Introduced at the beginning of the 20th century, autochromes were the very first form of color photography until it was comprehensively replaced by film in the mid-1900s. In 2024, just one man perseveres with the autochrome process.
I write about a lot of things here at PetaPixel -- reviews, guides, technical articles, opinion pieces -- but one of my favorite topics to write about is the history of photography. As an avid user and collector of vintage cameras and lenses, I have passionately absorbed as much knowledge about their history as possible over many years. Like studying world history, there is much value in understanding where we came from and what got to us where we are now.
Photographer Aleksi Koski has created what he calls the world's first 4x5 camera that is equipped with autofocus. Called the Conflict AF45, it uses a laser-based focusing system to create what is basically a giant point-and-shoot.
Not many people own a 4x5 camera let along actually use them, which makes Lomography's new LomoGraflok 4x5 Instant Back particularly interesting. It allows those with 4x5 Graflok-equipped large format cameras to shoot with Fujifilm Instax Wide film It's niche, but should appeal to a very small, but passionate, group of photographers.
Pinsta Instant Camera is a new pinhole camera that can shoot directly onto positive 4x5 inch photographic paper where it develops internally, eliminating the need for a darkroom.
Autumn is something I never miss when it comes to photography. I may be working on other projects …
From my beginning days in photography, roughly 1969, I had the ambition to travel and make photographs. Somehow, I felt a great satisfaction in producing photographic art that came from within.
I have been shooting 4x5 color transparencies or commonly known as color slide film for many years but the best that I could enjoy them was to put them on the light table and viewing them through a loupe. Unlike my 35mm and 120 slides, I have never seen them projected big simply it is not easy to locate a 4×5 slide projector.
Over the years I’ve often been asked how I went about making a certain image. That question is commonly asked in my workshops not only of me, but also my co-instructors, where open discussion about all images abounds. It’s a great question, because it gives real insight into the mind of the photographer.
A photographer in Japan was forced to sell his favorite camera earlier this year after being impacted by the COVID-19 recession. Instead of letting that put a stop to his art, he decided to build his own 4x5 large format camera... using LEGO blocks.
The folks over at Lomography have just unveiled the LomoGraflok 4x5 Instant Back: the world’s first Instant Back for 4×5 cameras that's designed to use Fujifilm Instax Wide film. As Lomo puts it, "large format photography just got a whole lot easier, less expensive, and more accessible!"
For his latest project, Iranian photographer and camera maker Alireza Rostami collected 35mm film canisters and used them to construct the bodies of medium format and large format cameras. The project is called "Unity Camera."
Photographer Usman Dawood of Sonder Creative recently teamed up with film photographer Adam French to put together an intriguing portrait comparison: high-resolution full-frame digital vs 4x5 large format film. They shot both cameras at about the same FF equivalent focal length, and then compared the resulting images side by side for your viewing pleasure.
After launching its affordable 4x5 large format camera in 2014, Intrepid is back with a new product called the Intrepid Enlarger. It's an attachment that turns any 4x5 camera into a darkroom enlarger and negative digitizer.
Cameradactyl is a new 3D-printed 4x5 field camera created by photographer Ethan Moses that stands out: instead of a traditional look, the camera comes in a wide range of custom colors and patterns.
"Over Paris" is a gorgeous ongoing photo project by photographer Alain Cornu, who brings his 4x5 large format field camera onto rooftops around the Paris for views of the city at night.
New55 has announced that it has shut down operations, putting an end to its dreams of helping to bring peel-apart 4x5 instant film back from the grave.
Here's an 8-minute video by photographer Irene Rudnyk with a behind-the-scenes look at her first experience in shooting portraits using a large format camera.
My name is Elliott Verdier, and I'm a French photographer who recently returned home from Kyrgyzstan. I spent four months making a portrait of the country with a 4x5 analog large format camera.
There are many photographers covering the hugely popular world of Formula One racing, but none of them shoot it quite like Joshua Paul of Lollipop Magazine. Instead of using the latest and greatest digital cameras -- or even a modern camera, for that matter -- Paul chooses to use a Graflex 4x5 view camera from 1913.
My name is Richard Evans, and I recently built myself a 4x5 camera. Here's a look at the camera and what I did.
Many (if not most) of the people reading this have shot 35mm film, and a chunk of those people have shot 120 medium format film, but only a fraction of that fraction has ever touched a large format camera. Here's your chance to see what it's like to shoot 4x5 film for the very first time.
When the selfie-stick craze began happening a couple of years ago, photographer and educator Russell Squires decided that he wanted to go beyond using "a lightweight flimsy stick" and a smartphone, so he decided to try shooting selfies with his 4x5" large format camera.
At the end of October, for the first time in history, you'll have the chance to own one of Ansel Adams' 4x5 view cameras for yourself. Heritage Auctions has gotten their hands on an Arca-Swiss 4x5 inch view camera used by Ansel in the 60s, and on October 27th it goes up on the auction block.
Between the 1950s and 1980s, large-scale residential districts were built in and around Paris, France, to provide affordable housing for a booming population. Known as "grands ensembles," these sprawling complexes were sometimes poorly planned and constructed, causing some to have many empty units as residents found other places to live. Others, however, remain populated and are bustling with life.
In both cases, there are senior citizens who call the housing projects home. For his project Souvenir d'un Futur, photographer Laurent Kronental documented these strangely beautiful buildings and the seniors who live in them.
Ian and Erick Regnard are two Mauritian-born photographers who have won big awards for their underwater 4x5 Polaroid photos.
If you’ve been waiting for the chance to convert your 4x5 large format camera into something that can produce instant results, then you are in luck. A company called CatLabs has launched a new Kickstarter campaign to introduce their Instant Pack Film Holder for 4x5 camera systems.
I’ve been taking photos all of my life. Something that I realize now started from a young age: I’ve been genetically disposed with bad eyes, but it was only discovered around the age of ten. This forced me to look closely at what was in front of me for a long time. Once I got tested and got glasses an entire world opened up. As a result, I’ve always looked at things and people with an appreciation I doubt I could’ve had any other way.
It’s a hunger to try and capture what I see in the moment as it presents itself, be it a theme or a feeling, a relationship or a time. There’s always a story to tell and that’s why we take photos.
How's this for an unlikely couple: what you see here is a heavily modified Fuji Instax Mini 10 instant camera that has a vintage 4x5 lens mounted to the front.
Photographer Stefan Litster created this “photo adventure” video showing how he shoots portraits …