How to Reuse Mint Tins
Going green will save the planet, but conservation should also spur creativity. Reusing mint tins can be a way to recycle these non-biodegradeable containers for a second functional purpose — a new camera. Homemade pinhole cameras have been made for centuries, and although they do not produce as immediate results as the popular digital camera, pinhole cameras create a different kind of effect with film.
Things You'll Need
- Matte black spray paint
- Black electrical tape
- Tinfoil
- Old 35 mm camera film canister with a 2-inch strip of leftover film attached
- New 35 mm film in its cardboard container
- Utility knife
- Sewing needle or pin
- Plastic page binder comb
- Clear tape
- Pencil
Instructions
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1
Spray paint the entire interior of your mint tin with matte black spray paint.
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2
Cut a small hole in the top of your mint tin using the utility knife. Cut a small, narrow hole in each side of the mint tin, with even width and length so that a strip of 35 mm film could fit through it.
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3
Take the small piece of aluminum tinfoil and prick one hole in the foil square with a sewing needle or pin. Hold it up to the light to make sure you can see clearly through the hole.
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4
Cut a hole in a small section of black electrical tape and place the tape hole over the hole made in the tinfoil. Then, tape the tinfoil square over the hole on the top of the mint tin.
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5
Cut a square out of the film cardboard container the size of the tinfoil square. Draw an X across it to find the center. Cut a square hole with the utility knife large enough so that it will frame but not cover the pinhole in the tin foil. Tape two sides of the cardboard square to the top of the mint box, with the square hole centered over the hole in the tinfoil, leaving a small gap in the top between the cardboard and mint box top.
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Cut a small vertical strip of cardboard from the film canister cardboard container and slip it into the crack of space between the cardboard square and the tin foil square to use as a shutter.
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Open up the new film canister, and pull out a small strip of film, about an inch long. Cut off one of the thin, plastic loops from your plastic page binder comb and attach it to the edge of the canister so that the pointed end of the page binder loop just enters one of the sprocket holes of film, serving as a way to wind film accurately after you take each picture. Test the clicker by gently pulling out some film; the clicker should move over the film smoothly and click when it drops into the film's sprocket holes.
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Trim off the tip of the new canister's film strip so that it's square. Feed a section of the new film through the narrow slits made in the sides of the mint tin, making sure the non-shiny side is facing up. Connect the new film canister strip with the 2-inch film stub from the old canister, splicing the two ends of film together with clear tape.
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Cover any creases or cracks with black electrical tape. Make sure that the slits the film passes through are light-tight, with the canisters snugged up well against the mint tin so that your film isn't fogged up by accidental light exposure. Once the unit is light-tight, wind up extra film into the old canister by turning the canister spool counterclockwise in toward the mint tin. This brings fresh unexposed film inside the camera behind the shutter.
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10
Lift the vertical cardboard strip each time you'd like to take a photo. Develop your film at your local photography store.
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Tips & Warnings
You can also take pictures with pinhole cameras using photographic paper and chemicals for developing it.
