Saturday & Sunday

July 26 & 27

10 AM - 6 PM

Class Size Max: 8

This hands-on workshop welcomes students of all levels to discover the magic of making photographs from inside a camera. 

Class begins with a short overview of the camera obscura’s history and a look at how artists are using it today. Then, working together in Penumbra's studio, the class will construct a fully functioning, freestanding camera obscura. Everyone will have the chance to use the camera to expose photo paper and develop their images in the darkroom. The workshop wraps up with a group discussion about the photographs made in class and what participants discovered through the experience.

All materials, including the camera tent, photo paper, and chemistry, are provided. Material sourcing will be covered, including finding lenses and other simple parts to build a camera obscura outside of class. No prior experience is necessary.

Please note that the use of stairs will be necessary during this workshop. 

Tuition includes a $45 materials fee

Liz Sales is an artist, writer, and educator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has been a faculty member at the International Center of Photography, the City University of New York, and the University of Connecticut. She writes for Mercuria Magazine, LensCulture, and Foam Magazine. Sales is the author of This Folder May Contain Clippings and Other Ephemeral Material (Conveyor Editions) and I Write Artist Statements (Daylight).  She was an artist resident in The Walker Cultural Leader Series at Brock University (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada), where she built and used a 10'x10' freestanding camera obscura with a group of undergraduate students. As part of her art practice, she lived and worked in a live-streamed functional camera obscura for one year.