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Photographer Brendan Barry, founder and director of Positive Light Projects and creator of numerous unusual cameras, recently transformed the 46th floor of NYC’s 101 Park Avenue skyscraper into a massive camera obscura. The camera was part of the larger Skyscraper Camera Project installation that was live from May 13 to 16 in the iconic Manhattan tower.
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| Barry, accompanied by photography students, looks over a negative captured as part of the Skyscraper Camera Project. |
Barry has crafted different types of cameras out of a variety of unexpected materials, including a medium format camera built in a pineapple, a 4×5″ camera that incorporates a log and a 35mm ‘butternut squash camera.’
According to the CBS affiliate WLNY, Barry gathered with 20 photography students on Saturday, May 11, to blackout 160 windows in the 46th floor of 101 Park Avenue. Lenses were installed in the dark space, enabling the team to project large images onto screens inside of the skyscraper. Below is a short feature WLNY created on the project:
The project was conceived by Favorite Child Creative founder and director Nicholas Kalikow, according to The Phoblographer. The 46th floor of the skyscraper was available during that time, offering a 360-degree view of the Manhattan skyline and the unique opportunity for this installation.
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| One of the many images captured with the skyscraper camera obscura. |
During the workshop, Barry and participants produced what may be the largest analog photographs of New York City; they measure up to 45″ x 93″. The photos were developed in an on-site darkroom. In addition to transforming the floor into a large camera, the team also created a functional camera replica of the skyscraper.
Below is a collection of behind-the-scene images from the project that Barry kindly shared with DPReview:
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Barry’s other work can be found on his website.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
