Camera obscura brings a new life to simple light
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 18, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The Adana Pinhole Photography Group, formed by teacher Nuri Gürdil, is using the world’s oldest known photography technique. Instead of cameras, they use tin cans, teapots, saucepans and fridge pieces. Their first photos won awards at the 4th Adana Rotary Club International Competition in 2007. ’This work is a human project,’ says Gürdil
Nuri Gürdil, a young teacher from the Mediterranean city of Adana, was passionate about taking photographs. When he accidentally broke his camera, he could not buy a new one because of financial problems.
Instead, he decided to fight against technology by using a saucepan, a teapot, tin cans, shoes and refrigerator pieces. He took hundreds of photos using camera obscura, the world’s oldest known photography technique.
Then he taught this technique, also known as the pinhole technique, to his students and formed the Adana Pinhole Photography Group in 2006 with 33 teenage students. They photographed historical and monumental structures from Adana to Hatay. Their first photos won awards at the 4th Adana Rotary Club International Competition in 2007. Awards and exhibitions followed one after another all around the country.
"This work is not only a photography project but a human project," Gürdil told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. "Sharing and devotion are the basic principles of this work. This technique needs intelligence and sacrifice more than a camera."
Photos taken by the group will go on display in Germany, China and Qatar in the coming months.
Gürdil learned this technique at a workshop organized by Çukurova University in 2003, but he did not prefer to use it because of its difficulties. "It was very easy to benefit from the advantages of technology. I was happy with this laziness," said Gürdil, adding that he decided to use the technique when he broke his camera.
Difficult but successful
"I must admit that I found it very difficult to use this technique at first," he said. "But I saw that I was able to take very successful photographs without needing lenses and many kinds of accessories."
Gürdil mentioned that photos taken with that method were aesthetically pleasing. "This is not a matter of deprivation or poverty, but at the same time this is a style."
Gürdil said this method could be used as an alternative in schools with financial problems. "Many students have learned many things thanks to it," he said. "They understood that discipline, intelligence and sacrifice are necessary for success and that they don’t need an expensive machine to take photographs."
Rıdvan Çakır, from Adana Tepebağ High School said they were very productive. "I spent my spare time by photographing historical places," he said. "Above all, I have a social environment now."
Çakır and his friends’ photos are seen worthy of being displayed. He said he was happy to see his photos on display. "It is very nice to get a return for your time and effort," he said.
Another student, Eren Eryol, said he was pleased with the collaboration. "During this work, you only have a primitive tin can with photographic film in it," he said. "You don’t have an exposure meter in your machine, which makes it difficult to handle clouds and sunlight. Since the machine doesn’t have an objective controlling light, you need to wait until the appropriate light conditions appear. This teaches you to be patient."
The principle of Pinhole
"Pinhole" is one of the oldest methods of photography. Known as camera obscura, which means veiled chamber or veiled box, the method is based on a simple principle, which can be demonstrated with a box with a hole in one side. Light from a scene passes through the hole and strikes a surface where it is reproduced, in color and upside-down. The image's perspective is accurate. The image can be projected onto paper and when traced can produce a highly accurate representation.
Instead, he decided to fight against technology by using a saucepan, a teapot, tin cans, shoes and refrigerator pieces. He took hundreds of photos using camera obscura, the world’s oldest known photography technique.
Then he taught this technique, also known as the pinhole technique, to his students and formed the Adana Pinhole Photography Group in 2006 with 33 teenage students. They photographed historical and monumental structures from Adana to Hatay. Their first photos won awards at the 4th Adana Rotary Club International Competition in 2007. Awards and exhibitions followed one after another all around the country.
"This work is not only a photography project but a human project," Gürdil told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. "Sharing and devotion are the basic principles of this work. This technique needs intelligence and sacrifice more than a camera."
Photos taken by the group will go on display in Germany, China and Qatar in the coming months.
Gürdil learned this technique at a workshop organized by Çukurova University in 2003, but he did not prefer to use it because of its difficulties. "It was very easy to benefit from the advantages of technology. I was happy with this laziness," said Gürdil, adding that he decided to use the technique when he broke his camera.
Difficult but successful
"I must admit that I found it very difficult to use this technique at first," he said. "But I saw that I was able to take very successful photographs without needing lenses and many kinds of accessories."
Gürdil mentioned that photos taken with that method were aesthetically pleasing. "This is not a matter of deprivation or poverty, but at the same time this is a style."
Gürdil said this method could be used as an alternative in schools with financial problems. "Many students have learned many things thanks to it," he said. "They understood that discipline, intelligence and sacrifice are necessary for success and that they don’t need an expensive machine to take photographs."
Rıdvan Çakır, from Adana Tepebağ High School said they were very productive. "I spent my spare time by photographing historical places," he said. "Above all, I have a social environment now."
Çakır and his friends’ photos are seen worthy of being displayed. He said he was happy to see his photos on display. "It is very nice to get a return for your time and effort," he said.
Another student, Eren Eryol, said he was pleased with the collaboration. "During this work, you only have a primitive tin can with photographic film in it," he said. "You don’t have an exposure meter in your machine, which makes it difficult to handle clouds and sunlight. Since the machine doesn’t have an objective controlling light, you need to wait until the appropriate light conditions appear. This teaches you to be patient."
The principle of Pinhole
"Pinhole" is one of the oldest methods of photography. Known as camera obscura, which means veiled chamber or veiled box, the method is based on a simple principle, which can be demonstrated with a box with a hole in one side. Light from a scene passes through the hole and strikes a surface where it is reproduced, in color and upside-down. The image's perspective is accurate. The image can be projected onto paper and when traced can produce a highly accurate representation.