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We tested BonfotonUP, a gadget that turns your room into an upright camera obscura

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Have you ever tried turning your room into a camera obscura? It’s a simple and super-fun project that lets the view of the outside world project onto your wall. But due to camera obscura’s nature, there’s a catch: the image will be upside down.

Enter BonfotonUP, a weird and pretty awesome device that hacks camera obscura. By sticking it onto your window, the image rotates and appears on your wall as it does outside. I got the chance to test and review this gadget, and I’m sharing my impressions, tips, and some photos I took.

Photographers turn empty building into a camera obscura to create epic large format photos of London

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UK photographer Brendan Barry can turn pretty much any object into a camera obscura: from a camper to an entire skyscraper floor. This time, he teamed up with young folks from Beyond the Box to turn an empty building in London into a multi-lens camera obscura.

Unlike previous times, Brendan used a new process he developed during the project. Thanks to some DIY magic, film chemicals, and smartphone torches, Brendan and his team created a unique large format image of the city.

This DIY large format digital camera obscura shoots the most beautiful photographs

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The lure of large format photography attracts many. Relatively few can justify the cost of pursuing it, though. Even 4×5 sheet film gets pretty expensive, and that’s the smallest of the large formats out there. What if you could make one relatively inexpensively, though, and at the same time, avoid the hassle and cost of chemicals by shooting the results on your digital camera?

That’s exactly what photography Olexiy Shportun did when he created what is essentially a large format digital Camera Obscura. A lens is mounted in the front of the unit which projects the image onto a backplate, like a normal large format camera. But in this case, the backplate is a white surface where it’s then photographed by his mirrorless camera.

This window adapter turns your room into an upright camera obscura

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There are a few DIY ways to turn your room into a camera obscura, or you can use an adapter for it. But wouldn’t it be nice to have the image upright instead of upside-down? Bonfoton has just made it possible with the BonfotonUP. This window adapter lets you project the outside image onto your room walls and get the image just as it is when you look out the window. It even allows you some modifications to the projection, so you have more control over the final result.

Watch: How to shoot and develop color photos with a camera obscura at home

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British photographer Brendan Barry is well-known for his camera obscura projects. He has taken photos with a camper-camera, container-camera, and plenty more. And during the lockdown, he turned his own bedroom into a camera. In this short film, he shares behind the scenes of taking a color photo with a camera obscura, which is something you can do in your own home.

Photographer turns the Customs House into a giant working camera obscura

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A camper, a shed, a bedroom, or even an entire skyscraper floor – you name it, Brendan Barry can turn it into a camera. For his latest project, he visited Custom House in Exeter, UK, and turned this amazing attraction into a working camera obscura. Brendan shared his process in this fun video, and if you plan to embark on a similar adventure, it will be very valuable as a guide. 

Photographers turn their homes into cameras to portray life during coronavirus times

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While staying at home, many photographers turned their houses and flats into studios. In fact, some of them even turned them into cameras! Brazilian photographer Bruno Alencastro turned the “camera obscura room” concept into a fantastic collaborative project. He teamed up with other photographers, and each of them turned their home into a camera obscura. They took some fantastic shots showing the “upside-down reality” that we live in and telling their own stories about these days of isolation.

Here’s how to turn your boring garden shed into a working camera obscura with a darkroom

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UK-based photographer Brendan Barry has turned quite a lot of places into giant cameras obscurae. He’s now in isolation like most of us, so even his bedroom became one. You may want to try something like that, but your family doesn’t share your enthusiasm. Well, here’s a plan B: use your garden shed. In this video, Brendan guides you through the transformation process that turns a boring old shed into a working camera obscura with built-in darkroom.

How to turn your bedroom into a camera obscura – and take photos with it

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Photographer Brendan Barry has turned some huge objects into cameras. He started with a $200 camper, then used a shipping container, and finally turned an entire floor of a skyscraper into a working camera obscura with a darkroom. Considering that most of us are closed in our homes these days, how does it sound turning your bedroom (or any room) into a camera obscura? Or better yet, a camera obscura you can take photos with? Well, you can do it with stuff you already have at home.

For his latest project, Brendan has turned his daughter’s bedroom into a camera obscura and his bathroom into a darkroom. He guides you through the process in the video below, so you can build your own “room-camera,” too.

Photographer turns an entire floor of a skyscraper into a giant working camera

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UK-based photographer Brendan Barry is known for his unique cameras made of a melon, a pineapple, a mannequin, even a loaf of bread! After constructing a camper camera and a container camera, Brendan has now gone even larger: he turned an entire floor of a skyscraper into a giant working camera with a built-in darkroom.

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