Re: interesting large format article

I'm not. That's what I was wondering: am I lucky?

:)

-Jon

----- Original Message -----
From: "Susan Huber" <shuber@ssisland.com>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@skyway.usask.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 8:28 AM
Subject: Re: interesting large format article

> Hi Jon, I use the Fidelity in the 8 by 10 size all the time- no problems
> yet.
> What problems are you getting?
> Susan
> www.susanhuber.com
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jon Danforth" <jdanforth@sc.rr.com>
> To: <alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 4:27 AM
> Subject: Re: interesting large format article
>
>
> > Thanks for posting this, Thom.
> >
> > In regards to film flatness, has anyone found problems with Fidelity
> holders
> > and film flatness in either 4x5 or 8x10 sizes? In my inexperience, I've
> > either had good luck or good film holders when it comes to keeping 8x10
> film
> > flat. I'm sure that with a negative of the size that Ross is working
> with,
> > the vaccum pump is a necessity (as with any good turntable!) but what
> about
> > those of is working in piddily little 8x10 size?
> >
> > -Jon
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Thom Mitchell" <tjmitch@ix.netcom.com>
> > To: <alt-photo-process-l@skyway.usask.ca>
> > Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 12:11 AM
> > Subject: interesting large format article
> >
> >
> > > Not exactly alt process but interesting none the less. His negative is
> > only
> > > 9x18 which is small compared to some people's preferred film size.
> > >
> > > Photographer Makes High-Resolution Camera
> > >
> > > Tue May 25, 9:59 AM ETAdd Technology - AP to My Yahoo!
> > >
> > >
> > > By SAMANTHA GROSS, Associated Press Writer
> > > NEW YORK - When photographer Clifford Ross first saw Colorado's Mt.
> > Sopris,
> > > he was so taken with the beauty of the mammoth formation that he
jumped
> on
> > > the roof of his brother-in-law's car - denting it - to photograph the
> > > landscape.
> > > But Ross found that his 35mm photos didn't get anyone else excited.
They
> > > simply didn't capture enough detail to convey the majesty of the
> > > white-capped mountain surrounded by grassy fields.
> > > So he decided to make a camera that could create an image as
> awe-inspiring
> > > as the vista before him. The result was R1, a 110-pound, 6-foot film
> > camera
> > > that produces what experts say are some of the highest-resolution
> > landscape
> > > photographs ever made.
> > > "Mountain I," a 5-foot-by-10-foot color photograph captured by that
> > camera,
> > > is on display at the Sonnabend Gallery in New York through July 30.
> > > Ross, 51, wanted to share a near-replica of reality, without any of
the
> > > blurring visible in most large prints. "You can choose to go up to the
> > > picture and experience it intimately with a sense of unbroken
reality,"
> he
> > > says.
> > > Details of the mountain's snowcapped peak - 7 miles from the camera -
> are
> > in
> > > sharp focus, as are individual blades of grass only 30 meters away.
When
> > > sections of the image are magnified nearly four times, other details
are
> > > clearly visible: the shingles on a barn 1,200 meters from the camera,
a
> > red
> > > bird in the grass 45 meters away.
> > > A lower-resolution image captured on everyday 35mm film would break
down
> > > when displayed at the size of "Mountain I." Viewers would see a fuzzy,
> > > fractured image - and Ross' miniature red bird would likely not be
> visible
> > > at all.
> > > "You have to ask the question, `What's the point of painting a scene
> like
> > > this when you can reproduce it with no loss of resolution?'" says
Conor
> > Foy,
> > > a 36-year-old painter. "The resolution of this seems to be more than
> > > anything I've seen before."
> > > Ross acknowledges that he has very little technical background. "I'm
not
> a
> > > research scientist and I'm not a designer of photographic mechanisms,"
> the
> > > first-time inventor says. "I'm doing this because I want to make a
piece
> > of
> > > art."
> > > Benjamin Donaldson, a large-format photography teacher at the
> > International
> > > Center of Photography, calls Ross' camera an unusual example of art
> > driving
> > > science rather than the other way around.
> > > Similarly large images have been created before by seaming numerous
> photos
> > > together, and other photographers have used film even larger than
Ross'
> to
> > > capture high-resolution images. One black-and-white photographer,
> Douglas
> > > Busch, built a camera that uses custom-made film larger than 3
feet-by-5
> > > feet.
> > > But Ross, a self-described perfectionist, found existing large-film
> > cameras
> > > unsuitable. Some were too small. Others produced only black-and-white
> > > photos. The largest ones lacked the refinement he wanted.
> > > "All of the inventions that were wrapped up into my R1, were an
antidote
> > to
> > > the problems that I see in all view cameras," he says, referring to
the
> > > accordion-style cameras used for maximum image quality.
> > > But as Ross sought to create something new, he found himself returning
> to
> > > the old, implementing common sense solutions and incorporating
outdated
> > > parts - an anomaly in today's digital age.
> > > The R1 - the R is for Ross - is similar to the accordion-style view
> > cameras
> > > used in the 19th century. It is built around the body of a World War
> > II-era
> > > camera originally designed to take pictures from thousands of feet in
> the
> > > air. Mirrors, vacuum pumps and a microscope help focus the image
> > precisely.
> > > But when Ross' 9-inch-by-18-inch negatives are digitally scanned, the
> > result
> > > is decidedly high-tech. Each image yields a 2.6-gigabyte file - huge
for
> a
> > > single image.
> > > Kodak Chief Technology Officer James Stoffel says Ross' file is more
> than
> > a
> > > thousand times the size and resolution of those generated by a typical
> > > digital camera for consumers. High-end professional digital cameras
> > usually
> > > create images that are around 20 megabytes, offering less than a
> hundredth
> > > of the resolution of Ross' images.
> > > Much of the camera's precision focusing is achieved with what Ross
calls
> > > "meat and potatoes" innovations.
> > > A vacuum pump ensures that the film is flat to within one-thousandth
of
> an
> > > inch, and a dual-mirror device keeps the film parallel to the lens.
Sand
> > > bags strapped to the camera and tripod prevent the machine from
> shifting,
> > > and a reinforced aluminum cradle maintains the parts of the camera in
> > > perfect alignment.
> > > Because the camera uses film meant for aerial shots, its negatives
must
> be
> > > chemically treated to reduce their unusually high degree of contrast.
> That
> > > leaves sharp details but muddy colors.
> > > So after digitally scanning the negative, Ross and his assistants must
> > > manipulate the image using Adobe Systems Inc.'s Photoshop software to
> > return
> > > the mountain's colors to their initial vibrancy. Though the method
might
> > > raise questions about accuracy and purity, Ross tries to avoid making
> any
> > > significant changes and works from memory to restore the scene.
> > > The process is so lengthy that the one-time painter can produce only
> five
> > to
> > > eight images a year. Three years passed between Ross' first snapshot
> > > sketches and the exhibition of "Mountain I."
> > > Ross refuses to divulge how much the camera cost or how it got funded,
> but
> > > says he did not receive corporate backing.
> > > Confined by the size of available paper, the images will remain 5
> > feet-by-10
> > > feet - at least for now. Ross says he hopes one day to string
> flat-screen
> > > monitors together to create an 18-foot-by-36-foot display wall, and he
> > > believes the hyper-reality of the image will hold up at that size.
> > > Kodak's Stoffel says it's unlikely the R1's technology will be adapted
> for
> > > the average consumer, though high-end professional applications are
> > > possible. He says he has no specifics in mind.
> > > But Ross remains focused on art.
> > > "I want to give people the feeling that they have when they are
> > overpowered
> > > by the grandeur and the beauty of nature," he says. "It's the kind of
> > thing
> > > that artists have been trying to do for hundreds and hundreds of
years."
> > > ___
> > > On the Net:
> > > Clifford Ross: http://www.cliffordross.com
> > >
> >
>
>
Received on Wed May 26 06:46:19 2004