Are you experiencing summer doldrums this August? Get creative! Do a craft. A science craft.

 

Back in April, we celebrated Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day by posting a few pics we took with a matchbox pinhole camera. I promised a how-to video, so here it finally is. When you are building the camera, follow along with the full instructions at matchboxpinhole.com.

 

 

A few notes: this experiment is retro in more ways than one. Not only are you building an outdated technology; you’re actually building it out of other outdated materials. Which means that you should plan to spend a little time locating the supplies. No one uses old-fashioned matchboxes anymore, but you might be able to find them at a cigar store. Color film is easy enough to find, but a place that will process it at a reasonable cost might take a little searching. You’ll have to warn the processor about your experiment so they can take extra care printing the photos. Once you find everything you need, though, it’s a lot of fun to put a homemade camera together. An added bonus is that you can play at being a sneaky street photographer. No one will suspect the tiny mess of cardboard and electrical tape you’re holding is a working camera.

 

Happy summer crafting!