Books are a waning tradition in the digital age. They do, however, serve many practical purposes. For one, they are good door stops. But, kidding aside, a new book is pushing the boundaries of what a book is and what its message is to its readers.
“This Book Is a Camera” is a one-page book that was self-published by Kelli Anderson. With the help of a grant, Anderson was able to produce the unique piece. The book, which seems like a single black page from the outside, actually transforms to an actual machine that can take photos.
See image here.
The technology is based on an earlier version of today’s cameras. Anderson’s camera obscura is a box that works by allowing light into a pinhole. This light is bounced off a surface and special type of paper that ultimately produces a picture, Huffington Post noted.
This Book Is a Camera aims to educate today’s kids (and not so kids) on how original photography actually works. Learning in a visual and tactile manner makes imparted knowledge more concrete. In Anderson’s words, “The book gets the user/reader to directly engage with the principles of light—something that is usually described as an abstraction in science books.”
The dying tradition of physical books is also an inspiration for Anderson’s book. She tries to answer the question of their relevance in the digital age with her project. “Since books no longer need to be physical, the design ante has certainly been raised for the books which do use dead trees,” Anderson exclaimed.
She added, “Why isn’t this an ebook? Books are newly accountable for their physicality—considered, intentional format decisions must be apparent.”
The road to “This Book Is a Camera” was not easy. It took her several prototypes before getting a camera that actually worked. “For the first five prototypes, I got nothing—no image at all.” But after persevering and some help, Anderson’s unique book on photography basics is finally on sale.
