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SMP would like to thank the students, teachers, assistants, volunteers, and parents for a fun and successful camp this year. We hope to see everyone again next year. Below are some examples of the creative projects that our students participated in during the camp...



Is it possible to take a picture with no more than a cardboard box, a small sheet of photographic paper, and a sewing needle?

The answer, as our campers found out, is Yes!—using an optical instrument known as a Camera Obscura.

The camera obscura, meaning “dark room or chamber” in Latin, operates on a very simple basis:  Any enclosed object, from a large room to a small box, can be used to capture an image. Without the aid of a lens and with a fixed aperature achieved by only a small pinhole, light is projected from end to end to create an upside-down (but otherwise accurate) image of the surrounding scene.

The children played the part of early photo pioneers, engineering their own camera obscuras from cardboard boxes with small sheets of photographic paper in the back.  As light entered their “pinholes,” it left latent (unseen) images on their black and white sensitized paper. They developed these paper negatives in the darkroom and then placed them in contact with new sheets of paper under the light of an enlarger to make their “positive” prints. Who knew photography could be so easy?

The group shots (above) were made using a large wooden pinhole camera built especially for the camp. You can see the difference between the positive print (on the left) and the paper negative from which it was made (right).
What is the most important item to bring into the darkroom? Your imagination, of course! Photograms are contact prints, made when objects are placed in “contact” with a light sensitive material (in this case, paper on an easel) and exposed beneath an enlarger.  The children placed objects of all sizes, shapes, and textures on their easels, creating patterns and silhouettes of everything from spare change to lace doilies. Objects with varying opacities produced various effects: silver keys became stark white outlines; feathers filtered light to give a soft and delicate appearance; sponges soaked up the light to produce heavy shadows.  Some campers even used their hands to block the light, becoming part of their art in the process and adding that personal touch.  Job well done! The “cameraless” works of art (below) are examples of the kids’ photograms.
photogram by Yasameen age 10	photogram by Carolyn age 8	photogram by Jasmeen age 6

Ever heard of a “light painting?”

No? Well, check this out: The word “photography” is derived from the Greek phos, meaning “light,” and graphis meaning “stylus” or “brush.” Taken together, photography literally translates to mean “painting with light.” 

Our advanced week students received an introduction to working in the studio and an opportunity to create a light painting all their own. Utilizing a long shutter speed (bulb), a cable release, tripod, and a small hand-held flash unit, the eager painters got started.  Once the shutter clicked open, the children waved fiber optic wands to “smear” the light around, just as they could with brush and paper.  When they were satisfied with their design, they gave the signal to be illuminated with the small flash, adding the final stroke of light to their masterpiece.

photograph by Jordan age 10	photograph by Joanna age 10	photograph by Sierra age 10
Their bright ideas quickly light up the studio!  Joanna chose to use a light pen—for more precise work—and spelled out her name (see middle picture). We think that was t-e-r-r-i-f-f-i-c!

Can a photograph get a sunburn? Sound too funny? Well, it can if it’s a cyanotype.

Cyanotypes, or “sunprints” as they are more commonly known, are best made outside using the biggest light source in our solar system:  the sun.  These camera-less photographs are made on paper that has been coated with two special compounds:  Ferric Ammonium Citrate and Potassium Ferricyanide.  When struck by ultraviolet light (the same kind of light that causes your skin to burn when you forget the sunscreen) these compounds undergo a chemical reaction, changing the color of the exposed areas from blue to white.
 
The kids arranged toys, jewelry, bits of grass or other “found” objects, and even some specially printed transparencies on their coated paper.  They stepped back and began to count:  One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, Three Mississippi…and so on. They judged their exposures by how bright it was outside (some cloud cover meant they had to count longer).  They carried their work into the darkroom and developed their exposed cyanotypes in plain tap water to astonishing affect:  the white areas turned blue as the iron oxidized and the unexposed blue areas washed away leaving white paper showing through. 

Cyanotype by Noach age 10	Cyanotype by Rachael age 11
As seen above, the kids underwent their very own “blue” period in photography.

What do you get when you mix a camera, a hula hoop and a sudsy pool?

Some really cool photographs and a room full of bubbles!

Traditionally, a photographer's top priority is to take an image that is as clear and sharp as possible.   However, sometimes by doing the opposite—say, by diffusing or distorting an image—you can make a very interesting photograph.  Professional photographers use great big soft boxes to diffuse the light falling on their subjects to create soft, flattering portraits.  A REALLY large softbox is referred to in the industry as a “swimming pool.”  Hence a creative twist on an old tradition…

The best way for kids to understand these principles is to be “hands-on” in their approach.  Therefore, we took our experiment into the commercial studio and they “dove right in,” so to speak.  A kiddie pool served as our “soft box”, and the resulting large soapy bubbles exaggerated the effects of shadows and reflections on the children’s faces.  They took turns, using the bubbles to catch, reflect, and bend light to create some very unique portraits.  They took pictures from above and below, straight through, with flash and without, and when they were done, they had only one thing to say:  Diffusion is cool!

Image by Nicholas age 9 (subject: Sierra)

Image by SMP Staff (subject: Nicholas)

Image by SMP Staff (subject: Joanna)

Digital photography has transformed the way that we look at and interpret photographs in the 21st century. It allows us to capture aspects from "the real world" and alter them in new and exciting ways. Students from all age groups were given the chance to experiment with digital editing software programs to produce creative twists on the straight photographic image.

One specific project was to have the kids turn themselves into Andy Warhol style pop art. They started with a regular self-portrait and, multiple layers later, produced images guaranteed to turn them into pop art superstars.  While their 15 minutes of fame didn’t seem close to waning, neither did their creativity; they continued to build on what they learned to produce some stunning photographic work (as seen below).

image by Jarrett age 15

image by Carlton age 10

image by Eleni, age 15