Obscura (2018)

(0) based on 0 votes
While working with wet plate collodion Ruhter came up with an idea to show the world the beauty of these objects in a size that was deemed impossible. This led him and the Silver & Light Team to a forgotten town on the edge of the Salton Sea called Bombay Beach, located in California’s Imperial Valley. The idea was to create a camera out of an abandoned house. The structure would serve as the framework for the camera. Instead of focusing on the decay from the outside, this house camera allowed a view from the inside into someone’s dream. Once the giant lens was placed on the front of the house, images of Ted, a 100 year old resident who recently found himself homeless, were projected in, breathing new life into this abandoned structure and once again making it a home. During this brief moment in time when Ted’s photograph was captured, he was present in both places. In reality, he was homeless in the outside world.
Directors
Release Date
Oct 24, 2018
Runtime
00h 32m
Genre
Available in streaming on
For now, we have not found any platform that offers this movie in streaming...

While working with wet plate collodion Ruhter came up with an idea to show the world the beauty of these objects in a size that was deemed impossible. This led him and the Silver & Light Team to a forgotten town on the edge of the Salton Sea called Bombay Beach, located in California’s Imperial Valley. The idea was to create a camera out of an abandoned house. The structure would serve as the framework for the camera. Instead of focusing on the decay from the outside, this house camera allowed a view from the inside into someone’s dream. Once the giant lens was placed on the front of the house, images of Ted, a 100 year old resident who recently found himself homeless, were projected in, breathing new life into this abandoned structure and once again making it a home. During this brief moment in time when Ted’s photograph was captured, he was present in both places. In reality, he was homeless in the outside world.

Movies like Obscura

And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine

From the first camera to 45 billion cameras worldwide today, the visual sociologist filmmakers widen their lens to expose both humanity's unique obsession with the camera's image and the social consequences that lay ahead.
Search similar movies
7.3
And+the+King+Said%2C+What+a+Fantastic+Machine
And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine

2023

Search similar movies
Cinema Through the Eye of Magnum

The film tells the story of the intimate and unprecedented encounter between the photojournalists of the Magnum Agency and the world of cinema. The confrontation of two seemingly opposite worlds – fiction and reality. For 70 years their paths crossed: a family of photographers, amongst them the biggest names in photography, and a family of actors and filmmakers who helped write the history of cinema, from John Huston to Marilyn Monroe to Orson Welles, Kate Winslet and Sean Penn.
Search similar movies
7.7
Cinema+Through+the+Eye+of+Magnum
Cinema Through the Eye of Magnum

2017

Search similar movies
A Land Betrayed

Produced by Alfred Higgins Productions with assistance from the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Academic Support Center Film Library, Keep America Beautiful, Inc., and Keep Los Angeles Beautiful, Inc., the 1963 short film A Land Betrayed examines the various ways people have spread the “cancer of ugliness” across America and offers call-to-action solutions to combat the nation-wide problem.
Search similar movies
6.0
A+Land+Betrayed
A Land Betrayed

1963

Search similar movies
Night on Earth: Shot in the Dark

This look behind the scenes shows how worldwide camera crews climbed, dived and froze to capture the documentary's groundbreaking night footage.
Search similar movies
6.1
Night+on+Earth%3A+Shot+in+the+Dark
Night on Earth: Shot in the Dark

2020

Search similar movies
Nude

NUDE explores perceptions of nudity in art by chronicling the creative process of photographer David Bellemere as he's commissioned by NU Muses founder Steve Shaw to shoot a fine art calendar of nude photographs.
Search similar movies
9.4
Nude
Love, Cecil

A documentary about Academy Award-winning costume designer Cecil Beaton. A respected photographer, artist, and set designer, Beaton was best known for designing on award-winning films such as 'Gigi' (1958) and 'My Fair Lady' (1964). The film features archive footage and interviews with a number of models, artists, and filmmakers who worked closely with Beaton during his illustrious career.
Search similar movies
6.4
Love%2C+Cecil
Love, Cecil

2017

Search similar movies
Witkin & Witkin

A pair of identical twins, one a photographer and the other a painter, have very little in common.
Search similar movies
7.0
Witkin+%26+Witkin
Witkin & Witkin

2017

Search similar movies
Reporters

The co-founder of the Gamma press agency, Raymond Depardon, created this documentary of press photographers in Paris and their subjects by following the photographers around for one month, in October, 1980. In-between long hours waiting for a celebrity to emerge from a restaurant or a hotel, boredom immediately switches to fast action as the cameras click and roll when the person appears. The reaction to the gaggle of photographers is as varied as the people they often literally chase all around town. While some of the celebrities, such as Jacques Chirac who was mayor of Paris at the time, are perceived as comical caricatures, others are shown simply going about ordinary pursuits - including Catherine Deneuve, Gene Kelly, and Jean-Luc Godard.
Search similar movies
6.9
Reporters
Bettie Page: Pin Up Queen

Bettie Page was the top pin-up queen of the 50s and developed a cult following in the 80s. She is known for her distinctive hair style and is reputed to be the most photographed pin-up model of all time. This compilation shows Bettie's playful side, featuring her scenes from the full-length burlesque films Striporama (1953), Varietease (1954) and Teaserama (1955) and a dozen complete short films from the 50s including Tantalizing Betty Dances Again, Tambourine Dance, Joyful Dance by Betty, Betty's Hat Dance, Dream Dance by Betty, Dance of Passion, Betty's Clown Dance Part 2, Betty's Lingerie Tease Dance, Betty's Second G-String Dance, Betty's Fireplace Dance, and Pin-Up Beauties Fight (with June King).
Search similar movies
4.8
Bettie+Page%3A+Pin+Up+Queen
Bettie Page: Pin Up Queen

1998

Search similar movies
Saved From The Waters

A biographical documentary about Moisés Avendaño, artist, athlete, sportsman, adventurer, and doctor from Veracruz, Mexico. Seen from his golden years, until his imminent encounter with Parkinson's disease, in the present.
Search similar movies
Saved+From+The+Waters
Saved From The Waters

2018

Search similar movies
Instant Dreams

There could hardly be a more telling contrast between the analog and digital eras than the beautifully blurry memories captured in a Polaroid picture and the thousands of pin-sharp photos on an iPhone. In this ambitious visual essay, Willem Baptist explores the visionary genius of Edwin H. Land, the inventor of the Polaroid camera. Even today, all sorts of people are keeping his instant dream alive. Former Polaroid employee Stephen Herchen moved from the United States to Europe to work in a laboratory developing the 2.0 version of Polaroid. Christopher Bonanos, the author of Instant: The Story of Polaroid, tells us, "When I heard Polaroid would stop making film, it felt like a close friend had died." Artist Stefanie Schneider, who is working with the last of her stock of Polaroid film, is using the blurring that occurs with expired film as an additional aesthetic layer in her photographic work.
Search similar movies
6.7
Instant+Dreams
Instant Dreams

2017

Search similar movies
The Atlas Moth

The saga of Dan Cleveland, the hardest-working man in local rock, and his band Dark Horse continues. Several years have passed since the events of "Driver 23" but Cleveland's enthusiasm for his dream of heavy metal stardom has not been dampened in the least.
Search similar movies
The+Atlas+Moth
The Atlas Moth

2001

Search similar movies
Standard Operating Procedure

Errol Morris examines the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.
Search similar movies
6.7
Standard+Operating+Procedure
Standard Operating Procedure

2008

Search similar movies
Kobe Shinbun no Nanokakan

Also known as the "Kobe earthquake," the massive earthquake struck the southern Hyogo prefecture on January 17, 1995 and resulted in more than 6,400 casualties. The drama will focus on the reporters working for the Kobe Shimbun, who were determined to keep the newspaper running without interruption, despite the damage suffered during the earthquake. The characters in the drama will all be based on real people, using their real names. Sakurai stars as the photo reporter Tomohiko Mitsuyama, who had joined Kobe Shimbun four years before the earthquake. The show will also have documentary segments such as interviews, including an appearance by Mitsuyama himself.
Search similar movies
Kobe+Shinbun+no+Nanokakan
Kobe Shinbun no Nanokakan

2010

Search similar movies
Imagraphy

Step inside the minds of 16 international masters of photography. They share stories behind their most iconic images and techniques whilst learning their impressions of our world as seen through their lenses.
Search similar movies
Imagraphy
Quatro em Linha

Plot unavailable
Search similar movies
Quatro+em+Linha
Quatro em Linha

2025

Search similar movies
I'm Not Everything I Want to Be

After the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Libuše Jarcovjáková, a young female photographer, strives to break free from the constraints of Czechoslovak normalization and embarks on a wild journey towards freedom, capturing her experiences on thousands of subjective photographs.
Search similar movies
8.0
I%27m+Not+Everything+I+Want+to+Be
I'm Not Everything I Want to Be

2024

Search similar movies
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency

Nan Goldin's slide show “The Ballad of Sexual Dependency” converted, mixed and screened as a film by the artist, portraying the American underground culture, the no wave scene, post-Stonewall gay subculture, among others.
Search similar movies
The+Ballad+of+Sexual+Dependency
The Ballad of Sexual Dependency

1985

Search similar movies
The Last Resort

An uncannily revealing portrait of American photographers Andy Sweet and Gary Monroe and the vibrant community of Jewish retirees they obsessively focused their camera's lens on in the sunburned paradise of 1970s Miami Beach.
Search similar movies
7.2
The+Last+Resort
The Last Resort

2018

Search similar movies
Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes

An intimate look at pioneering artist George Platt Lynes, who took radically explicit photographs of the male nude. The documentary reveals Lynes’ gifted eye for the male form, his long-term friendships with Gertrude Stein and Alfred Kinsey, and his lasting influence as one of the first openly gay American artists.
Search similar movies
Hidden+Master%3A+The+Legacy+of+George+Platt+Lynes
Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes

2024

Search similar movies
Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens

An account of the professional and personal life of renowned American photographer Annie Leibovitz, from her early artistic endeavors to her international success as a photojournalist, war reporter, and pop culture chronicler.
Search similar movies
7.7
Annie+Leibovitz%3A+Life+Through+a+Lens
Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens

2007

Search similar movies
Lucy Worsley's Royal Photo Album

Lucy Worsley tells the story of the royal photograph, showing how the royal family worked with generations of photographers to create images that reinvented the British monarchy.
Search similar movies
8.5
Lucy+Worsley%27s+Royal+Photo+Album
Lucy Worsley's Royal Photo Album

2020

Search similar movies
Lee Miller: A Life on the Frontline

A documentary celebrating Lee Miller, a model-turned-photographer-turned-war reporter who defied anyone who tried to pin her down, put her on a pedestal, or pigeonhole her in any way.
Search similar movies
7.6
Lee+Miller%3A+A+Life+on+the+Frontline
Lee Miller: A Life on the Frontline

2020

Search similar movies
Nothing Like a Dame

BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.
Search similar movies
6.8
Nothing+Like+a+Dame
Nothing Like a Dame

2018

Search similar movies
No Words: The Art Of Photography

Follow reporter Francesco Croquete Margharette on his comical journey through the world of photography.
Search similar movies
10.0
No+Words%3A+The+Art+Of+Photography
No Words: The Art Of Photography

2025

Search similar movies
Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine

The James Webb Telescope stirs imaginations with vivid photos of distant galaxies. This documentary tracks its historic journey from inception to launch.
Search similar movies
7.5
Unknown%3A+Cosmic+Time+Machine
Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine

2023

Search similar movies
The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye

An intimate, affecting portrait of the life and work of ground-breaking performance artist and music pioneer Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV +) and their wife and collaborator, Lady Jaye, centered around the daring sexual transformations the pair underwent for their 'Pandrogyne' project.
Search similar movies
6.8
The+Ballad+of+Genesis+and+Lady+Jaye
The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye

2012

Search similar movies
Plague

Plague: From the Latin word “plaga” meaning 'blow', 'wound'. Meaning: Massive, sudden appearance of living beings of the same species that cause serious damage to animal or plant populations. Abundance of something harmful.
Search similar movies
9.0
Plague
Bettina Rheims

Whether famous or anonymous, stars or prisoners, models or sex workers, women have always been at the center of Bettina Rheims' photographic work since her debut in 1978. Both subversive and glamorous, trashy and sophisticated, her photographs mark and bear witness to the upheavals of the era, which this leading photographer both anticipated and accompanied.
Search similar movies
Bettina+Rheims
Bettina Rheims

2025

Search similar movies
Smash His Camera

A film centering on the life and work of Ron Galella that examines the nature and effect of paparazzi.
Search similar movies
6.9
Smash+His+Camera
Smash His Camera

2010

Search similar movies
McCurry: The Pursuit of Colour

If something of import has taken place in our lifetimes, chances are that Steve McCurry has photographed it, from the wars in the Arab world to the 9/11 attacks. Denis Delestrac’s documentary on the photographer charts McCurry’s journey through a restless life spent on constant move, chronicling our times and living with the intense loneliness and trauma that came along with his work. Today, surrounded by a loving family, McCurry is finally home but never not in the pursuit of color.
Search similar movies
6.9
McCurry%3A+The+Pursuit+of+Colour
McCurry: The Pursuit of Colour

2022

Search similar movies
Grain: Analog Renaissance

Today, the art world and beyond is obsessed with shooting analog. Whether it's a fashion house seeking to bring a new edge to their creative work, an amateur perusing eBay for the perfect vintage Polaroid, or an influencer attempting to capture a comforting retro aesthetic on social media, analog photography has piqued the interest of people everywhere. Is this resurgence a backlash against digital photography? Is it just a trend perpetuated by our desire for authenticity in an increasingly superficial world? Or is it something else entirely? Grain: Analog Renaissance is a documentary by Alex Contell and Tommaso Sacconi that explores the stories of those committed to using film in modern day photography.
Search similar movies
7.5
Grain%3A+Analog+Renaissance
Grain: Analog Renaissance

2021

Search similar movies
No Roads In

An abandoned homestead, twelve songs and five days to cut an album. A journey into how the power of music transforms our life.
Search similar movies
10.0
No+Roads+In
No Roads In

2017

Search similar movies
Who is Michael Jang?

After a long career as a commercial and portrait photographer, mischievous San Francisco artist Michael Jang sat for decades on a hidden treasure of pictures taken in his 20s—both candid celebrity shots and a down-to-earth cross-section of Chinese American family life rarely captured so playfully. Then, during the pandemic, Jang set out to share his work with the world, street guerilla-style.
Search similar movies
Who+is+Michael+Jang%3F
Who is Michael Jang?

2024

Search similar movies
Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable

Freyer Artist. Iconoclast. Man of his time. All Things are Photographable is a revealing documentary portrait of the life and work of acclaimed photographer Garry Winogrand – the epic storyteller in pictures of America across three turbulent decades.
Search similar movies
6.3
Garry+Winogrand%3A+All+Things+Are+Photographable
Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable

2018

Search similar movies
Portraits and Dreams

Revisit photographs created by Kentucky school children in the 1970s and the place where their photos were made. Photographer and artist Wendy Ewald, who guided the students in making their visionary photographs, returns to Kentucky and learns how the lives and visions of her former students have changed.
Search similar movies
6.0
Portraits+and+Dreams
Portraits and Dreams

2020

Search similar movies
200,000 Phantoms

In 1914, the Czech architect Jan Letzel designed in the Japanese city of Hiroshima Center for the World Expo, which has turned into ruins after the atomic bombing in August 1945. “Atomic Dome” – all that remains of the destroyed palace of the exhibition – has become part of the Hiroshima memorial. In 2007, French sculptor, painter and film director Jean-Gabriel Périot assembled this cinematic collage from hundreds of multi-format, color and black and white photographs of different years’ of “Genbaku Dome”.
Search similar movies
7.4
200%2C000+Phantoms
200,000 Phantoms

2007

Search similar movies
Heart of a Bull

A concert film documenting a performance from the Houston artist Orpheus Von Doom.
Search similar movies
Heart+of+a+Bull
Heart of a Bull

2025

Search similar movies
In and Out of Fashion

An biography of William Klein, Parisian-based American photographer which strings together his abstract paintings, mould-breaking reportage, inventive fashion photos and excerpts from his feature films.
Search similar movies
6.0
In+and+Out+of+Fashion
In and Out of Fashion

1998

Search similar movies
Escala de grisos

Plot unavailable
Search similar movies
Escala+de+grisos
Escala de grisos

2021

Search similar movies
The Photographer

1948 ARC Identifier 46998 / Local Identifier 306.131. FEATURES THE PERSONALITY, PHILOSOPHY, TECHNIQUES AND ARTISTRY OF EDWARD WESTON, AS SHOWN THROUGH SCENES OF THE ARTIST AT HOME, ON LOCATION AND AT WORK WITH HIS STUDENTS. U.S. Information Agency. (1982 - 10/01/1999) Made possible by a donation from Simon Phipps
Search similar movies
9.0
The+Photographer
The Photographer

1948

Search similar movies
Anton Corbijn Inside Out

An intimate portrait of Anton Corbijn as he travels the world as a photographer, film maker and video artist…
Search similar movies
5.5
Anton+Corbijn+Inside+Out
Anton Corbijn Inside Out

2012

Search similar movies
A Single Frame

The journey of A SINGLE FRAME weaves an exploration of the impact of photography from both sides of the shutter. The fascinating post-war culture of Kosovo serves as backdrop.
Search similar movies
A+Single+Frame
A Single Frame

2015

Search similar movies
Last Days of the Arctic

Ragnar Alexsson, a.k.a. RAX, is among the most celebrated photographers in the world. His series Faces of the North are a living document of the dying cultures of the far northern reaches of the planet. His photo essays of farmers and fishermen in Icleand, and of the great hunters of Greenland give an amazing insight into everyday life of people who struggle a daily battle with the Arctic nature. A celebration of the photographer and his subjects, Last Days of the Arctic is an elegy for a disappearing landscape and the people who inhabit it.
Search similar movies
5.5
Last+Days+of+the+Arctic
Last Days of the Arctic

2011

Search similar movies
In search of urbex

There are places in the world that are forgotten by everyone, places where time seems to have stopped, where nature seems to have won the battle. These places are the playgrounds of modern-day adventurers called urbexers. They explore, discover, and photograph the most emblematic abandoned sites in France with a single leitmotif: to prevent them from falling into oblivion forever.
Search similar movies
8.0
In+search+of+urbex
In search of urbex

2022

Search similar movies
Dans le vent

Short subject on how fashion is created-- not by the great couturiers, but on the street.
Search similar movies
6.0
Dans+le+vent
Dans le vent

1963

Search similar movies
TimeScapes

Stunning slow-motion and timelapse cinematography of the landscapes, people and wildlife of the American South West.
Search similar movies
7.4
TimeScapes
TimeScapes

2012

Search similar movies
Arakimentari

A look at the life and work of Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki and his impact on Japanese culture.
Search similar movies
6.0
Arakimentari
Arakimentari

2004

Search similar movies