IMG_8205 CROPPED.png

Students in Year 9 spent their last week at school discovering the science behind pinhole cameras and pinhole photography.

Using all kinds of tin cans, from Milo tins to baked beans tins, students punctured small holes in the bottom, covered them with tape, and lined the inside of the tins with photo paper.

Caitlin said this ensured the inside of the tin was "completely blacked out".

"The photo paper reacts to the light like film... it transfers the image from the light onto the paper," she said.

"We find an area to take a photo and take off the pieces of tape covering the pinholes, allowing light to come in for a certain amount of time.

"When that time is up, we cover it back over and go back into the developing room to develop the photo."

Caitlin said there was a fine line between the amount of time you could leave the pinholes uncovered.

"It's a negative photo so if there's too much light, it will come out black and if there is not enough light, it will come out white," she said.

"We have two pin holes - a bigger and a smaller one - so we are testing which one works better to allow the right amount of light in.

"We're currently testing what the perfect amount of time is to leave the larger pinhole uncovered.

"We figured out it is around 30 to 40 seconds and you have to hold it completely still otherwise it comes out blurry

Caitlin's lab partner, Sienna, said they had used "a lot of trial and error" throughout their investigations.

"We've had some successful ones, but we've had some bad ones as well," she laughed.