Eaton Family Solarcan Project - Phase 2: Kaili

As covered in previous posts, late last year I discovered a product called the Solarcan, a pinhole camera created using an aluminum can with a small hole in the side and photographic paper inside, all to capture long-period exposures (weeks, months, years) of the Sun as it moves across the sky each day, images called solargraphs. See Eaton Family Solarcan Project - Phase 2: Olivia for more on solargraphs and the beginning of our adventure with Solarcans. 

Recently, we spent the day with our oldest granddaughter, Kaili.  While at their house to pick her up, she and I installed her Solarcan.

As with Olivia's family, Kaili and her parents lives in the burbs. Kai is an athlete, having played many sports including soccer, football, golf and basketball. Their house is on a cul-de-sac with two basketball backboards across from each other. We decided that placing her Solarcan on the fence along the north side of the cul-de-sac, facing due south with one of the backboards in the foreground and one just off in the distance, would make for an interesting solargraph, one that highlighted her love of sports. 

Below is an aerial view with current directions for sun rise (yellow line) and sun set (orange line) as of the summer solstice, June 21st. The thinner line represents the direction of the sun a little after solar noon that day (keeping in mind that due to daylight savings time, solar mid-day is actually 1:00pm CDT). 

Installed this way, over the coming months the sun should trace arcs from left to right, from one side of the cul-de-sac to the other with their house on the west side. Each day the sun will trace an arc a little higher until we get to the summer solstice after which the arcs traced will be lower and lower. 

An interesting facet of the installation of Kai's Solarcan is the basketball backboard in the foreground; see the view from the installed Solarcan below. The sun's path across the sky as we get late in the year may go just behind the backboard, outlining it in silhouette. 

Of course, the backboard won't be the only thing that blocks the sun's tracks on the solargraph. Some days will be overcast, with clouds completely blocking the sun, while other days will be partly cloudy with the sun's path on the solargraph appearing with gaps during periods when the clouds are covering it. 

To see the final result, now we just have to be patient!

Our plan is to leave it up until just after the winter solstice, probably taking it down and developing the image around Christmas. Once that's done, I'll post the final solargraph and what we learn from it. 

Stay tuned!

Click on images to enlarge.

 

Eaton Family Solarcan Project - Phase 2: Olivia

As covered in previous posts, late last year I discovered a product called the Solarcan, a pinhole camera created using an aluminum can with a small hole in the side and photographic paper inside, all to capture long-period exposures (weeks, months, years) of the Sun as it moves across the sky each day, images called solargraphs. 

Here is an example from the Solarcan Gallery:

I bought a five-pack of Solarcans in December and used one to shoot a sample shot to share with my grandkids; see Phase 1 post. I gave the other four to them as Christmas gifts. 

Last week, we visited our son Brian, his wife Amber and grandkids Olivia and Owen.  At 16 months old, Owen isn't quite ready for solargraphy so didn't get a Solarcan this time but Olivia and I spent time during our visit planning and installing hers.

While Jack and Harper (last post) live in a rural setting, Olivia's family lives in the burbs.  They have a new patio and it is where she, Owen and their Dachshunds, Oliver and Dash, love to play. It happens that their house faces almost due north so we installed Olivia's Solarcan on the front fence facing due south with their patio centered in the view. Here is an arial view with current directions for sun rise (yellow line) and sun set (orange line). 

Installed this way, over the coming months the sun should trace arcs from left to right, from above their  fence across the sky to their roof with the side yard and patio centered in the view. Each day the sun will trace an arc a little higher until we get to the summer solstice after which the arcs traced will be lower and lower. Here is the view from Olivia's installed Solarcan. 

Similar to the case with Harper's and the gallery example above, with some trees in view on the left, there should be some gaps in the solar paths across the image where branches block the light,  adding an interesting twist to the solargraph  when it is done. 

But the trees won't be the only reason for gaps. Notice the other gaps in the tracks of the sun in the gallery example? Any idea what those are from? 

You guessed it: cloudy days. Naturally, we can't capture the light of the sun on days when it's not visible!

When will we find out what Olivia's finished solargraph looks like? Our plan is to leave it up about 6 months but since we didn't get hers up until almost two months after the winter solstice, the lower tracks left by the sun won't be as low as they could have been. If she is patient, perhaps hers can stay up for a full year in which case there will be arcs of the sun across her solargraph from as low as the sun gets in the winter to as high as it gets in the summer! 

I'll post the results later this year so stay tuned...