By Claire O'Neill
It's not often that a photographer can literally stand inside of his camera. But Shaun Irving, who has transformed a truck into a giant, mobile camera obscura, does it all the time. And he says it's the largest, mobile camera in the world.
Shaun Irving's Cameratruck
Like many a great idea, the Cameratruck was conceived over beers -- in Irving's college dorm room. Three years later, he bought a truck on eBay and put the idea to the test.
It's a simple construction: There's a small hole with a lens on one side of the truck's lightproof interior. This lens projects an upside-down and backward image on the opposite wall. On that wall, Irving hangs 4-by-8-foot sheets of photo paper, which, when exposed to 5-30 second exposures, serve as giant negatives. He then takes his jumbo negatives to a darkroom, or just a room that's dark, and processes them. The whole process, he says, takes anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours.
Irving's Cameratruck is a simple device, with a hole and lens on one side, which projects the image on the opposite wall.
The pinhole and camera obscura date back centuries. But the idea of a mobile camera in which the photographer can be the mechanics -- that's novel. Irving received funding to photograph on a tour of Spain, and some of the photographs are below.
This slideshow requires version 9 or higher of the Adobe Flash Player. Get the latest Flash Player.
Description of slideshow goes here.
Irving takes time away from his one-man ad agency to photograph with his Cameratruck on the weekends. He's also finally devised a way to generate revenue for what was once a money pit by selling some of his enormous prints. Learn more about Irving's projects on his Web site.
Irving's Cameratruck prints are displayed in a gallery.
Have an idea? Pitch it!
The Picture Show on Facebook | on Twitter
![[Photo]](http://media.npr.org/assets/news/2009/11/24/picshow_sq.jpg)
categories: Daily Picture Show
Comments
Please note that all comments must adhere to the NPR.org discussion rules and terms of use. See also the Community FAQ.
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login | Register
More information needed to participate in the NPR online community.. Add this information