Camera Obscura Image of the Houses Across the Street in Our Bedroom

This image was taken in the photographer's bedroom in Brookline, Massachusetts. Abelardo Morell covered the windows with black plastic. Through a small opening he made in the plastic, the view outside was projected onto the opposing wall, upside down. Morell then photographed the scene with a large-format camera, using an exposure that lasted several hours. The resulting scene shows nature virtually invading the interior space. The dark specter of sprawling branches overlays and comingles with his bed linens, lamps, and other furnishings. Morell's technique harkens back to the roots of photography in the camera obscura, which means "dark chamber" in Latin. It is the precursor to the modern camera body where light strikes the film. By transforming his bedroom into a camera obscura, Morell draws attention to the magical nature of the photographic medium.