Creating a Solargraph: How I took a Single 6-month Long Exposure Picture of the Sun
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Very neat to see the process. Can you share your latitude for those images ? Just curious how it captures all of the longest days at the summer solstice, when it seems we have to turn in somewhat of a circle to see the sun at all angles, in order to see it sunrise to sunset. It seems as if it would be wider angle than just 160 degrees. I guess it somehow isn't much more than that, you see only some of the ends cut off where it meets the horizon at the ends. Anyway, thank you in advance if you can share the latitude !
I'm at 46 degrees north! I have another beercan currently outside since last December but I cut a hole a bit higher in the can, hoping I would be able to capture the summer months as well
@the_space_koala Thank you so much for your reply ! We are at 36 degrees here and I already realized that I will have to angle the can toward the sky enough to capture the zenith angle of the sun at the summer solstice, for it to all fit into the 70 degree vertical frame. So you'll have to change the angle of the can also. Unfortunately, putting the hole higher in the can won't accomplish that.
That solar graph thing was really cool. Never heard of it in my life. I have to research more on that thanks.
In the beginning do you notice you have a dog above you! In the clouds :) the first scene it looks like a dog w two front paws haha. Thought it was cute you had a guardian! Ok it’s not at first but when it’s almost over at 1:44 you can see it best.
Great, cool project :-) ! There is no imaging optics in a pinhole-camera (obscura). The further the film is away from the pinhole, the bigger is the image of the sun and hence the intensity (power per angular unit) or irradiance (power per area unit) is becoming less. Therefore, the steeper angles in summer time create a larger sun, with less intensity and thus dimmer “images” of the sun. Beautifully shows “optics at work”.
Excellent manip and test. It will be my next solargraph. Next experience should be with a 5 litters barrel for a bigger photo ;-)
good luck!
That was such a fun video—I really enjoyed it! IMHO, when a composition leaves out a small detail, it often adds an interesting artistic tension and visual intrigue. For me, the cropped top portion highlights the artistic process over scientific precision, aligning perfectly with the pinhole theme of pushing the norms of photography. If all goes well next time, it’ll be fascinating to see how you feel about the difference in approach!
Thank you! Tbh it turned out a lot better than I had anticipated so I’m not complaining 😁 but let’s see the next one in June
@ I was impressed with how it turned out! Happy New Year!! 🎆🎊🎈
Nice job. Your microphone’s dead cat did a fabulous job in the opening shot with all that wind! I may try this fun experiment myself! First, I gotta finish my all sky cam.
Is the fluffy thing called a dead cat?? I had no idea 😁 good luck with the all sky!
Who would have thought that the perfect Christmas gift for you would have been a really good can opener?! (At least you didn't try to be too patriotic and use the one on a Swiss Army Knife.) A fun idea, and one I would never have thought of. And congratulations on not swearing at all those frustrating moments. Thanks for all the fun and instructive videos this year.
Hahaha I think a saw would’ve been the perfect tool to open it!
You like the dark! You vampire you. What about having a go at an analemma next?
I would love an analemma but that’s a huge commitment because I guess you have to take the shots manually
Not so sure about your interpretation the angle of the can, I am no expert, but its funny how the light doesn't tail off towards the summer. It seems to me there is quite a jump. Also there is a brighter band later in the year so it might be good to keep, or consult weather conditions for your area, especially when you do this again..
On second thought I think it was brighter in the winter as the stripes of the individual days overlap with one another!
That's pretty cool! It's showing not only the sun track and the clouds, but also the horizon profile as viewed from the deck rail! More detail than I would've expected! My house doesn't have near the view that yours does but I might try one on the roof as a set and forget project. (hopefully, I remember to set it next solstice and then remember to collect it next year...) Have a Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!
To be fair nothing would happen if you leave it longer than 6 months 😁 merry Christmas!
All considered a good result, think I'll give it a try too. top tip, get a 3D filament cutter, quite handy to have for all sorts of cutting jobs.
I never even heard of that thing existing I just cut PLA with the little clip that was included with my printer
Thank you for another interesting video. Happy ,healthy holidays to you and your family, Keith in NYC.
thanks Keith, happy holidays to you too!
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing. Maybe I'll try it too.
Thanks for sharing your results. Definitely worth another go.
it's definitely happening!
We have previously made a solar camera ourselves. As film we used a piece of printer paper with a red rectangle printed on it with an inkjet printer. You could clearly see that the red color had faded where the sun had hit the paper, but it is not as obvious as in your "pictures". Remember to close the can watertight so that the paper does not absorb too much moisture. To make the hole we used a 1 mm drill. Merry Christmas.
wow I didn't consider using regular paper, that's great! 1mm sounds like it would be way too large for a pinhole camera
@the_space_koala Maybe the hole in the can is too big if you use real photographic paper, but the experiment was done with the things that were in stock in the workshop/house on a Saturday afternoon. However, I have a feeling that the homemade "photo paper" might not be sensitive enough if the hole was made smaller. I got the idea from an old hobby magazine from 195x where they used black/white photo paper as a photographic medium with subsequent development and fixation to see the final result. Incidentally, there was nothing specific about the diameter of the hole, just that it should be small. Now the idea is passed on if anyone wants to try something homemade. 😊