{"id":1190195,"date":"2026-09-06T20:05:34","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T20:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1190195\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T20:05:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T20:05:34","slug":"have-you-heard-of-the-wellieflex-a-pinhole-camera-made-from-a-rain-boot-this-exhibition-delves-into-history-of-children-as-photographers-some-using-homemade-cameras","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1190195\/","title":{"rendered":"Have you heard of the \u201cWellieflex\u201d \u2013\u00a0a pinhole camera made from a rain boot? This exhibition delves into history of children as photographers, some using homemade cameras"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new exhibition coming to London, England, will delve into the history of children as photographers and how photography transformed from a pastime reserved for the elite to a DIY hobby for all youngsters.<\/p>\n

Curated by Annebella Pollen<\/a>, a professor of visual and material culture at the University of Brighton, Snap Happy! How Children Became Photographers will explore how youngsters saw the world through a viewfinder and built communities with cameras in hand.<\/p>\n

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The exhibition will feature previously unseen images taken by children across a range of settings, from family life to playing in the great outdoors, to archive materials such as influential photography magazines that helped photography become more than just a niche pursuit.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos FromDigital Camera World<\/p>\n

Image 1 of 2<\/p>\n

\"Magazine<\/p>\n

(Image credit: DC Thompson)<\/p>\n

\"Book<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Mae & Ira Freeman)<\/p>\n

\"Magazine<\/p>\n

\"Book<\/p>\n

Different types of cameras are explored, too, including homemade devices such as the \u201cWellieflex\u201d \u2013\u00a0a pinhole camera which, believe it or not, employed a Wellington boot for the body.<\/p>\n

The Wellieflex, along with a handful of other homemade camera models made using everyday items, was the invention of activist and photographer Terry Dennett<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

According to Dennett, who published about his DIY cameras and children\u2019s photography workshops in a 1976 edition of the magazine Camerawork<\/a>, the devices, essentially a light-tight container, a lens and a film holder, \u201cworked\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\"Bike
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(Image credit: Ken Hanrahan-Smith.)<\/p>\n

Competitive photography increased uptake of the craft, too, which is also detailed in the exhibition. Between 1958 and 1972, the Junior Photographer of the Year was a major national competition organized by the Photographic Information Council (PIC), helping to establish over 1,000 school darkrooms.<\/p>\n

The best camera deals, reviews, product advice, and unmissable photography news, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n

Snap Happy! How Children Became Photographers<\/a> runs from October 14 2026 to February 21 2027, at The Photographers\u2019 Gallery, London. On-the-door admission costs \u00a314 (approximately $18 \/ AU$26), and online bookings are cheaper at \u00a312 ($16 \/ AU$22).<\/p>\n

Visit the gallery website<\/a> for opening times and concession prices.<\/p>\n

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Peter Freeth Stephen Tucker & members of the Arthur Doyle Concert Band, 1981 (Image credit: Peter Freeth)You might also like\u2026<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s our pick of the best cameras for beginners<\/a> \u2013 perfect rigs for young ones getting started!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new exhibition coming to London, England, will delve into the history of children as photographers and how…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1190196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3939],"tags":[4021,4020,4022,77,16,15],"class_list":["post-1190195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117225898336521219","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1190195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1190195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1190195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1190196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1190195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1190195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1190195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}