We were delighted to welcome friends, artists, researchers and curious visitors to Fotonow’s gallery at 107 Cornwall Street in Plymouth to celebrate the launch of Obscura Legacies. The exhibition marked the beginning of the project and the publication of our first book, Derek Swindley and his Camera Obscuras by Lesley Flowers.
The preview evening and exhibition day were filled with conversations, shared memories and renewed excitement about Camera Obscuras. Archive photographs, technical drawings and stories from Derek’s life helped bring this extraordinary practice into focus. As well as launching the project, the exhibition itself now forms part of the archive – documented as a key starting point in what we hope will be a long and evolving journey.
A Living Archive of UK Camera Obscuras
Obscura Legacies is dedicated to celebrating, documenting and mapping Camera Obscuras across the UK – past and present, permanent and temporary, fixed and mobile. Inspired by the work of Cornwall-based enthusiast Derek Swindley, the project brings together research, storytelling and digital mapping to ensure these remarkable spaces are not forgotten.
The Obscura Legacies website is now live and growing. It will develop into a friendly, publicly accessible resource where visitors can explore all things Camera Obscuras.
The project warmly invites contributions. Whether you built a Camera Obscura, visited one as a child, inherited one, restored one, or simply love them – your knowledge and stories matter. This is a collaborative archive.
Why Camera Obscuras Still Matter
Even now, in an age of instant digital imagery, stepping inside a Camera Obscura feels magical. The simple projection of the outside world – moving, upside down, luminous – stops people in their tracks. It is science made visible, physics made poetic.
For Victorian audiences, long before cinema or television, the experience was astonishing. That sense of wonder has not disappeared. Camera Obscuras slow us down. They reframe our surroundings and invite us to look carefully at landscape, architecture and light. They create shared experiences – moments of collective curiosity.
At the heart of Obscura Legacies is Derek Swindley’s extraordinary contribution. A self-taught expert in optics and photography, Derek combined technical depth with practical ingenuity. In the 1980s he built what is believed to be the UK’s first mobile Camera Obscura, housed in a caravan in Liskeard.
His Caravan Camera Obscura travelled across Devon and Cornwall, appearing at events including A Victorian Weekend at Port Eliot Estate in 1984. Audiences stepped inside and saw their surroundings transformed into a luminous projection — an experience many still remember.
Derek was generous with his knowledge and materials. He loaned or donated lenses and supported other artists and makers, directly enabling new mobile Camera Obscuras to be built. Although he passed away in 2012, he left behind a rich archive of notebooks, photographs, technical experiments and correspondence. Researching, digitising and sharing this archive is central to Obscura Legacies.
Publications and Future Plans
The first book, Derek Swindley and his Camera Obscuras, published by Fotonow CIC, marks the beginning of a series. Future publications will explore the cameras Derek inspired, how they were constructed, and the artistic, social and community projects they have generated over the past twenty years.
The February 2026 exhibition launch is the first documented chapter of this wider story. As the website grows through 2026 and 2027, more research, archive material and newly identified Camera Obscuras – including temporary and lost examples – will be added.
The hosting and continued development of the Obscura Legacies website
Research and digitisation of Derek Swindley’s archive
Supporters will receive a copy of the first publication as a thank you.
By supporting Obscura Legacies, you are helping preserve a unique blend of science, art and community heritage. You are helping ensure that the quiet magic of Camera Obscuras – and the people who build and care for them – continues to inspire future generations.
We hope you will explore the project, share your stories, and join us in bringing these remarkable spaces back into view.
