The Big Shoebox — Project Summary¶
What Is It¶
A fully operational pinhole camera built inside a standard 20-foot ISO shipping container. It makes photographs — real, large-format photographs — on contact-scale cyanotype prints measuring approximately 15 feet wide by 7 feet tall. It is transportable, deployable in remote locations, and self-sufficient for water and processing. It is not an installation that resembles a camera. It is a camera.
The Scale¶
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Image plane (active) | 4,389 × 2,094mm (~14'9" × 6'10") |
| Container interior | 5,893 × 2,388mm (~19'4" × 7'10") |
| Image area | ~99 sq ft |
| Focal length | 2,362mm (container interior depth) |
| Optimal pinhole | Ø2.17mm (Lord Rayleigh formula, λ = 550 nm) |
| f-number | f/1088 |
| Baseline exposure | ~30–45 min (Ware New Cyanotype on muslin, f/1088, full sun — no reciprocity correction) |
| Process | Cyanotype (Ware formula) — water-based, non-toxic, no silver |
| Per-print cost | ~$34 |
| 50-print run | ~$1,710 |
| License | GNU AGPLv3 — © 2026 Alvin Richards |
The Technology¶
Front board — quick-change pinhole disc holder The pinhole disc is clamped against a neoprene light-seal washer by a circular retaining ring on four thumb screws, so carriers swap in seconds — a different pinhole diameter, or a large-format lens board (Copal/Compur) on the same Ø80 carrier. The board is fixed: a pinhole is a point aperture, and the image is a central projection through the pinhole point, so tilting the board that holds it does not steer or distort the image. All perspective control lives in the film plane.
Film plane — 4-corner independent actuation (±40° tilt, ±28° swing) Four corners of the image plane are set independently — each an acetal skate hand-slid in a 6061 Al U-channel depth rail and cam-clamped — enabling view-camera-style geometric control at pinhole focal lengths. Scheimpflug-equivalent movements, compound twisted-plane projections, convergence manipulation — the full vocabulary of large-format photography, applied to a pinhole. The distortion renders document the range of projections this produces — images that no other camera type can make.
Every specification traces to a peer-reviewed source or manufacturer datasheet. The optics are not approximated.
Off-grid capable: a self-contained three-circuit water system supports ~15 full-size prints between resupply runs, with 40% water recycling. 12V DC operation. Deployable without power connection.
The Process¶
Cyanotype on cotton muslin using the Mike Ware New Cyanotype formula (ammonium iron(III) oxalate + potassium ferricyanide). Baseline exposure 30–45 minutes in full sun at f/1088 — 4–8× faster than the traditional Herschel formula. Developed in plain cold water, no silver or hazardous chemistry required.
The container travels by commercial hire truck. No CDL required for the operator. No oversize permits required for an empty 20ft standard container on Interstate highways.
Documents¶
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| Pinhole Optics Report | Lord Rayleigh formula, f-numbers, exposure calculations |
| Container Optics | Detailed optics for the shipping container configuration |
| Container Selection & Construction | Container options, US transport compliance, interior conversion, light-sealing |
| Lens Options | Coverage problem, thin lens equations, DoF, distortion, recommendations |
| Lens vs Pinhole | Why the exposure difference is ~5,500× — full derivation |
| Photosensitive Materials | All process options, ISO equivalents, spectral response, per-image costs |
| Processing System | Off-grid three-circuit water system design and Bill of Materials |
| Film Plane Mechanism | 4-corner independent actuation — design, drawings, shopping list |
| Film Clamp Mechanism | Nylon spring-clamp muslin system — 58 clamps at 150mm spacing, parts list |
| Pinhole Report | Interchangeable plate system — wall frame, pinhole plate, lens plate |
| Pinhole Disc Holder (Front Board) | Quick-change pinhole disc holder — retaining ring, thumb screws, interchangeable discs/lens, drawings |
| Cost Breakdown | Full itemized build cost — three scenarios, all sources cited |
| Chem Shopping List | 50-print quantities with supplier URLs and confirmed prices |
| Transportation | Commercial hire vs. self-haul analysis |
| Operating Manual | Single-operator step-by-step workflow — coating, exposure, development, cleanup |
| Electrical & Systems | Power architecture, revolving drum light trap, lighting, wiring diagrams |
| Ventilation & Cooling | Fan system, evaporative cooler, light-safe baffle ducts, shade canopy, and operating modes |
| Master Shopping List | All components consolidated by build area — electrical, water, chemistry, drum light trap, cooling |
| License | GNU AGPLv3 — © 2026 Alvin Richards |
| Light Trap Selection | Revolving light trap options, pricing, and custom fabrication specification |
| Engineering Diagrams | All TBS-001 construction drawings — assembly overview, fabrication, subsystems |
| All Diagrams | Complete visual gallery of every engineering diagram on a single page |
| Distortion Renders | Ray-traced projections for the film-plane movement configurations |
| Equipment Layout | Shadow-free end-zone layout — optical clearance proof, IBC Y-stacking, new rail positions |
See Also¶
- Proposal — the funding case
- Cost Breakdown — the project budget
- Operating Manual — how the instrument is run