The Camera Obscura

The camera obscura is an optical device, which projects an image of its surrounding on a screen. This device is used for drawing and entertainment. It is known to be one of a few inventions that had led to camera obscura photography. The camera obscura history comes back to the time of Aristotle and Mozi. The earliest mention of this device was by Mo-Ti a Chinese philosopher of the 5th century. This Chinese philosopher had recorded the creation of an image that was formed by light rays. These light rays had formed the image by passing through a pinhole that was located in a darkened room. Mo-Ti had called this darkened room the “Collecting Place”.

A Greek mathematician by the name of Euclid of Alexandria had stated that this device demonstrates how light can travel in a straight line. During the 6th century an architect and mathematician by the name of Anthemius of Tralles had used this device on his experiments. The term camera obscura was primary used by Johannes Kepler. Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer during the 17th century. He had used this device for astronomical applications.

The camera obscura development was categorized in two forms which were the following: A portable box device which was a drawing tool during the 17th and 18th century and then during the 19th century it became the camera obscura room, which provided entertainment and education with the improved camera obscura lens that allow to provide sharper images and the cast was larger. Nowadays the camera obscura is celebrated as a historic and cultural treasure.