Because the 20x24 camera could not travel to my studio, I once brought some of my collection of objects to Polaroid's 20x24 studio. Using a black velvet backdrop to cover institutional walls, I created a stage set for my objects. With the help of Tracy Storer, the studio's former manager at Massachusetts College of Art, we transformed the 20x24 camera into a giant pinhole camera by removing the lens and replacing it with a piece of brass shim stock. After piercing the shim stock with a push pin, I carefully sanded away any burrs to create an unobstructed "pin hole."

I made 45-minute exposures on Polacolor film, using various lights and reflectors to pull the objects up out of the darkness behind them. We compressed the camera bellows as much as possible in order to reduce exposure time. This compression (to about 18 inches deep) also created a wide-angle effect. We tilted the 250 lb. camera down and positioned it 6 to 10 inches above the set-ups, so that the camera looked into the sets and engaged with the objects in their own space. In the resulting photographs, the viewer can then enter the world of the objects and participate without distractions in the objects' visual dialogue.