Camera Lucida

CAMERA LUCIDA: 

• The camera Lucida is a contraption similar to the idea of a camera obscura. The basic idea is to  aid a person drawing with being able to translate forms and points that are helpful in generating accurate drawings. It is most commonly a metal extension with a lens on the end that helps the person drawing look down at their drawing while still being able to reference their subject they are trying to draw. It is the same idea as double exposure in photography. This aid was patented in 1807 by a man named William Hyde Wollaston. However, many people believe that it is merely a reinvention of a previously discovered process noted by Johannes Kepler almost 200 years earlier. This particular device did not see such great use and mention as a camera obscura, but does demonstrate the various ways in which artists and photographers can manipulate and project images to their advantage.