Odd sights in the land of the mid-night sun
In Dawson City, Yukon Territory, they have a room-size Camera Obscura. “See Dawson in full color,” declares the sign outside. How could I resist full color?
This Camera Obscura is a square room with seven foot sides. In the center of the wall, with the door, is a pencil sized pen-hole, the only light source in the room. The folks who were wowed by these things in-the-day must have had patience beyond my capability. It takes a long time for your eyes to adjust to the dim light. I gave it five minutes, which was just enough to vaguely see a couple of upside down cars pass on the wall opposite the pen-hole. They weren’t in full color unless the cars were some dim blah color.
Outside, I could easily see Dawson in full color, right side up, AND in 3D. I don’t think these things are going to take off. A 45 inch plasma TV would work much better. You could hang a sign saying, “See Dawson in full color, even at night.” Plus, you could put it somewhere other than the Yukon Territory. Yup, a high tech Camera Obscura would be cool. Of course the old fashoned one in Dawson City has the Yukon River behind it. That’s cool.