3D Printing

3D Printed Pinhole Cameras Bring 21st Century Light to New Mexico History Museum

Just one year ago, we wrote up a story on a man named Clint, whose passion for pinhole cameras had led him to launch a Kickstarter for 3D printed pinhole cameras.  Writing the story then, I learned that the simple design of the pinhole camera uses the small amount of light poring through the device’s tiny hole to capture eerily beautiful images.  Since then, Clint’s Kickstarter has wrapped up, with all of the backers receiving their 3D printed pinhole cameras, and the artist is now pushing his project forward.

3D printed pinhole cameras at New Mexico museumNot only is Clint currently experimenting with new designs for printable pinhole cameras, but his work is also on display at the New Mexico History Museum as a part of their “Poetics of Light” exhibition, which runs through March 29, 2015.  Alongside his own 3D printed pinhole camera, the museum features a number of other pinhole cameras and pinhole photos taken by Eric Renner and Nancy Spencer, with 6,000 pinhole pics available for your perusal online.  Clint sent us both photos of the camera in the museum, as well as a couple of beautiful photos snapped with two of his models, including his 3D printed panoramic pinhole camera, the Clipper.

3D printed pinhole camera snaps photo
A photo taken with Clint’s 3D printed Flyer camera.

The placard below his camera at the museum reads, “As a deaf man, the visual impact of images has always been very important to me.  I love the unique perspective of pinhole cameras and the analog quality of film.  I visualized how I could bring modern 3D printing technology to old school photography and make a new generation of pinhole cameras.  The Kickstarter attracted people worldwide to get back into film, people who are using film but had not tried pinhole, and younger people who had never tried film.  My favorite question from the Kickstarter was “where do I get pinhole film?

great sand dunes photo taken by 3D printed pinhole camera
A photo taken with Clint’s 3D printed, panoramic Clipper camera.
To purchase one of Clint’s 3D printed pinhole cameras, you can visit his website at pinholeprinted.com.