This pinhole solar photo, taken with a beer can pinhole camera over eight years and a month, is considered the longest shot ever taken. The photo shows the path of the sun in the sky during that period, almost 3000 tracks in all. Regina Valkenborgh placed the camera in 2012 and then forgot about it; it was found by someone else this year. Valkenborgh said of the project:
“It was a stroke of luck that the photo was left untouched, only to be saved by David after all these years. I had tried this technique a few times before at the Observatory, but the photos were often spoiled by moisture and the photo paper curled. I had no intention of capturing a recording during this time and to my surprise it survived. It could be one of, if not the, longest exposures out there. “
If you want to take your own solar photo (it doesn’t have to last 8 years …), check out the instructions here.
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