Lumen
Lumen is an ongoing experiment to create and test handmade cameras. I make these devices from scrap boxes and materials that would otherwise be discarded. Since each device is unique, exposure time is variable and the resulting images are truly unpredictable.My goal is to discover actions of light that go unseen by human eyes and factory produced cameras.
This practice of creating images via trial and error using the most basic materials is a return to methodology that facilitated the invention of photography. My subjects, which have included botanical specimens, lace, views from windows, optical instruments, and household tableaus, are references to images made by William Henry Fox Talbot, Nicéphore Niépce, and Louis Daguerre in the 19th century.
Handmade View Camera made from scrap film and shipping boxes