Pinhole Photography From Historic Technique to Digital Application
In memory of my parents Josie and Richie Renner Another and more remarkable property of light is that when rays come from different, or even opposite, directions each produces its effect without disturbances from the other. Thus several observers are able, all at the same time, to look at different objects through one single opening; and two individuals can look into each other’s eyes at the same instant. Christiaan Huygens, Traite de la lumiére, 1690 and of my grandmother
© Eric Renner, Grandma Becomes the Moon, 20 16-inch pinhole photograph, 1976.
Pinhole Photography From Historic Technique to Digital Application
Fourth Edition
Eric Renner
AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON • NEW YORK• OXFORD PARIS • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK Copyright © 2009, Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone: (44) 1865 843830, fax: (44) 1865 853333, E-mail:
[email protected] You may also complete your request on-line via the Elsevier homepage (http://elsevier.com), by selecting “Support & Contact” then “Copyright and Permission” and then “Obtaining Permissions.” Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Application submitted British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978-0-240-81047-8 For information on all Focal Press publications visit our website at www.elsevierdirect.com Typeset by Charon Tec Ltd., A Macmillan Company. (www.macmillansolutions.com) 09 10 11 12
5 4 3 2 1
Printed in China
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................................................ix
CHAPTER 1
●
Pinhole’s History in the Exploration of Science and Ideology ................................................................. 1 The pinhole archetype—from the darkness of caves and holed stones ................. 2 The Pinhole Archetype .................................................................................................. 2 Early pinhole optics—eclipses, telling time, astrolabes, and optical phenomena ............................................................................................................................ 5 The camera obscura