largeformat

The 3D Shapes in These Photos Were Created Entirely In-Camera

If you take a look at photographer Charlie Kitchen's latest work, the images appear to be landscape photos with 3D shapes added in digitally. But appearances can be deceiving: each photo was created entirely in-camera without any help from Photoshop. The secret? Stencils.

This Photo Studio Makes 8×10 Portraits with Photo Paper and Caffenol

Over in Helsinki, Finland, there's a photo studio called Cahute, named after an old French word meaning "little hut." What's unusual about this studio is that it shoots portraits exclusively on 8x10 direct positive paper, processing the shots with caffenol (a process that traditionally uses coffee and Vitamin C).

This Large Format Camera Was Built with Garage Scraps and a DSLR

I recently built my own DIY large format camera using scraps. The idea of this camera started with vintage profile spotlight that I wanted to restore, only to discover that some of the internal lens elements were shattered. The only lens element that was undamaged was the front element. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that this element can project an image circle big enough to cover an 8x10 area.

Capturing Portraits of Olympians with an 8×10 Wood View Camera

LA Times photographer Jay L. Clendenin is one of our favorite photographers. Incredibly creative, he frequently manages to surprise and delight us with his unusual portrait assignments. His recent 8x10 portraits of US Olympic athletes are a perfect example.

A Photographer Explains His Passion for Large Format Photography

Columbus, Ohio-based photographer Mat Marrash has been working in large format photography for the past six years -- a span longer than pretty much any other hobby that's emerged in his life. He has also spent a lot of time thinking about why photography has had such a big impact on him. He shares those musings with us in this 2.5-minute video by Rooted Content.

Eerily Beautiful Photos of Utopian Housing Projects in Paris

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.

I Built Myself a 16×20-Inch Camera in 10 Hours

While sitting in a coffee shop last Friday, I really didn’t want to answer any more emails so I went to a bar instead, ordered a pint and sketched out a bit of a doodle for a big camera. I then called my buddy Zach who shares my open schedule and vague ability with power tools, and he stopped by my studio an hour later.

I explained what I wanted to do and showed him my napkin doodle. I think his reaction was something along the lines of “I have no idea what you’re talking about... but sure”. So we went to Home Depot and bought a bunch of wood and some screws. 

Galaxy Unveils Its ‘Hyper Speed’ Direct Positive Photo Paper with ISO 120

Once readily available, direct positive photo paper has near seemingly disappeared from the market. Ilford recently resurrected their Harman Direct positive paper with plans for it to be available throughout the world this August. Now, another competitor, Galaxy Company, is working to bring their own positive photo paper to life. And Galaxy has a unique feature on their side, which they are calling ‘Hyper Speed.'

How I Built Myself a Large Format 4×5 Monorail View Camera

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 I Made Myself a 16×20-inch Bellows Camera

Starting back in May of 2014, I finally put my first foot forward in the making of a 16x20 inch bellows camera. The idea to build a camera was nothing new to me, but I was always hesitant to begin construction since I am the type of person that prefers to work off a set of blue prints and directions. Unfortunately, since my drawing skills aren't amazing, it was pretty difficult to visualize and plan a solid blueprint of the project - which ultimately forced me to bite the bullet and simply begin construction of the camera and problem solve along the way.

Photographer Turns His Old Darkroom Enlarger Into a Large Format Camera

Photographer Chuck Baker is a self-proclaimed "camera and darkroom equipment hoarder" who can't bear to get rid of gear even when it no longer works. Having a large number of enlargers in his collection, Baker recently decided to upcycle one of them by turning it into a working camera.

The large format camera you see about is what resulted from the project.

Through the Ground Glass: An Ode to the Large Format Photographer

If you're in the mood to pine for your own large format camera, the great outdoors, landscape photography, and the darkroom, this beautifully shot ode to the large format photographer is right up your alley.

It's called Through the Ground Glass, and though it does feature a bit of language (consider yourself warned), it's a visually engaging ode to what some might call a lost art.

Photographer Uses Giant Blackburn Pendulum to Create Abstract Large Format Light Paintings

Lovers of light painting photography, large format photography, symmetry and physics each have a distinct reason to enjoy photographer Paul Wainwright's Pendulum Project.

Created in the pitch blackness of his barn at night, Wainwright shoots these beautiful light paintings with the help of a massive Blackburn pendulum he built himself and a large format camera packing 4x5 sheet film.

A Beautiful Look at the Meticulous Process Behind Large Format Photography

In the world of analogue photography, the larger you go in format, the more time, discipline and resources it typically takes to capture and develop your photographs. And while the age-old technique of developing film takes due diligence no matter the format, large format photography in particular has a certain quality to the process that makes it stand out from the rest.

Beautiful Large Format Images Captured at the Sochi Olympics with a 4×5 Camera

Two months after being in Sochi to cover the 2014 Winter Olympics, photographer Guy Rhodes is sharing some of the images he captured there. But they’re not just any images. They’re analog images. 4x5 images, to be exact.

Using 34 sheets of Tri-X and a Crown Graphic 4x5 camera, Rhodes describes capturing the games with such a beast (while also shooting digital) as, "among the top experiences [in his] life."

Leica Acquires Swiss Large Format View Camera Manufacturer Sinar

Leica began its takeover of Swiss view camera manufacturer Sinar all the way back in 2006, when the German company acquired a 51% stake in Sinar from Jenoptik. The real goal, however, was only truly achieved yesterday when both companies announced via press release that they had reached an acquisition deal.

BTS: Richard Renaldi Introduces & Poses Complete Strangers on the Streets of NYC

Photographer Richard Renaldi's 6-year-long project Touching Strangers has been an incredible success. From viral Internet fame to a full-fledged photo book that exceeded its Kickstarter goal eight times over, there's something profoundly moving about complete strangers posed together, sometimes quite intimately, on the streets of NYC.

In the video above we get a behind the scenes look at how Renaldi does what he does, and how his subjects, sometimes reticent at first, often wind up feeling at ease and connected to this perfect stranger they didn't know existed 10 minutes ago.

Taking Large Format Portraits of Marines in Afghanistan

This year I was presented with the unexpected opportunity to take a short trip to Afghanistan, and was able to take my camera gear with me. I had wanted to shoot portraits of deployed Marines being, well ... themselves for quite some time now.

So with about two weeks notice I was off to the sand box. Cameras, film and the closest thing to a darkroom I could pack into my luggage in tow.

This Gigantic Tintype Camera Shoots the Analog Equivalent of Gigapixel Photos

Gigapixel photography is all the rage these days, as photographers all over the world compete to hold the record for "world's largest photo," but one photographer in San Francisco is participating in a very different way.

Michael Shindler, a photographer at the tintype studio Photobooth, has built a custom giant tintype camera that shoots portraits that are the analog equivalent of a gigapixel photo.

Short Inspirational Profile of Large Format Photographer Marty Knapp

This video, put together as a personal project by Logan Kelsey of Vertical Online, tells the inspirational story of large format photographer Marty Knapp from the first time he ever picked up a camera to his current work capturing the landscapes of Northern California and the surrounding areas near Point Reyes.