Description
🟦 Build your own camera obscura at Montsalvat
Discover how a camera works before lenses, batteries or digital technology enter the picture.
In this two-hour Camera Obscura + Pinhole Photography workshop at Montsalvat, you’ll experience the optical principle at the heart of photography, then build your own working pinhole camera obscura to take home.
Working with photographic artist and Montsalvat Resident Artist Aldona Kmieć, you’ll explore how a tiny opening can project a live image of the outside world into a darkened space.
You’ll begin by experiencing an authentic room-sized camera obscura at Montsalvat, where architecture, trees, movement and changing light are projected naturally through a small aperture.
You’ll then build your own portable camera obscura and take it outside to experiment around Montsalvat’s gardens, pool, historic architecture and landscape.
No previous photography or analogue photography experience is required.
What you’ll do
During the workshop you’ll:
- experience a room-sized camera obscura
- learn how the camera obscura became the foundation of photography
- explore the basic principles of pinhole image-making
- understand how light travels through a small aperture
- learn how pinhole size affects brightness and sharpness
- build your own light-tight pinhole camera obscura
- create and fit your own pinhole aperture
- install a translucent viewing screen
- test and refine your camera
- explore composition and light around Montsalvat
- photograph the projected image using your phone if you wish
Your handmade camera creates a live, upside-down image on a tracing-paper screen, with no film, battery or chemicals required.
What you’ll take home
You’ll leave with your own working pinhole camera obscura, built during the workshop and ready for further experimentation.
You’ll also take home:
- your handmade camera
- a participant guide
- an understanding of how camera obscura and pinhole imaging work
- photographs of your projected images, if you choose to record them
- ideas for continuing with analogue and experimental photography
The camera is designed as a reusable viewing device rather than a disposable workshop object.
What’s included
Your workshop includes:
- materials to build one pinhole camera obscura
- pre-cut camera components
- aluminium pinhole plate
- tracing-paper viewing screen
- shutter materials
- black card and light-sealing materials
- use of workshop tools
- three hours of artist-led tuition
- small-group guidance
- participant handout
- access to the camera obscura experience
- entry to Montsalvat
The finished camera is approximately 310 × 220 × 100–150 mm.
Who is this workshop for?
This workshop is designed for complete beginners, as well as photographers, artists, students, educators and anyone interested in analogue, experimental or historical photographic processes.
It is particularly suited to people curious about how photography actually works, rather than simply how to operate a camera.
No specialist equipment is required.
A smartphone is optional and can be used to photograph the image projected onto your camera screen.
Explore Montsalvat through a different kind of camera
Once your camera is complete, you’ll take it outside and experiment with subjects around Montsalvat.
Trees, architecture, clouds, reflections, people and water can all appear inverted on your viewing screen as you move through the grounds. Your participant guide specifically encourages experimenting with the pool, trees, water and architecture.
The slower process encourages you to look differently at familiar surroundings and think about photography as an interaction between light, time, space and observation.
Camera obscura or pinhole photography?
A camera obscura and a pinhole camera work using the same basic optical principle: light enters through a small aperture and projects an inverted image inside a darkened space.
In this workshop, you build a viewing camera obscura, rather than a darkroom pinhole camera loaded with photographic paper. This means you can see the projected image immediately and experiment freely without photographic chemicals.
Make it a day at Montsalvat
The workshop takes place at Montsalvat in Eltham, one of Melbourne’s most distinctive historic arts precincts and the location of my artist studio.
Your workshop includes Montsalvat entry, so you’re welcome to explore the gardens, historic buildings, galleries and grounds before or after your session.
Give a creative experience
Looking for something different to give?
This workshop makes an unusual creative gift for photographers, artists, analogue photography enthusiasts, students and anyone fascinated by light and image-making.
Gift vouchers are available.
FAQ
What is included?
Everything you need to build your pinhole camera obscura is included:
- camera body
- black card
- aluminium pinhole plate
- tracing-paper screen
- shutter materials
- tape and assembly materials
- use of tools
- participant handout
- three hours of artist-led tuition
- entry to Montsalvat
You’ll leave with your own working camera obscura.
Do I need photography experience?
No. The workshop is designed for complete beginners, although photographers and artists interested in analogue and experimental techniques will also find it useful. I’ll guide you through the optical principles and construction process step by step.
Is this a traditional pinhole photography workshop?
Not quite. Traditional pinhole photography often uses photographic paper or film inside a light-tight camera, followed by darkroom processing.
This workshop focuses on building a live-viewing pinhole camera obscura, where the image appears immediately on a translucent screen. No film or chemicals are required.
Will I take photographs during the workshop?
You’ll create and view live projected images using your handmade camera. You can also place your phone close to the screen inside the camera hood and photograph the projected image if you wish.
What will I see through the camera?
Bright outdoor scenes work best.
Depending on the light, you may see architecture, trees, clouds, water, people and other features of the Montsalvat landscape projected upside down onto your screen.
Why is the image upside down?
Light travels in straight lines. Light from the top of a scene passes through the pinhole and reaches the lower part of the screen, while light from the bottom reaches the upper part. The same principle operates inside photographic cameras.
What should I bring?
All essential materials are supplied.
You may like to bring:
- your smartphone for photographing projected images
- comfortable clothing and shoes for walking around Montsalvat
- reading glasses if you normally use them for detailed close work
Does the workshop involve chemicals?
No. The camera you build creates a live projected image and does not require photographic film, paper or processing chemicals.
Can I use the camera again after the workshop?
Yes. The camera is designed to be reusable.
Take it home and experiment with different locations, lighting conditions and subjects. The darker the camera interior and the brighter the scene, the easier the projected image will be to see.
Is Montsalvat entry included?
Yes. Entry to Montsalvat is included with your workshop booking.
You’re welcome to explore the historic buildings, gardens, galleries and grounds before or after your workshop during Montsalvat opening hours.
Can I give the workshop as a gift?
Yes. Workshop gift vouchers are available and can be used towards this or another eligible workshop.
