Happy 130 Edinburgh!

“It is interesting sometimes to stop and think and wonder what the place you are currently at used to be like in times past, who walked there, who worked there and what the walls have seen” – Patrick Geddes

2019 marks the 130^th year Edinburgh has been officially a city. Our tower has been a fixture on the skyline since 1853 and we have been able to watch it grow and change from one of the best seats in the house! Sometimes, we’ve even been able to document the process.

Edinburgh circa mid 20th century

Edinburgh today

We are part of a grand tradition of people in Edinburgh who love the city and want to see it get even better and grander than it already is; from the likes of town planner, philanthropist and early Camera Obscura owner Sir Patrick Geddes right up to us today, we’re so proud of our home and we can’t wait to see what’s going to happen in the next 130 years.

Come check out our wall of photos of Edinburgh through the years (and maybe start your own with some of the stunning views from our rooftop), as well as all the other wonderful and wild exhibits we have to offer you!

Media and Filming at Camera Obscura

We’ve had a busy time over the past couple of months welcoming lots of film and media enquiries to the site. We love to welcome journalists, vloggers, bloggers and photographers to the attraction to capture all the exciting exhibits and most often our stunning views of Edinburgh, which make Camera Obscura and World of Illusions a popular request with the media.

Recent activity includes being featured on BBC One Scotland from the Sky, BBC One Bargain Hunt, Mini Travellers blog, Avengers Infinity War, being part of Edinburgh’s City of Superheroes, welcoming the Glasgow2018 mascot, Wide Days blog, Instgrammer visits from #UncoverEdinburgh, Scottish Field Magazine and the family from Super Toys Universe to take a vlog. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see all the most recent activity.

The history of the attraction sparks the imagination of lots of content creation, being Edinburgh’s oldest purpose build visitor attraction, operating since 1853. The Camera Obscura itself is a scientific marvel, and has been delighting visitors with its live projections of Edinburgh for over 150 years.

Our five floors of illusions leave the mind boggling and there are certainly lots of photo and filming opportunities around the site. From bright coloured electric globes and kaleidoscopes, the shrinking room, mirror maze, vortex tunnel and severed head, getting photographs to show a fun-filled experience or highlight science and illusion are in abundance.

We always try to be accommodating and welcome media to the site. We recommend this is out of hours, first thing in the morning before we open works best for us. If you are interested in capturing content of the Camera Obscura Show please be aware that this is weather dependent (and unfortunately we can’t control the weather!).

To get in touch and arrange a media visit please contact Claire Riddoch, Marketing Manager on claire@camera-obscura.co.uk or call 0131 226 3709

More information about Camera Obscura and World of Illusions can be found on our website camera-obscura.co.uk

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Harry Potter 20th Anniversary

For all you muggles out there that have been hiding under a rock you may not have notice the magic in the air last weekend. We had a great time here at Camera Obscura joining in the celebrations for Harry Potter’s 20^th anniversary! Whether you are a brave Gryffindor, a kind Hufflepuff, an intelligent Ravenclaw or a sly Slytherin there is something for you at Camera Obscura!

During the weekend we enjoyed reliving our childhood magic by having sorting hat ceremonies throughout the day, where lots of new wizards and witches were sorted into their appropriate houses, Harry Potter face painting so you too could have the mark of he who cannot be named, and lots of fabulous Harry Potter gifts and sweets to buy, including a competition with one lucky winner!

It truly was a celebration of 20 Years of Harry Potter Magic!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

written by Christine McCleary

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween……. We love everything weird and spooky here at Camera Obscura, so you can tell why we’re very excited for it to come along! Every year we decorate our building with everything Halloween related so we can join in the fun! We’re always trying to add a little spook and scare into our already weird and wonderful building!

Our shop love Halloween so much they’ve got some Halloween bits that you can pick up for yourself! Here are some staff favourites, if you’re looking to add to your Halloween decoration collection or looking for a gift with a theme!

First favourite product chosen by staff are these amazing firefly jars. They come in all different colours and would make great home decorations all year round! Even better they’ve been reduced in price by 25%, so are the bottles are now only £7.50 and the jars are only £3.50!

If you fancy getting your hands on some of these Lenticular photographs, we have around 20 different ones to choose from! They are £10 each, but are currently on offer for Buy One Get One Free! If you fancy a book of Witches’ Spells, these lovely little books cost £4.

And last but not least… an X-Ray book.

This book features a vast amount of real life x-rays of humans, animals and all things odd… very spooky and only £14.99.

If you like the look of this book, any of the other favourite picks or want to have a look at anything else we have on offer, stop by our shop!

We hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!

A Great Body of Work

  

 

 

 

 

The Human Chameleon – Body paint Artist Johannes Stoetter

A new exhibit in the Magic Gallery features images created by visual wiz Johannes Stoetter. The world renowned body painter tricks the mind by creating body paintings that transform his living models into objects inspired by nature including animals, fruits, flowers and more. According to the World Body Painting Championship 2012, body-painting to him is a way of “creating a unity between an image and a person”, and is made especially unique by the fact that the artwork is alive and able to move. Each of Stoetter’s art pieces are painstakingly planned and take up to 5 months to design and up to 8 hours to paint. Unlike canvas paintings however, these body-painting’s only exist for a few hours. Steal a peek behind the scenes of Stoetter creating his famous paintings The Chameleon and The Parrot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yHkAac-KG0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMwvsePCvPM

 

written by Maria Grenman

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gay Pride in Edinburgh 2016

At Camera Obscura we are excited to support Gay Pride here in Edinburgh as you can see with our colourful addition to our Rooftop.

Scotland’s national LGBT pride festival, starts with a March and rally, and afterwards is a festival encompassing live music from Scottish and international acts. It takes place on the 2 July 2016.

If you are looking to support Gay Pride in the city here are some events to look out for; of course the Gay Pride march that will take place here in Edinburgh. The March route will start later than previous years due to the Queens March taking place on the same day.

March Route this year will take place down Royal Mile, Past Scottish Parliament, Abbeyhill past the Regent Bar, Royal Terrace, down onto Leith Walk (onto the pavement at RBS at corner of London Road/Leith Walk Roundabout).The march will disassemble at The Omni Centre at Greenside Row at the top of Leith Walk.

The march is expected to take between 45-60 mins with a possible stop briefly at bottom of the Royal Mile to allow the Police to reopen the road at Parliament following the Queens Parade. This information and more is available at http://prideedinburgh.org.uk/march/ if you are interested.

At Camera Obscura we will add photos on the day is show the exciting events in Edinburgh and how our staff support Gay Pride 2016.

 

written by Christine McCleary

Teeny Tiny Toddler Fest ’16 Schedule of Events Out Now!

It’s finally that time of year again.  No, not Christmas or Hogmanay:  Teeny Tiny Toddler Fest is returning to Edinburgh!  To help you organise your visit, check out our special schedule of events down below!

Faces in Space: it’s just an illusion!

Last Friday, Edinburgh saw a spectacular and rare partial solar eclipse.  Over 90% of the sun was blocked out and, even though it was not a total eclipse, it did get rather dark and noticeably colder.  In Ancient China, an eclipse was believed to have been caused by a dragon eating the sun.  People would bang drums to scare the dragon away!

In a sense, an eclipse is just a giant illusion; it looks like the sun is disappearing, but it’s not and it will soon return.

Face on Mars, picture source: wikipedia

Space is full of illusions. such as when the cosmos and other planets look like faces. Take the Face on Mars, for example….

This is called ‘pareidolia’ and is a human tendency to see faces in inanimate objects.   It stems from the fact that our brains only need a few features to identify a face, and when these are seen we perceive the face – an evolutionary hangover to help us identify our fellow species, and thus safety, in dark environments.

Mars is home to another occurrence of pareidolia, a more amusing one; the Galle, or ‘happy face’, crater:

Picture source: wikipedia

With pop culture, social media and Internet memes becoming very popular, pareidolia can be used for other objects too, such as the heat signatures of Mimas and Tethys, two of Saturn’s moons, which bear an uncanny resemblance to Pac-man.

Picture Source: bbc.co.uk/news

 

 

Of course, you do not have to go to space to see pareidolia.  At the Camera Obscura, we have many examples on display, such as copies of work by the sixteenth century artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo.

 

 

You can also find examples in your own home!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Written by Jen Cresswell

Watch the Eclipse at Camera Obscura, Friday 20th March

We are offering you the unique opportunity to watch the solar eclipse in our Camera Obscura!

We will be opening our doors extra early to give you the chance to see this rare spectacle in the Camera Obscura itself.  An immense 94% of the sun’s light is expected to be blocked by the moon in this Friday’s eclipse, which will be projected live onto our large round Camera Obscura viewing table, all through a piece of technology invented over two millennia ago. Looking directly at the sun can severely damage eyesight, so it is essential to watch the eclipse through a filter or reflection.

Even though the sun will not be completely covered up by the moon, this solar eclipse is not to be missed. The next partial solar eclipse is not for another ten years, and the next total solar eclipse observable from the UK will only occur in 2090.

Andrew Johnson, Manager said: this is the first time in my lifetime that we may have the opportunity to see an almost total eclipse on our camera obscura table. This is truly the best way to view it, as it is perfectly safe, and not obscured by anything.  The last time we had a partial eclipse the experience was incredible. Given clear skies, this will be even more so.

On Friday, the eclipse is predicted to begin just after 8:30am, which is why Camera Obscura and World of Illusions will be opening from 8.30am. The peak of the solar eclipse will occur at 9:35am, lasting just under 3 minutes, and it will all end at around 10:40am.

Doors open 8:30am, entry charges apply. Eclipse glasses will be available on the day and included in the ticket price (sorry, no more advance sales of glasses). Please allow enough time to climb the 6 flights of stairs to the rooftop! Tickets are valid all day.

The Mystery of the Ames Room at Camera Obscura

Did you know that you can shrink and grow at ease in our Ames Room? Here’s how!….

The first Ames Room was built in 1935 by American ophthalmologist Adelbert Ames, Jr. However, it is thought the concept of the Ames Room was inspired from the German physician Hermann Helmholtz in the 1800’s.

Here comes the spoiler alert…..the Ames Room isn’t actually cubic in shape, it’s trapezoidal! The walls and ceiling are sloped and the floors are built on an incline which creates a forced perspective. This, when viewed at the right angle, tricks your brain into thinking one person is considerably taller than the other.

The Ames Room – picture by Tony Marsh

It has proved so effective that it has been used to create special effects in many Hollywood movies. Ever wondered how they made the Hobbits look so small next to Gandalf? Yup, that’s right, all done using the same technique! (Sorry to spoil the Shire magic for you all!)

Want to share your photos of the Ames Room? We would love to see all the creative posing we know our visitors do!