Camera Obscura

Camera Obscura:

           After our visit to the Denver Art Museum the group headed over a few streets to a hidden treasure: Camera Obscura. Hal Gould, an amazing man who is still running the gallery to this day, founded the Camera Obscura over thirty years ago, in 1979. The gallery is located in a small house, so when explored it is shocking to see the amount of artwork housed in such a small space. The downstairs has a typical feel of an art gallery- photographs evenly spaced, spotlights on each image. But I believe the real value is found in the upstairs, where every single inch of the many rooms are covered with hundreds, feeling like thousands, of magnificent pictures. Although overwhelming at first, the space soon feels magical, and viewers find themselves being sucked into every individual photograph. This place truly is an inspiration.

            Although the photographs were extremely inspiring, the real inspiration was found when Hal Gould told the story of the gallery. Camera Obscura was one of the first art galleries to consider and treat photography as a fine art. When prominent museums refused to show photography, Gould worked hard to achieve his vision of having the first gallery of photography shown as a fine art. Ansel Adams showed his photographs in Camera Obscura, when his prints sold for five dollars. His original photographs are now sold for over fifty thousand dollars (http://www.anseladams.com/category_s/71.htm).  Gould’s perseverance has had an insurmountable impact of the world of photography. Overall, this experience in the Camera Obscura gallery has shown me that anything is possible, as long as you believe in your dream.