National Gallery of Canada
The Camera Obscura
You can create a camera with even the most unassuming materials. Learners view photographs and talk about the art. Some background information is included about the camera obscura for you to present before individuals make their own...
Curated OER
Turning a Room into a Camera Obscura
Students and teacher begin a discussion about photography and look at the images listed using the questions provided to guide the discussion. They then create a camera obscura in the classroom and experience how many images are affected...
Discovering Lewis & Clark
Discovering Lewis & Clark: Lewis's Three Wishes
When writing in his journal about the 'Great Falls', Lewis asked for three wishes: the pencil of Salvator Rosa, the pen of Thompson, and a crimee (camera) obscura.
BBC
Bbc: Vermeer and the Camera Obscura
An interesting viewpoint written by Philip Steadman on the controversial subject of Vermeer using a Camera Obscura to trace and create his paintings. There is factual evidence as well as a physical description of the Camera Obscura.
Other
Museum of the Moving Image: Optical Room
Take a tour through the history of moving images from the earliest times into the mid-1910s. The tour begins with pre-cinema devices and practices, including shadow plays and optical toys, and covers film and photography pioneers and...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Early Photography: Niepce, Talbot and Muybridge
Photography is a controversial fine art medium, simply because it is difficult to classify-is it an art or a science? Nineteenth-century photographers struggled with this distinction, trying to reconcile aesthetics with improvements in...
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Pringles Pinhole
Simple directions to make a pinhole camera from a pringles can! Try this experiment. You'll be surprised at what you find.
George Eastman Museum
George Eastman House: How to Make a Camera Obscura [Pdf]
Resource provides history and background information about the camera obscura. There are also easy to follow instructions for you to make your own version of the camera obscura to better understand the history and technology behind...
Science4Fun
Science4 Fun: Camera
Take a look at the history of cameras from the first pinhole camera in the 11th century to the modern day digital camera.