The Basic Idea
Basically, the Pinhole Camera I'm proposing is a crude version using photosensitive plant sap over parchment instead of conventional film. The picture produced will be a black and white photo (after usually development, though not in this case). The sap used will give a positive unlike film.
The Wikipedia page on Pinhole Cameras (For you to know more about how they work in real life): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinhole_camera
Picture of a large Pinhole Camera (where the pinhole is covered up so as not to expose the film inside too soon):
((Sorry, I couldn't find a better picture of a pinhole camera that would look like Sil's))
Actual picture taken with a pinhole camera:
Sil's Journal
Over the course of selecting plants for research, I've come across a very peculiar one indeed. When I brought a seed of the plant into the laboratory, I placed it into a pot, watered it, and left the torch lit inside the room due to a different discovery of mine. (This plant was said to have beautiful white flowers). Though, soon after I left, Rhonir, in a hurry, ran in and loosened the hold for the torch, minutes after it fell. Fortunately, the torch was positioned over small puddle of water, possibly Rhonir's spilled drink (non-alcoholic). It burned out, leaving the room in darkness. I asked Rhonir to water it while I was away, and so he did, not thinking to light another torch, since he was always in a hurry (note the plant didn't need to be watered often, every 3 days). When I finally returned, 3 weeks later, I was upset, thinking the plant wouldn't grow (due to some findings I had about the need for sunlight to grow). Surprisingly, the flower grew almost 8 inches tall, and it actually started to bud. The whole stem and bud of the flower was dark black, blending into the surrounding darkness. When I finally lit another torch, it was time to return to home.
When I returned back to the laboratory, I made a shocking discovery. The plant seemed to have changed color! It was now a solid white! I was shocked, and didn't realize what happened I played the scenario over in my head and deduced the only possible factor that changed the plant's color was the light of the torch. Because of this new discovery, I formulated some experiments.
The next day, I actually touched the plant, what astounded me, was that the entire plant was covered in a sticky residue. I slid my finger over the stem and wiped off the sap-like substance, the plant beneath the residue appeared green, in contrast to the sap's black (now white) color. I extracted the residue from the surface of the plant. I then spread it over a piece of parchment, making sure to do so in the dark as not to change the color of the sap (which was actually found inside the plant itself). After doing so, I organized a test, only to humor myself. I laid a complicated statuette over the parchment, now covered in a thin film of sap. I then lit a torch and left.
On my return I discovered the silhouette of the statuette was still a solid black, while the rest of the parchment was a solid white. I then repeated this experiment with a cut piece of parchment that had a cutout circle. On my second return, I saw that that only the circle was white, while everything else was black. I then conjured an idea.
I quickly cut out a wooden box, with only a hole the size of a pin head in the center front face (the pinhole as to not expose the sap to too much light, resulting in the experimented silhouette). I opened the front of the box, took another piece of parchment covered in sap and attached it to the opposite face as the pinhole. I watched the box as I put it outside in front of a tree. Almost an hour later, My impatience and curiosity bests me and I examine the parchment. I see that the parchment retained a vague, blurry image of the tree while its surroundings were recognizable. Though the blurry image, I was undoubtedly impressed with myself and his new invention, which I later planned on improving so as the image is crisper.
During my later experimentations (now numbering to the several hundred), I tested exposure time, the dimensions of the box, the size of the hole and the amount of sap on the parchment. Here were my findings:
As the exposure time increased from one hour, the picture slowly became a solid white and as exposure time was reduced from one hour, the picture slowly became a solid black.
As the box grew, the picture became fuzzier, as it got smaller, the picture became crisper. I then tested the differentiation in certain dimensions and found that the shorter the distance from the pinhole to the parchment, the crisper the image, up to a certain point (about 2 inches away), where the picture became darker and fuzzier.
As the hole size increased the picture became getting brighter, only to a certain point expose the parchment to much, resulting in a fully white piece of parchment. The ideal diameter of the hole was around the thickness of the wooden box (the wood used was very thin and light).
As the amount of sap increased or decreased, there was never any change in picture, only that sometimes there were ripples in the picture if too much was used.
I hope to create the most ideal "Pin Hole Device" (as I call it) within the next week, taking into account my calculations.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Can take pictures of scenery
Adds the job of photographer
Adds the RP to find a better or more efficient method
The sap is renewable since it can be grown
Cons:
Exposure Time is very long
You need to have experience and precise calculations so as not to "mess it up"
The pictures are black and white only
Complete!