The Great Picture
Encyclopedia
, The Great Picture holds the Guinness World Record for the largest print picture, and the camera with which it was made holds a record for being the largest. The picture was taken in 2006 as part of the Legacy Project, a photographic compilation and record of the airfield's history before it is transformed into the Orange County Great Park
. The project used the abandoned F-18 hangar #115 at the closed Marine Corps Air Station El Toro
fighter base in Irvine, California
as the world's largest pinhole camera
. The aim was to make a black-and-white negative print of the Marine Corps air station with its control tower and runways, with the San Joaquin Hills
in the background. The purpose was to mark the end of 165 years of film/chemistry-based photography and the start of the age of digital photography. The picture was unveiled on July 12, 2006 during a reception held in the hangar and exhibited for the first time at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, on September 6, 2007.
and Clayton Spada and around 400 assistants built the world's largest pinhole camera in building #115 at El Toro using 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of 2 inches (5.1 cm) wide black Gorilla Tape
and 40 gallons (151.4 l) of black spray paint to make the hangar light-tight.
A seamless piece of muslin
cloth was made light sensitive by coating it with 80 litres (21.1 US gal) of gelatin silver halide
and then hung from the ceiling at a distance of about 80 feet (24.4 m) from a pinhole, just under 6 millimetre (0.236220472440945 in) in diameter and situated 15 feet (4.6 m) above ground level on the hangar's metal door. The distance between the pinhole and the cloth was determined to be 80 feet (24.4 m) for best coverage, and the exposure time was calculated at 35 minutes.
" or pinhole camera
. An image of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station appeared upside down and flipped left to right on film after being projected through the tiny hole in the hangar's metal door.
The opaque negative
image print was developed by 80 volunteers during five hours in a vinyl pool liner custom tray the size of an Olympic swimming pool with 600 gallons (2,271.2 l) of traditional developer
and 1200 gallons (4,542.5 l) of fixer
pumped into the tray using high volume pumps. The photograph was then washed using fire hoses attached to two fire hydrants. The finished print is 111 feet (33.8 m) wide and 32 feet (9.8 m) high with an area of 3,505.75 square-foot (325.44 m²).
Orange County Great Park
The Orange County Great Park is the official name of a plan for the public, non-aviation reuse of the decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Irvine, California. The county park will comprise just 28.8% of the total that made up the old MCAS El Toro base. It is a $1.1 billion project...
. The project used the abandoned F-18 hangar #115 at the closed Marine Corps Air Station El Toro
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro was a United States Marine Corps Air Station located near Irvine, California.Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the home of Marine Corps aviation on the West Coast. Designated as a Master Jet Station, its four runways could handle the largest aircraft...
fighter base in Irvine, California
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
as the world's largest pinhole camera
Pinhole camera
A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens and with a single small aperture – effectively a light-proof box with a small hole in one side. Light from a scene passes through this single point and projects an inverted image on the opposite side of the box...
. The aim was to make a black-and-white negative print of the Marine Corps air station with its control tower and runways, with the San Joaquin Hills
San Joaquin Hills
The San Joaquin Hills are a set of low hills in coastal Orange County, California. They extend in a northwest-southeast direction, starting in the northwest in Newport Beach at the southern edge of the Los Angeles Basin, and extending southeast to San Juan Capistrano.-Geography and habitats:Named...
in the background. The purpose was to mark the end of 165 years of film/chemistry-based photography and the start of the age of digital photography. The picture was unveiled on July 12, 2006 during a reception held in the hangar and exhibited for the first time at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, on September 6, 2007.
Construction of the pinhole camera
Six photographer artists, Jerry Burchfield, Mark Chamberlain, Jacques Garnier, Rob Johnson, Douglas McCullohDouglas McCulloh
Douglas McCulloh is an American photographer notable for conceptual photographic projects based on “systematic randomness” and chance operations. McCulloh’s work is “an extension of the traditions of street photography, social documentary photography, oral history and Surrealist chance...
and Clayton Spada and around 400 assistants built the world's largest pinhole camera in building #115 at El Toro using 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of 2 inches (5.1 cm) wide black Gorilla Tape
Gorilla Tape
Gorilla Tape is a tape sold by the makers of Gorilla Glue. The tape is marketed as being the "toughest tape on the planet," and was featured in Popular Sciences "Best of What's New 2006." The tape uses two layers of adhesive and two layers of fabric backing to add strength, with the manufacturers...
and 40 gallons (151.4 l) of black spray paint to make the hangar light-tight.
A seamless piece of muslin
Muslin
Muslin |sewing patterns]], such as for clothing, curtains, or upholstery. Because air moves easily through muslin, muslin clothing is suitable for hot, dry climates.- Etymology and history :...
cloth was made light sensitive by coating it with 80 litres (21.1 US gal) of gelatin silver halide
Silver halide
A silver halide is one of the compounds formed between silver and one of the halogens — silver bromide , chloride , iodide , and three forms of silver fluorides. As a group, they are often referred to as the silver halides, and are often given the pseudo-chemical notation AgX...
and then hung from the ceiling at a distance of about 80 feet (24.4 m) from a pinhole, just under 6 millimetre (0.236220472440945 in) in diameter and situated 15 feet (4.6 m) above ground level on the hangar's metal door. The distance between the pinhole and the cloth was determined to be 80 feet (24.4 m) for best coverage, and the exposure time was calculated at 35 minutes.
Development
The hangar-turned-camera recorded a panoramic image of what was on the other side of the door using the centuries-old principle of "camera obscuraCamera obscura
The camera obscura is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen. It is used in drawing and for entertainment, and was one of the inventions that led to photography. The device consists of a box or room with a hole in one side...
" or pinhole camera
Pinhole camera
A pinhole camera is a simple camera without a lens and with a single small aperture – effectively a light-proof box with a small hole in one side. Light from a scene passes through this single point and projects an inverted image on the opposite side of the box...
. An image of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station appeared upside down and flipped left to right on film after being projected through the tiny hole in the hangar's metal door.
The opaque negative
Negative (photography)
In photography, a negative may refer to three different things, although they are all related.-A negative:Film for 35 mm cameras comes in long narrow strips of chemical-coated plastic or cellulose acetate. As each image is captured by the camera onto the film strip, the film strip advances so that...
image print was developed by 80 volunteers during five hours in a vinyl pool liner custom tray the size of an Olympic swimming pool with 600 gallons (2,271.2 l) of traditional developer
Photographic developer
In the processing of photographic films, plates or papers, the photographic developer is a chemical that makes the latent image on the film or print visible. It does this by reducing the silver halides that have been exposed to light to elemental silver in the gelatine matrix...
and 1200 gallons (4,542.5 l) of fixer
Photographic fixer
Photographic fixer is a chemical or a mix of chemicals used in the final step in the photographic processing of film or paper. The fixer stabilises the image, removing the unexposed silver halide remaining on the photographic film or photographic paper, leaving behind the reduced metallic silver...
pumped into the tray using high volume pumps. The photograph was then washed using fire hoses attached to two fire hydrants. The finished print is 111 feet (33.8 m) wide and 32 feet (9.8 m) high with an area of 3,505.75 square-foot (325.44 m²).
Exhibitions
The Great Picture has been exhibited in the following venues:- The Great Picture Unveiling on July 12, 2006 in hangar #115 (where it was taken) in Irvine, CaliforniaIrvine, CaliforniaIrvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
. - The Great Picture on September 6–29, 2007 at the Art Center College of DesignArt Center College of DesignArt Center College of Design is a private college located in Pasadena, California, and was cited by BusinessWeek as one of the 60 best design schools in the world. The college’s industrial design program is consistently ranked number one by both DesignIntelligence and U.S...
in Pasadena, CaliforniaPasadena, CaliforniaPasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
. - The Great Picture: The Wold's largest Photograph on March 8–27, 2011 at the Art Museum, Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, China.
- The Great Picture: The Wold's largest Photograph & The Legacy Project on July 16 – October 8, 2011 at the Culver Center of the Arts and Sweeney Art Gallery/University of California, RiversideUniversity of California, RiversideThe University of California, Riverside, commonly known as UCR or UC Riverside, is a public research university and one of the ten general campuses of the University of California system. UCR is consistently ranked as one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the United...
in Riverside, CaliforniaRiverside, CaliforniaRiverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
.
Further reading
- Photographic Possibilities, Third Edition, Robert Hirsch; 304 pages; January, 2009; published by Focal Press, Oxford, England.
- The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes, Second Edition, Christopher James; 660 pages; February, 2008; published by Thomson Delmar Publishing, Clifton Park, New York.
- Pinhole Photography: From Historic Technique to Digital Application, Fourth Edition, Eric Renner; 272 pages; November, 2007; published by Focal Press, Oxford, England.