Pinhole Cameras

About pinhole photography.
The pinhole camera is proof positive that fundamental principles do not change. Euclid demonstrated the image-forming possibilities of the pinhole in 300 B.C. In the 16th century, Leonardo da Vinci is credited with giving a description of the pinhole camera more or less as we think of it today.There are, when it comes to making photographs with what amounts to no more than a box and a hole, more than a few sceptics and honest doubters who, from lack of actual participation dismiss pinhole cameras as a mere novelty.A pinhole camera is easy to build. The camera can be made from almost anything. From oatmeal tins and boxes to made from scratch cameras of wood or sturdy cardboard. There are several places such as the Pinhole Resource in Santa Fe where you can buy cameras made of wood or kits.

How does a pinhole work?
First the dull stuff...for anyone who has studied photography and optics the theory of image formation is (or should be) well known...but, there are a few million people out there who aren't aware of the difference in this theory between pinholes and lenses...sounds about right, after all it's not the sort of thing one talks about over breakfast, is it?! Ok...we see things because light rays reflect off of them and these reflected rays form an image on the retina. A camera is a mechanical eye, so it might be useful to think of it in these terms; we use the term 'ray' of light when we talk about using lenses to form an image. We use the term 'beam' of light when we talk about making images with a pinhole. The difference is one of dimension. A ray of light is defined as a line of light, while a beam of light is defined as a bundle of parallel rays.

Okay, so what's the point? A friend at work showed me this site the other day. I was amazed at how something without a lens can take such cool pictures. I haven't had a chance to really read this information yet but it look slike this could be something fun to do. Has anyone out there experimented with these?