Solagraphy Information

Congratulations!

You have found a solagraphy camera, and scanned the QR code!

So, what exactly have you found?

You have found a very simple camera with a very specialised purpose.

The camera is nothing more than a can with a pinhole, and a sheet of photographic paper inside. There is no shutter, no electronics, nothing else at all.

What can it do with so little?

The camera is left in place for at least one day, and often several months. During this time the pinhole projects an image of the scene around the camera with just the tiniest amount of light. To show up, someone would have to stand in front of the camera for many hours, in exactly the same spot without moving.

What does show up almost immediately, though, is the sun, and it leaves a trace across the image. As the days and weeks pass, the sun rises and falls, and each day's track follows a slightly different path. On the Winter Solstice (the shortest day of the year), the sun rises the least, and on the Summer Solstice (the longest day), it rises the highest. You can see this in the six-month long image at the top of this page.

Shorter exposures show less change - this one was two days.

What next? If the camera is somewhere where it is going to cause a problem, please call me on the number I have left on the camera. If it is OK where it is, please just leave it alone, and I will be collecting it some time in the future. If you like, you can SMS me your name, and the word "Solagraphy", and I will add you as a "Friend of Solagraphy" on this page.

Want to try it for yourself? Fantastic!! Here is a great howto video from a master of the art.