Smile, you’re on pumpkin cam
While searching for a treat to share with the blogosphere this morning, I came upon a fun, creative use for the seasonal fruit — the pumpkin. Turn the would-be jack-o’-lantern into a camera!
The science behind the art goes back to photography's earliest days, when people discovered the magic of focused light on a blank wall. The camera obscura evolved into the pinhole camera, which is what the pumpkin in this excellent video from NPR's “Daily Picture Show.” The 4-minute film by Claire O'Neill and Mito Habe-Evans shows how to transform the pumpkin into a workable camera.
Watch the video:
How to turn a pumpkin into a camera
http://n.pr/aIZuwJ
The only part that might throw up some roadblocks for folks is the requirement to use a darkroom. I don't think many people have access to an old-fashioned black-and-white darkroom these days. I also don't know if camera shops sell black-and-white photo paper, which is another requirement for the pumpkin cam. The paper becomes the photo negative, which is scanned into a computer.
Photo editing software (in this case, Adobe Photoshop), is used to convert the negative into a positive image, and to enhance that image.
The images captured by the pumpkin cam in the video are quite good. See for yourself, then smile, after turning your pumpkin into a camera.
If you're not so inclined, a Google search for "pumpkin pie recipes" is a tasty alternative.
