A gift for a new baby: expose today, open in eighteen years.
Both In Time in the week of the birth. Two exposures on one negative: the first with the child and its world in the first days, the second eighteen years later, just before you develop together.
What is a good gift for a new baby?
For a new baby, give something the child only opens once they are grown. Both In Time, a handmade pinhole camera from Stuttgart for €79, is that kind of gift: you expose the first half of one negative in the first week, and eighteen years later the grown child exposes the second.
We take thousands of baby photos today. They sit on hard drives, in clouds, in chats. They are seen, liked, forgotten. Eighteen years later nobody opens the folder anymore.
Both In Time at birth works differently. You expose the first half shortly after the birth: the child in your arm, the room behind, the light of one specific afternoon. Sealed with a date label. Eighteen years later you open it together, the now-grown child exposes the second half, then you develop it in the kitchen with instant coffee. Two exposures, two moments, one sheet.
How it works
- 01
Expose in the first week
The first of two exposures, from four seconds to hours, depending on the light. Child, parents, room: everything that belongs to this moment.
- 02
Seal and label
The camera is closed with the tape strip and seal sticker, then marked with a date and a few handwritten words. Then it goes onto a dark, dry shelf: drawer, cupboard, wherever you keep what matters.
- 03
Open on the eighteenth birthday
The now-grown child exposes the second half, then five minutes in the kitchen, a little instant coffee. An image that waited as long as the child did.
Recommended camera
Rather give a voucher?
Sometimes the choice should stay with the person you are giving to. A voucher arrives by email within a few minutes, with a card to print, and is valid for three calendar years.
Common questions
What is a good gift for a new baby?
Something the child only opens once they are grown. Both In Time is a handmade pinhole camera for €79: you expose the first half of the negative in the first week, the child exposes the second eighteen years later, and only then does the picture exist.
How long does the negative really keep?
We have developed exposures after several years, and they turned out well. Stored dark and dry, we think eighteen years is realistic. We cannot guarantee it.
What if the child finds the camera earlier?
Store it out of reach: in a cupboard, a box, behind other books on a shelf. If the camera is opened early, the negative is exposed and the image is gone for good. It cannot be repaired.
Can I choose the unsealing date freely?
Yes, you write the date on the seal sticker yourself. Sixteen years, twenty-one, any anniversary. Eighteen is common because the child is then an adult and can develop with you.