miroslav tichy

tichys camera: which he made from paper towel tubes and other found objects

during many years, tichý wandered the small moravian town of kyjov (in the czech republic) in rags, pursuing his obsession with the female form by secretly photographing women in the streets, shops and parks with cameras which he made from paper towel tubes, thread spools, rubber bands, tin cans, children’s spectacle lenses and other junk he found on the street.
tichy described his trash cameras as being the only way to add enough poetic imperfections to photography. he would return home each day to make prints on equally primitive equipment, making only one print from the negatives he selected. his work remained largely unknown until 2005, when he was 79 years old… by pp’