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So you wanna be a ULF photographer ? |
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Written by Patrick Jan Van Hove
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Tuesday, 28 June 2005 |
Introduction
(Please note that this is my personnal view of ULF photography, your vision
could, and should be different, this is the main reason why I created this
page, to see the different sides of ULF.)
First, lets start with the obvious question : What is ULF ?
Ultra-Large format photography, at least by my definition, is photography
using any camera producing a negative larger than 8 x 10 inches. This includes
both classic and modern cameras, and various formats, from the almost small
7x17 panoramic and the 11x14 portrait cameras to the huge 20x24 polaroid cameras.
It is the world of extremes, extreme negative size and image quality, but
also extreme camera weight, extreme variability and extreme costs.
You are stepping in a world where the standards of smaller sizes that we take
for granted, like film holder compatibilities, are thrown out of the window.
Here everything is hand-made, everything is special order, six months waiting
period, here, we're madmen and women playing with very big cameras...
Second, and most important question... : Why ?
Or as i like to put it : "What in god's name possessed me to get a 35 pounds
camera on a 15 pounds tripod out in the woods when i could have brought a
nice little techno-digital-thingy that weighs 398 grams ?"
And the answer, the only answer i can come up with that's not technical, that
doesn't talk about resolution, platinum prints, tonal rendition or scheipflung
depth of field control, well that answer is quite simply, because I like it
and because I can...
This part of the website contains information to help starting ULF photographers make
equipment choices. This is in no way the most important part of the creative process
but ULF photography depends on highly specialized equipment that comes usually with
an accompanying highly specialized price. It is therefore important that the ULF community
have a rallying point, a central information depository where opinions and view on
equipment can be shared.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 27 November 2005 )
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