Long before the light was captured on the emulsion and long before William Henry Fox Talbot captured the shadow, the camera obscura allowed people to see their surroundings differently. Its design is simple: a shaded box, a tent or a room with a small opening on one side. Once inside, the outside world is visible, projected through the aperture and onto the surface. The scene is reproduced with perfect colour, perspective and clarity, but the image is projected “upside down” and from right to left.
The camera obscura was developed as a scientific instrument; in the 16th century, astronomers were able to observe the Sun without damaging their eyes. And when the mathematician Girolamo Cardano replaced the aperture with a lens, the image became even sharper and could be focused. This opened up new possibilities for the camera obscura – already a drawing tool. Artists began to use it to project images onto a piece of paper to understand perspective.
During this unique workshop, organised by photographer Audronius Žemgulis, you will be able to see full-size changes in perspective and the straight lines of light through the projected lens, and after focusing on an image of your choice through the projected lens, you will then capture the image on photographic paper, which will be developed in the old analogue way, transforming it from a negative to a positive image.
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Workshop “KAMERA OBSCURA” with KCCC resident photographer Audronis Zemgulis, 25 January, 1 pm, KCCC Art Courtyard, Daržų g. 10, Klaipėda
Tickets are distributed by bilietai.lt
