friday from the shed- almost there!!

using pair of glasses for the lens- need to get different strength ones for different lighting conditions- screen will need to move closer to hole in dim light (size of image reduced so people will need to get closer- the previous peering at a 6 x 4 size cat wreath photo in the album should help with this


made a big decision about the obscura- its fine to just let it work as it naturally does-phew! a lot of time taken to get to that decision tho- but good to return to it after the MA

people can pull the block off when needed


screen stretched- my big error- need more fabric :(


this shed is leaking light- gaffer tape saving the day for the run through- however 100% lightproof fabric just doesn't do what it says on the tin!!!


group portrait! could just about get 6 in the frame...

more cats moving in...

need to brush up on my plants for this project....

we did a hectic staged poses for the documentation of the show for assessment purposes- mine were very disappointing due to the poor light of my 'darkrooms'- needed proper staged lighting and tripod positioning- so have worked out a very shed style presentation of these insides of the shed, alongside wall based photos, presentation folder and website, and of course this blog- my year long visual and written journal tracking the key stages along the way.

am also considering running the part ones back to back then all the one-to-ones as sunset is earlier everyday (and college is closed at 7.40pm to see what the obscura image looks like)- needs thinking about and asking the people that signed up, although 4 of them wanted 6pm in the first place....

thursday from the shed

camera obscura saga continues. putting gaffer tape on the pentaprism walls i want to block light leakage from

makeshift SLR like pentaprism housing- 45 degree mirror below pentaprism. light leakage is minimal but image is very vignetted still

i wanted the picture frame idea- the process of photography becoming the true picture on the wall- true to my practice


screen back to centre- looking at the image quality when its upside down with the action outside- can it be identified well enough?- yes i can now experiment with my proximity to the aperture

better screen fabric- can be pulled to floor more- t-shirt fabric, white, less textured, giving a purer image on both sides of it- DECISION MADE- not to invert image....PHEW!!!! need to build this in the story?

wednesday from the shed

experiments with optics for the camera obscura inverted image



trying a light tight box akin to the SLR pentaprism housing- however image was faint and vignetted- very disappointing after the quest to get the optics. it should work but am running out of time to sort this to a good quality


back to mirror projecting onto the ceiling. the image is slightly textured and colour isn't so rich as fabric is beige


hanging blackout curtain round door in little shed

oh golly, rainham sheds .....

listen to this and weep.....nice special effects too ;)

laura on tea appreciation society blog!!!

go laura!!!! laura is performing in our forthcoming MA show at Wimbledon- bring on the tea stories!! image from the blog here

tuesday show build- feeling like a real shed!! hooray!!

velcro round frame for blackout


cutting lens from old pair of glasses


reinforced floor to take the weight in the little shed

eliminating light leaks- beading


lined blackout curtains on the inside

ikea workbench assembly

and the stools and the workbench move in- plus the working shed radio- the perfect companion!!

its cosy but i like that

this view will disappear soon to be ginghammed out

workbench accessories. the radio reception is great :)

my seat on right, left for participant ready to flee by the door

purposely chose a bench with a shelf underneath as space is tight can't fit shelves on walls

tomorrow- need to wait in for the delivery of the prism so can be rehearsing, sewing hems, and sorting out the documentation for assessment, oh and mentally preparing for another trip to b&q for curtain rail......

cat wreath trace

in sorting stuff out today, looked again at the trace where the cat wreath photo was and how you can see where the white flowers were although its still now unrecognisable. am liking the idea i now have to encourage people to move closer to me for then the second part of the show when i leave- using a 6 x 4 photo so you need to peer in more

bank holiday monday............and i'm thinking plant labels ;(

trying out various ways of making the photograms work as plant labels with pencilled name of dedication on the plant stick



image this way round sinks too low


(above) middle plant label stick better, more natural gardening style. got smaller, 6 x 4 paper so no need to cut down- saves time


this looks better

glad to have managed to get a bigger suitcase as everything was crampt in the july scratch. looks quite coffin like, suits the story :)

and hurrah!! testing out filling it up...