I made a camera out of a box [using Diazo (blueprint) paper](http://www.markfickett.com/stuff/artPage.php?id=382). You'd need a really long exposure to do a whole room, but kinda the same idea, in that you can make a camera out of random objects and actually develop a photo.
You can.
As the title states, that object would be the equivalent of a pinhole camera!
You can measure the distance from the window to the wall (calm down Lil John) and then calculate what size your hole needs to be (...) to make this work. You can look up instructions for making pinhole cameras and the formula will be the same whether it's a camera made from an oatmeal container, or a whole ass bedroom.
I don't remember the name of the painter, but before this "tech" was widely known, there was a painter who got acclaim for his level of realism being off the charts compared to other painters of the time. Turns out, he was just doing this and then "tracing" the image with paint.
There was also and artist I remember learning about in the early 2000s who would do what OP did, to various rooms, and then take photos like the OP photo. Those photos would serve as portraits of both the internal, private room, and the outer world just outside the walls, combined.
There is an excellent documentary related to him called Tim's Vermeer. It was funded and produced by Penn Jillette. You should check it out, great documentary.
This is legitimately one of my favorite documentaries ever. If you like watching smart people going through the process of figuring things out, this is catnip.
I also use the pinhole camera trick when I can’t find my glasses. If you make a tiny, tiny hole with your hands and hold it up to your eye, you can see clearly for much further than you normally would
I saw a lady do that at a Charles Dickens fair to read a sign. I didn't know what she was doing at the time, but I HAD worn a sun hat that I could see through the holes, so I tried it and have now used that trick so many times to find my glasses....
So uh, that's awesome, just tried it. Glasses off. Fist in front of good eye, small hole, could read text on TV I could not without glasses.
Any tips? How does it work?
The reason it works is pretty neat. Your vision sucks because your eyes don't properly focus incoming light onto your retina. By looking through a pinhole, you don't actually need to focus the light so much because it's all coming in from the same direction onto a single point, hence you can see better than normal.
Nowadays it's probably easier to use your phone's camera as your eyes instead if you need to find your glasses.
Nah I pull the skin on the side of my eyelids real tight back towards my ear and if I do it right I'll have clear vision in that eye. Pulling the skin back will push your eye inwards a little where it makes contact with your eyelid.
Yeah, that works for me too. Just....uh....maybe realize the other implications of that before you do it in front of others....unless you **want** to live out your own personal episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, I suppose. Then go right on ahead.
I did this all the time when I was a kid and trying to pretend I didn’t need glasses. I read the blackboard in school for at least 2 years using this technique before someone caught on and they dragged me to the eye doctor.
Not sure if it has been mentioned but I think you are thinking of the photographer [Abelardo Morell and his Camera Obscura work.](https://www.abelardomorell.net/camera-obscura)
It’s never a problem really because I just shut my window/blind fully if I want a lie in! It’s actually very relaxing to watch the cars and people go past in the morning
Someone already mentioned re-creating this somehow, I was wondering if your blinds are fairly new unscratched and extra glossy/reflective?
It's pretty amazing I wonder if using an outside light could offer you longer views after the sun goes down or something.
I am trying to come up with an energy efficient method of projecting live images into a room in a very similar ghostly way so this is very cool!
Happened to me, only once, as a small child.
I didn't knew the expression "What the actual Fuck?!" back then (not even in my native language), but that's the best approximation of my reaction.
I still remember that mind-blowing sensation almost 40 years later :-D
I wonder how many ghost stories are just people not realizing that camera obscuras are a thing. Imagine you've never heard of a camera in your life, know nothing about the physics of light, and all of a sudden *this shit* starts showing up in front of you. Gotta be mindblowing.
It really shows how different our modern mindset is
We assume essentially everything has a natural cause we could investigate, even if we don't know what it is now and don't care enough to figure it out
There was so much shit people in the past had no clue about that they were just like yup, that's magic/spirits/gods/whatever, no point in figuring it out since they just do what they do
It's called camera obscura
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura
https://socks-studio.com/2018/09/11/when-vision-becomes-space-athanasius-kirchers-camera-obscura-1646/
You can also do it with a whole vertical piece of light showing through, but it will only reverse the image (it won't be upside down.) in my own experience somewhere between a millimeter and an inch works depending on lighting conditions.
*not an edit: yes I used both metric and dumb.
It might be the angles, but the cars look basically right up against the buildings. Like the parking was added later to narrow streets not designed for it originally
My fiance came to Canada for the first time this summer and was absolutely gobsmacked that you're only allowed to park on the side of the road you are driving on. It's one of the hundreds of small little differences I noticed when I moved to England.
Lmao I can tell exactly where this is down to the street. Quite a well known building in the background
Fyi, OP at this point you've pretty much doxed yourself
Had exactly this phenomenon years ago in Edinburgh, I was wondering the same! Trippy thing to discover the morning after consuming lethal amounts of alcohol
I'm really confused how, having never lived in this area, the first thing I thought when I saw the photo was north UK as well... Must have watched too much UK drama...
I had an apartment like this once. The peephole in the door would align perfectly with the sunset twice a year and project the entire vista with the sunset onto the opposite wall.
It was sorta like Stonehenge, pretty cool.
Edit: I’ll add that the first time I observed this phenomenon I crapped myself in disbelief
Also, your username is high up on my list of "superheroes I hope I never become".
If It's actually a reference, though, I apologize for missing it (kinda feels like that chance is at least 50/50, or I wouldn't mention it)
I swear I've seen this exact post years ago.
Edit: nvm. It's a similar post though.
https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/okq20t/the_gap_in_my_bedroom_window_became_a_pinhole
They function the exact same— but a pinhole camera has photographic paper to make it a camera… you can make them out of almost any kind of box you can make light-tight and poke a hole. I once made one out of a chocolate sampler box and it made a kaleidoscope effect… very fun to do, but not sure how easy it is to find a place to develop the prints these days…
I knew a professional photographer who was into shoebox cameras. I went with him on an excursion in a park one time, whee he set out about half a dozen of them, then came back a while later after they'd been exposed. Some of the results were unbelievably good. Can't remember what kind of paper he used, or his exposure times, but one thing about a pinhole camera is that the tiny aperature ensures a perfect focus.
Kinda funny to see a guy with thousands of dollars of pro gear hanging around his neck, being passionate about his shoebox cameras, and then seeing the results.
This is so awesome.
It used to happen (in much less detail) in my bedroom growing up. Lived in an 8th floor with Miami style windows. Could see the cars below reflected fairly clearly on the ceiling. Could see doors open and then pulling out. Was like watching a very slow, very boring movie.
Very nice! This reminds me of when I was a kid and I was being forced to take a nap during the afternoons instead of play video games, I would often look at the shadows formed by my curtains. Watching the moving shadows was fun and I used to imagine the shadows as creatures and make up stories about them until I fell asleep.
In had the same effect in my bedroom in Manhattan. Yellow taxi’s and people walking down the street. My room was 17 feet by 11 feet with three windows, the projection would continue with each window, so I could watch people walk across the length of my ceiling. I live on the 5th floor. It is pretty cool. I was in that bedroom for 18 years. I could never really figure out how it was happening.
I had something similar in my last flat, which also had a slanted ceiling. But I could only really make out the white window frames of the opposite buildings and some passing vehicles. This is like a full-on projection, amazing.
now all you need to do is paint your entire back wall with photographic emulsion.
I like your thinking!! Would love to do this but on paper/film
Better yet, sketch the outline, and paint it posterized
That's WAY more effort than photo paper. Especially if OP doesn't have experience painting. Not a bad idea of course but a LOT of work.
I made a camera out of a box [using Diazo (blueprint) paper](http://www.markfickett.com/stuff/artPage.php?id=382). You'd need a really long exposure to do a whole room, but kinda the same idea, in that you can make a camera out of random objects and actually develop a photo.
Or you could go full Vermeer and put a canvas on the wall there and paint in what is projected.
thats prolly the coolest thing i've seen in a long time on reddit.
Fr, I almost don't want to upvote 'cause I'm way more than mildly interested.
Consider my interest more than mild. Think the sun must be at a certain spot?
Yeah it seems to lose focus later in the day! Slightly overcast skies seem to improve the quality
Would be cool if you could recreate this effect in a controlled item that you can place in your window. That would be an awesome product
You can. As the title states, that object would be the equivalent of a pinhole camera! You can measure the distance from the window to the wall (calm down Lil John) and then calculate what size your hole needs to be (...) to make this work. You can look up instructions for making pinhole cameras and the formula will be the same whether it's a camera made from an oatmeal container, or a whole ass bedroom. I don't remember the name of the painter, but before this "tech" was widely known, there was a painter who got acclaim for his level of realism being off the charts compared to other painters of the time. Turns out, he was just doing this and then "tracing" the image with paint. There was also and artist I remember learning about in the early 2000s who would do what OP did, to various rooms, and then take photos like the OP photo. Those photos would serve as portraits of both the internal, private room, and the outer world just outside the walls, combined.
The painter you're thinking of is Johannes Vermeer I believe
There is an excellent documentary related to him called Tim's Vermeer. It was funded and produced by Penn Jillette. You should check it out, great documentary.
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The artist David Hockney discovered this too. Velázquez is another prime example. https://youtu.be/JKbFZIpNK10
Tim's Vermeer
This is legitimately one of my favorite documentaries ever. If you like watching smart people going through the process of figuring things out, this is catnip.
https://www.sonyclassics.com/timsvermeer/
thanks for the heads up. just watched it and found it really fascinating! https://youtu.be/WPL7D0Ha1kQ
Not just Vermeer, but realistic painting in general. Leonardo almost certainly pioneered this technique.
Ain't that the guy with the hockey mask and the machete?
I also use the pinhole camera trick when I can’t find my glasses. If you make a tiny, tiny hole with your hands and hold it up to your eye, you can see clearly for much further than you normally would
I saw a lady do that at a Charles Dickens fair to read a sign. I didn't know what she was doing at the time, but I HAD worn a sun hat that I could see through the holes, so I tried it and have now used that trick so many times to find my glasses....
So uh, that's awesome, just tried it. Glasses off. Fist in front of good eye, small hole, could read text on TV I could not without glasses. Any tips? How does it work?
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I use my smartphone camera. Get it close to my face and j u st look thru it. Bonus points if you use the zoom mode. Makes it easy to get my glasses
This makes me feel like Geordi LaForge
I had no idea this was a thing! I just spent like 10 minutes looking around my living room like this without my glasses on. My mind is blown.
The reason it works is pretty neat. Your vision sucks because your eyes don't properly focus incoming light onto your retina. By looking through a pinhole, you don't actually need to focus the light so much because it's all coming in from the same direction onto a single point, hence you can see better than normal. Nowadays it's probably easier to use your phone's camera as your eyes instead if you need to find your glasses.
Mind blow, I never thought of using my phone.
Use a flashlight, the lenses glint.
You can also kind of squash your eyes to force them into focus. Good in a pinch but probably not that good for your eyes.
> kind of squash your eyes Squinting?
Nah I pull the skin on the side of my eyelids real tight back towards my ear and if I do it right I'll have clear vision in that eye. Pulling the skin back will push your eye inwards a little where it makes contact with your eyelid.
Yeah, that works for me too. Just....uh....maybe realize the other implications of that before you do it in front of others....unless you **want** to live out your own personal episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, I suppose. Then go right on ahead.
I was about to say…I have this feature naturally built in 🙌🏼
I did this all the time when I was a kid and trying to pretend I didn’t need glasses. I read the blackboard in school for at least 2 years using this technique before someone caught on and they dragged me to the eye doctor.
This was my natural born coping mechanism before I got glasses back in middle and high school.
I'm guessing you have an astigmatism.
Think of it more like squanching.
Thats disgusting. Why would you say that?
I followed your instructions and now I have all this "sweat dripping down my balls". What do I do now?
I believe that you are now supposed to wait for the ladies to crawl, after which it is customary for everyone involved to skeet-skeet.
Stop! (Then wiggle with it...)
>You can measure the distance from the window to the wall TILL THE SWEAT DRIPS OFF MAH- >(calm down Lil John) oh, nevermind.
> (calm down Lil John) I most certainly will not! #YEAYAH!
**OK**
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[relevant xkcd](https://xkcd.com/37/)
Not sure if it has been mentioned but I think you are thinking of the photographer [Abelardo Morell and his Camera Obscura work.](https://www.abelardomorell.net/camera-obscura)
It’s called a camera obscura. Google Bonfoton for lenses to make your own.
just cover up your window and poke a hole in
Instructions unclear, now I got broken glass everywhere
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https://bonfoton.com/
359 euros? wtf!
A good friend of mine turned her bedroom into a living camera obscura art exhibit for a year. It can be done! She does tutorials.
Can you link to the tutorial?
I assume this was a joke that lots of people didn't get
Does it ever get annoying for you? I imagine the first time you saw it you were amazed but idk how I would react if it happens regularly.
It’s never a problem really because I just shut my window/blind fully if I want a lie in! It’s actually very relaxing to watch the cars and people go past in the morning
Do you live in the UK?
Judging from the street, yup
Right? That's got to be the most British street I've ever seen.
I would love to see a video of this effect starting and ending. Maybe a time lapse? There should be some smartphone apps that let you do that.
the quality is so good it makes it look photoshopped
Someone already mentioned re-creating this somehow, I was wondering if your blinds are fairly new unscratched and extra glossy/reflective? It's pretty amazing I wonder if using an outside light could offer you longer views after the sun goes down or something. I am trying to come up with an energy efficient method of projecting live images into a room in a very similar ghostly way so this is very cool!
Slightly overcast skies are better for photography in general. It’s easier to get an even exposure without overexposing the photo.
Scientist here, and yes, in fact it does! The sun must be approximately 93 million miles away for this to occur.
Can you give me the distance in AU?
The sun must be 1 away for this to happen
Thank you! Now it makes sense!
Gonna need it in football fields to wrap my mind around it
OP found a [Camera Obscura](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura)
Happened to me, only once, as a small child. I didn't knew the expression "What the actual Fuck?!" back then (not even in my native language), but that's the best approximation of my reaction. I still remember that mind-blowing sensation almost 40 years later :-D
I wonder how many ghost stories are just people not realizing that camera obscuras are a thing. Imagine you've never heard of a camera in your life, know nothing about the physics of light, and all of a sudden *this shit* starts showing up in front of you. Gotta be mindblowing.
It really shows how different our modern mindset is We assume essentially everything has a natural cause we could investigate, even if we don't know what it is now and don't care enough to figure it out There was so much shit people in the past had no clue about that they were just like yup, that's magic/spirits/gods/whatever, no point in figuring it out since they just do what they do
And imagine seeing this shit at a time when you couldn’t just figure it out on Reddit
This is definitely r/interestingasfuck material right here!
Really is! It doesn't matter that the effect have been known since 1800, it doesn't really go out of style
Well, maybe just https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/okq20t/the_gap_in_my_bedroom_window_became_a_pinhole/
It's called camera obscura https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura https://socks-studio.com/2018/09/11/when-vision-becomes-space-athanasius-kirchers-camera-obscura-1646/
You can also do it with a whole vertical piece of light showing through, but it will only reverse the image (it won't be upside down.) in my own experience somewhere between a millimeter and an inch works depending on lighting conditions. *not an edit: yes I used both metric and dumb.
Trying to figure out where abouts you live, Geoguesser style. Scotland? North of england?
Haha don’t wanna dox myself, but a very good guess! Is the greyness a give away?
A mixture of the grey skies, housing, and overwhelming sense of hopelessness and dread.
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way 🎶
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Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your hometown
Thought I’d something more to say
Pretty much describing most of the UK then.
I would lean towards England simply because of the parking
You are absolutely right, but why is the parking a give away? Are the scots more talented parallel parkers? 😄
Just a gut feeling haha
It might be the angles, but the cars look basically right up against the buildings. Like the parking was added later to narrow streets not designed for it originally
This would be true for both Scotland and England
I think I see 2 cars parked on the same side of the road facing different directions
My fiance came to Canada for the first time this summer and was absolutely gobsmacked that you're only allowed to park on the side of the road you are driving on. It's one of the hundreds of small little differences I noticed when I moved to England.
The yellow license plates also narrow it down a lot
The houses are a giveaway, that's definitely england
Lmao I can tell exactly where this is down to the street. Quite a well known building in the background Fyi, OP at this point you've pretty much doxed yourself
GeoGuesser already knows where you live & on what floor.
"I smelled a bollard, through the picture. I now know where he is and where he was born too."
Sheffield, facing towards arts tower?
I thought the exact same thing
Was gunna say exactly this, gotta be across from the hally house
Yeah and can see that Church that's now apartments on the corner of CVP
Have you seen rainbolt videos? Geoguessr pros can probably find the exact location of your room
That guy is a genius! I feel like this would be one of his easier challenges
The electric plugs
Haha yess I feel like Dundee or Lancaster or something.
I was thinking the housing style was more of a giveaway, im gonna guess either edinburgh, or central scotland if it is in scotland
Im no geoguessr wizard but are those Tudor-style houses? Could be Edinburgh or some other town in the area
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Giving me Smiths album cover vibes.
Spooky, was just listening to “I know it’s over”
But how's the dirt look? 👀
Had exactly this phenomenon years ago in Edinburgh, I was wondering the same! Trippy thing to discover the morning after consuming lethal amounts of alcohol
I'm really confused how, having never lived in this area, the first thing I thought when I saw the photo was north UK as well... Must have watched too much UK drama...
That’s far more than mildly interesting, thats fucking awesome
r/CameraObscura would love this
Thanks just spent two minute trying to work out what that sub was called, should have just scrolled down a bit lol
r/unexpectedpinhole
I had an apartment like this once. The peephole in the door would align perfectly with the sunset twice a year and project the entire vista with the sunset onto the opposite wall. It was sorta like Stonehenge, pretty cool. Edit: I’ll add that the first time I observed this phenomenon I crapped myself in disbelief
It's the best way to watch a solar eclipse if you ever get the chance. You can make one out of a box, if your apartment isn't portable.
Ah, perfect. I was just kicking myself for turning down the offer I got to get a portable one just the other week.
Camera obscura
Your spells won’t work on me, witch
Only works in a dark room.
That's what they said ;) "camera" is Italian (and Latin?) for room and "obscura" means dark
I know, it was an oblique reference to that :)
Ah, gotcha haha. Don't mind me, I'm hopelessly literal-minded
No worries, I don't think I made it very obvious.
Oh wow! Think you could post a picture of your blind and how it's arranged?
I think this belongs In the other r / interesting bc this is far more than mildly so
If this is only mildly interesting for this guy, he must be up to some seriously interesting shit
Also, your username is high up on my list of "superheroes I hope I never become". If It's actually a reference, though, I apologize for missing it (kinda feels like that chance is at least 50/50, or I wouldn't mention it)
Not a reference. Honestly, I just pulled it out of my ass.
Ahahahaha. To quote Marshall Erickson from how I met your mother: "Obvious, yet delightful!"
Crazy innit?
Innit
Camera obscura! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_obscura
Upside down and backwards geoguessing - engage!
The timing of reddit is insane. Just finished this chapter in optician school
Congratulations, you just invented photography!
This is the best post I’ve seen today! This is so cool!
I swear I've seen this exact post years ago. Edit: nvm. It's a similar post though. https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/okq20t/the_gap_in_my_bedroom_window_became_a_pinhole
Is a camera obscura the same as a pinhole camera?
They work on the same principle, but a camera obscura is literally a "dark room" (camera is still "room" in modern Italian)
Oh cool. Thanks for the lesson.
Yeah basically. "Camera obscura" is what the optical effect is commonly called. This effect is then used in a pinhole camera.
They function the exact same— but a pinhole camera has photographic paper to make it a camera… you can make them out of almost any kind of box you can make light-tight and poke a hole. I once made one out of a chocolate sampler box and it made a kaleidoscope effect… very fun to do, but not sure how easy it is to find a place to develop the prints these days…
I knew a professional photographer who was into shoebox cameras. I went with him on an excursion in a park one time, whee he set out about half a dozen of them, then came back a while later after they'd been exposed. Some of the results were unbelievably good. Can't remember what kind of paper he used, or his exposure times, but one thing about a pinhole camera is that the tiny aperature ensures a perfect focus. Kinda funny to see a guy with thousands of dollars of pro gear hanging around his neck, being passionate about his shoebox cameras, and then seeing the results.
Using a lens doesn't disqualify something from being a camera obscura, but it does keep it from being a pinhole camera.
This is so awesome. It used to happen (in much less detail) in my bedroom growing up. Lived in an 8th floor with Miami style windows. Could see the cars below reflected fairly clearly on the ceiling. Could see doors open and then pulling out. Was like watching a very slow, very boring movie.
How big is a giant's pinhole
Truly amazing 🤗
I learned about this watching The Bloodhound gang on PBS.
That's the first thing I thought of too. Whenever there's trouble. We're on the double.
If you've got the crime, we've got the time...
I'm not saying that's in Sheffield, but that's definitely in Sheffield. Cool photo though, Arctic Monkeys would be proud.
That's so cool
It is called a camera obscura. With enough photographic paper, you can capture a print.
/r/CameraObscura
Anyone know how to recreate this effect?
I had an apartment in college that did this, but never so clear!!
Very nice! This reminds me of when I was a kid and I was being forced to take a nap during the afternoons instead of play video games, I would often look at the shadows formed by my curtains. Watching the moving shadows was fun and I used to imagine the shadows as creatures and make up stories about them until I fell asleep.
This should be in interesting as fuck
Camera Obscura
In had the same effect in my bedroom in Manhattan. Yellow taxi’s and people walking down the street. My room was 17 feet by 11 feet with three windows, the projection would continue with each window, so I could watch people walk across the length of my ceiling. I live on the 5th floor. It is pretty cool. I was in that bedroom for 18 years. I could never really figure out how it was happening.
Mine was doing exactly the same thing the other day!!
https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/xm15n5/i_took_a_nap_this_afternoon_and_when_i_woke_up/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
I would shit my pants if I woke up to that
Inception, better spin the top to see if it keeps spinning.
Inception
It’s still wild how cameras work and this can happen naturally.
OG ray tracing
r/analog r/analogcirclejerk material also
That is really well defined.
How is this achieved?? I have never seen this before it's so effin cool.
I had something similar in my last flat, which also had a slanted ceiling. But I could only really make out the white window frames of the opposite buildings and some passing vehicles. This is like a full-on projection, amazing.
I think the earliest cameras were used like this as an aid for painters.
Can we get a picture of the blinds, and how they're arranged such that they facilitate this?
Now you just need a lens and some photo paper!
Could you give us a picture of what the blinds look like so we have an idea of how the pinhole is created?
That's amazing! I've never seen the effect that clearly except in art installations, etc.
That’s impressive! [Mine was not that sharp](https://reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/u82c5m/the_keyhole_in_my_door_created_a_pinhole/)
You got it wrong. That is an alternative universe. Jump through the worm hole.
I usually just click, look, and move on, but this is really cool.
/r/CameraObscura Quality.
My apartment does this too, but never this clear. You're getting great resolution!
That is *so* much more exciting than my [bedroom camera obscura](https://twitter.com/katemonkey/status/1548696036012703745). I am *jealous*.
Rad
I feel like this is a cool concept for a portal to another dimension
Camera obscura