In an age dominated by high-resolution digital cameras and precision-engineered optics, a quieter, slower, and sometimes messier tradition exists: people who make their own photographic lenses and cameras from scratch. Instead of polished, off-the-shelf gear, they create biscuit tins with a pinprick in the side, beer cans lined with black paper, and pumpkins hollowed out and turned into cameras. Each of these devices is a small experiment in light, perspective, and the patient art of seeing.
Among the most fascinating of these practitioners is Shiam Wilcox, a painter, photography enthusiast, and former photography teacher who now works full-time as a harbourmaster.
In addition to her traditional artistic practices, Shiam builds her own camera obscura and pinhole cameras, often using everyday objects in inventive ways. She has even transformed modes of…
