room with a view camera obscura by abelardo morell

abelardo morell: camera obscura the pantheon in hotel albergo del sole al pantheon, room # 111, rome, italy, 2008all images © abelardo morell

titled ‘camera obscura’, cuban-born artist abelardo morell has taken a series of long exposure photographs that capture vivid scenes of well known sites from around the world. from times square in new york to the pantheon in rome, morell blackens the windows of site specific rooms by setting up a small pinhole within the different located fenestrations. inverted projected images from the exterior environment floods the inner fabric of the space, wrapping everything with high detail. as a result, accurate compositions emerge from the over-exposed photographs.

‘I made my first picture using camera obscura techniques in my darkened living room in 1991,’ says morell ‘over time, this project has taken me from my living room to all sorts of interiors around the world. one of the satisfactions i get from making this imagery comes from my seeing the weird and yet natural marriage of the inside and outside.’

upright camera obscura: piazzetta san marco looking southeast in office, 2007

camera obscura: view of florence looking northwest inside bedroom. italy, 2009

camera obscura: times square in hotel room, 2010

camera obscura: view of the manhattan bridge-april 30th / morning, 2010

camera obscura:5:04 am sunrise over the atlantic ocean. rockport, massachusetts, june 17th, 2009

camera obscura: view of central park looking north-summer, 2008

camera obscura: view of central park looking north-spring, 2010

camera obscura: view of central park looking north-fall, 2008

camera obscura: view of central park looking north-winter, 2013