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
Learners 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...
Curated OER
The History of Photography
By discussing the history of photography, students can learn about this art and its importance in recording major events.
Curated OER
Getting Perspective In The Renaissance
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the art of photography. They conduct research using the Internet and other resources. The students use the lesson plan to create context for using analytical language for class discussion.
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.
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Illuminating Photography: From Camera Obscura to Camera Phone
The origins of the cameras we use today were invented in the 19th century. Or were they? A millenia before, Arab scientist Alhazen was using the camera obscura to duplicate images, with Leonardo da Vinci following suit 500 years later...
![George Eastman House: How to Make a Camera Obscura [Pdf] Activity](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "George Eastman House: How to Make a Camera Obscura [Pdf] Activity")
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...
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.
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.
Curated OER
Web Gallery of Art: The Camera Obscura
An image of "The Camera Obscura", created by Charles-Amedee-Philippe Van Loo in 1764 (Oil on canvas, 89 x 89 cm).
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.
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...