Large format has been something that sort of intimidated me - probably due to not knowing much about it! But this session was meant to be all about getting hands on and learning how to use the kit. Since being on the course, i seemed to have learnt about the detail of processes, going from speedy digital, to manual film work, and now to large format. This large format process seems to stress the importance of thinking about every detail of the shot you're about to take, as you only get one chance! Or at £3 a slide, it’s not something you can use with out full care and attention!
I thought about why photographers use Large Format, and i think it’s fairly obvious its for the amount of high quality detail you can capture. Large prints can be made to almost fill a wall without losing any detail, like Mitch Epstein’s work I saw in the Tate a few weeks ago. His set called ‘American Power’ really amazed me.
“Five years later, I had travelled to 25 states with my large-format camera on a visual investigation of how energy production and consumption influenced the American landscape and culture. I wanted to engage with the idea of American-ness in the new millennium. I had no political agenda. I began with a rule: in every picture there had to be a direct relationship to energy. But I allowed myself a flexible interpretation of the rule. For example, I made a Hurricane Katrina series and photographed an electric chair, as well as the 2008 Republican Convention. I like having structure, but avoid being rigid. Working with a large-format camera enabled me to make pictures that are formally layered and conceptually complex.” (Mitch Epstein 2011)
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| Amos Coal Power Plant, Raymond, West Virginia 2004 |
For me Epstein’s idea of using Large Format to create works that are ‘conceptually complex’ is very interesting. If it’s possible to get this idea in my own large format work, I’d love to see what the result is.
Sources:
Epstein, Mitch. 2011. Mitch Epstein on American Power. Tate Etc. no. 22 summer 2011, p.79.
http://www.mitchepstein.net/work/americanpower/gfx/americanpower09.jpg
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