A solargraph. I have no idea if this is ‘normal’ Flickr//The^bob
That’s kind of interesting looking, right? It’s a 6 MONTH exposure. Solargraphs exploit the ability of the sun to burn a negative image directly onto photo printing paper. Normally, photo paper is exposed to light for a very short time in a darkroom, then placed in developing chemicals to bring out a positive image. Instead, for a solargraph, a crude pinhole camera is left outside for a very long period of time, then retrieved and scanned. Results vary dramatically, depending on weather conditions, the type of paper, and the shape of the camera (and magic), but… they can be pretty neat.
The best thing is that the changing location of the sun in the sky on a monthly or more basis is captured. The cameras we’ve put up now are mostly test rigs, which we plan to retrieve after 2 weeks, but our next big batch will be up for 3-5 months to capture a large range of sun positions.
That’s if the sun comes out.
It’s also a bit dodgy putting them together. Our cameras are made of Guinness cans covered in black duct tape. Strapping one of those to, for example, a bridge, earned us some funny looks. Hopefully no-one takes them down… stay tuned!
