This Pop-Up Book Transforms Into a Working Camera

As technology advances, it’s easy to feel disconnected from the basic concept of how and why something works the way it does. Artist Kelli Anderson is trying to change that.

"For the past few years, I’ve been trying to better understand forces at play in the analog world through a process of subtraction," she writes on her website. "To do this, I’ve been disassembling everyday tools, stripping off their normal interface, and reducing them down to their functional minimums."

The most recent example of this takes form in Anderson's new book, This Book Is A Camera. It’s a pop-up style reader that folds out to a working pinhole camera, producing black-and-white images with the help of light-sensitive film and a little dark room developing. It’s an easy, hands-on way to reconnect with the concept of photography in an age where snapshots and even advanced photo editing can all happen in the blink of an eye and the touch of a screen.

Previous projects from Anderson include the interactive This Book is a Planetarium, which includes six pop-up contraptions, from a fully functional stringed instrument to a mini flashlight planetarium.

Check out Anderson’s website to see more of her work and to get instructions if you want to try building your own paper camera or to purchase a copy of the book.

Here’s a glimpse at the building process: