In July of 2006, a group of photographers called the Legacy Project pulled off two truly staggering feats: converting an airplane hangar into the world's largest pinhole camera, and producing the world's largest black and white photograph, measuring a stunning 107 ½ x 31 ½ feet.

In the autumn of 2007, that record-breaking photograph will be put on display for twenty-five days at the Art Center College of Design, South Campus in Pasadena, California. As a sponsor of the Legacy Project, Freestyle strongly encourages you to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Legacy Project Artists:
Jerry Burchfield, Mark Chamberlain, Rob Johnson, Jacques Garnier, Douglas McCulloh, Clayton Spada

When light is controlled through a pinhole (or lens) as it enters a darkened chamber, an inverted image of what is outside appears on the opposite wall where it is may be drawn on paper or captured by light-sensitive materials such as film. In the early stages of the Renaissance, camera obscuras, employing pinholes serving as a lens, were used to draw more accurate images with correct perspective. The notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci include sketches of two such camera obscuras.

The Legacy Project has dramatically expanded this concept by converting a gigantic airplane hangar into the world's largest camera obscura to create the largest single photograph in history. The film in this case was a three story high by eleven story long light sensitized fabric, with the outside image focused through a 6mm pinhole.

The photograph is a magnificent tribute to a historic turning point in Orange County history as well as a statement about the evolution of the photographic medium, hand versus mechanical/technological processes, and the importance of "vision machines" to the advancement of culture.

You can learn more about the Legacy Project by visiting http://www.legacyphotoproject.com/.