainty.

Participants will work with the Camera Obscura as something that can be manipulated, hacked, and reconfigured, allowing images to shift, dissolve, overlap, or fail. The aim is to question conventional models of vision and unlearn habitual ways of seeing through both material and conceptual interventions.

The workshop combines theoretical references with hands on construction and experimental image production. Analog manipulation is paired with digital tools, including smartphones, editing apps, and generative AI, to expand the expressive possibilities of the Camera Obscura across different media.

Cronograma

1. Introduction and conceptual framework based on Techniques of the Observer (Jonathan Crary) and Towards a Philosophy of Photography (Vilém Flusser), focusing on the Camera Obscura as a model of visual control

2. Presentation of materials and their functions within the Camera Obscura system

3. Hands-on construction of portable and modular Camera Obscura devices using accessible materials, emphasizing cutting, folding, and manual assembly

4. Practical exploration of image formation and enlargement through tracing paper and perforated surfaces

5. Experimental exercises to subvert figurative representation by introducing multiple perforations and interferences

6. Image production using smartphones, image-editing apps, generative AI, and short experimental video

7. Review of results and discussion on perception, control, and visual experimentation