Place Project

I made a series of camera obscura time lapse videos in my dorm room. I’ve always heard about this technique from school, but I’ve never had the chance to make one and experience it. It was a very surreal experience to see the outside world projected into my room. I like the concept of integrating what is going on right outside of my window and projecting a very public space into my little compartment.

I have a bunch of videos, but this one is my favorite. When the light is projecting into the room the image is flipped vertically, so I edited the video so that my room is upside down.

This is the original video before it was flipped.

This video was around noon, so the light was extremely bright.

I thought it’d be interesting to see both videos in perspective of the room and the outside world together.

Gif #1

Gif #2

Some interesting photos from the plethora of photos

Process

I made three camera obscuras that led to my final one. I did one in Margaret Morrison with the help of some professors, one in my friends dorm, and one practice session in my dorm with different sized peep holes. I think the most difficult part was just making the room as dark as possible.

Margaret Morrison: attempt #1

Friend’s room: attempt #2

My room: attempt #3

I have a corner room, which is great because there’s a lot of movement outside. But it was a pain to cover up all of my windows.

One thought on “fatik – Place”

Comments from the Group Review

General feedback- Abelardo Morell. Grounding images in physical places. Site and time specific. More why behind you’ve chosen to do this. What can you understand about the world through the camera obscura?

Camera obscura photos by the artist Abe Morell

Are you leaving a big enough hole for the lens? You’ll get a brighter image if you let more light in. From the photograph of your room, it looks like the hole you made for the lens is too small.

To me this feels like a commentary on our constant desire to ‘capture’ or ‘expore’ but without ever leaving our rooms. ( from netflix to instagram)

Made a time-lapse camera obscura in her dorm room.

I like it best when you record it upside down. The works present an intrusion, penetration or or mixture of the outside world into the inside world. I want there to be more “crap” (clothes, panels, stuff) that the outside world projects onto. What if you were in the time-lapse yourself, say, in your bed taking a nap under white covers, being projected on?

I agree ^
(camera obscuras project upside down images, she didn’t flip the video)

Clouds are lovely. Love how you have captured what is unique about this process in the photo of you walking through the door. I like how this plays into millennial tropes (being outside w/o leaving your house, selfies) but with the old fashioned approach of a camera obscuras.

Can we poke a hole in the ceiling and capture the clouds projected down on the room? +
^^AAH
^ jamie turrell!!

Gorgeous

Videos could benefit from increased exposure… very dark and hard to see as is < -- might be due to projection in this room Beautiful!!+1 I like the watery quality to the timelapses. I would want to see you interacting with the projection. You have all this temporal data, why present in the same order you recorded it? ^^ interesting You should use the fact that it is a room which people inhabit — include yourself in the long exposures, ghostly figures moving over the timelapse within your space (you!). YOU DID !!! that’s the coolest part i wish it was in the video timelapse Beautiful This is really good faith! You did a really good of explaining your process and concept I also thought the pics of you in the environment were the most interesting + you should definitely do a series in other people’s rooms!!!!!! How can you amplify the feeling of “you being there” - could you have presented this as an installation? What does it mean to be indoor? How does camera obscura defeat that? + Don’t show both the flipped and unflipped videos, and give your videos proper titles. Not “flipped1”. Combine them together, stick a title/credits. Do it right. The portraits of people in their rooms with the obscura in their room! Do it. Do a long exposure for the obscura then fire a directed/snooted/gridded flash at them during the exposure to freeze the individual, and get both exposed. + Alfred Hitchcock: Rear Window That’s a stunning portrait actually. I would love to see that as a series. << me too. I would love to see a photo of you in the projection taken on purpose Can we see the setup? Could we have a camera obscura demo? Wcan we have the I like the photos of you in them more than the videos!!! +1 +3 to what golan is saying about projecting onto random crap

golan says:

15 March 2017 at 2:31 am

Comments from the Group Review

General feedback- Abelardo Morell. Grounding images in physical places. Site and time specific. More why behind you’ve chosen to do this. What can you understand about the world through the camera obscura?

Camera obscura photos by the artist Abe Morell

Are you leaving a big enough hole for the lens? You’ll get a brighter image if you let more light in. From the photograph of your room, it looks like the hole you made for the lens is too small.

To me this feels like a commentary on our constant desire to ‘capture’ or ‘expore’ but without ever leaving our rooms. ( from netflix to instagram)

Made a time-lapse camera obscura in her dorm room.

I like it best when you record it upside down. The works present an intrusion, penetration or or mixture of the outside world into the inside world. I want there to be more “crap” (clothes, panels, stuff) that the outside world projects onto. What if you were in the time-lapse yourself, say, in your bed taking a nap under white covers, being projected on?

I agree ^
(camera obscuras project upside down images, she didn’t flip the video)

Clouds are lovely. Love how you have captured what is unique about this process in the photo of you walking through the door. I like how this plays into millennial tropes (being outside w/o leaving your house, selfies) but with the old fashioned approach of a camera obscuras.

Can we poke a hole in the ceiling and capture the clouds projected down on the room? +
^^AAH
^ jamie turrell!!

Gorgeous

Videos could benefit from increased exposure… very dark and hard to see as is < -- might be due to projection in this room Beautiful!!+1 I like the watery quality to the timelapses. I would want to see you interacting with the projection. You have all this temporal data, why present in the same order you recorded it? ^^ interesting You should use the fact that it is a room which people inhabit — include yourself in the long exposures, ghostly figures moving over the timelapse within your space (you!). YOU DID !!! that’s the coolest part i wish it was in the video timelapse Beautiful This is really good faith! You did a really good of explaining your process and concept I also thought the pics of you in the environment were the most interesting + you should definitely do a series in other people’s rooms!!!!!! How can you amplify the feeling of “you being there” - could you have presented this as an installation? What does it mean to be indoor? How does camera obscura defeat that? + Don’t show both the flipped and unflipped videos, and give your videos proper titles. Not “flipped1”. Combine them together, stick a title/credits. Do it right. The portraits of people in their rooms with the obscura in their room! Do it. Do a long exposure for the obscura then fire a directed/snooted/gridded flash at them during the exposure to freeze the individual, and get both exposed. + Alfred Hitchcock: Rear Window That’s a stunning portrait actually. I would love to see that as a series. << me too. I would love to see a photo of you in the projection taken on purpose Can we see the setup? Could we have a camera obscura demo? Wcan we have the I like the photos of you in them more than the videos!!! +1 +3 to what golan is saying about projecting onto random crap