Large (Format) Challenges

This headline was to read “Large Format Challenges”, and the blog was supposed to be about large format film photography. I had started thinking about this article back in June, shortly after I had finally acquired a large format camera (the Intrepid 4x5, before you ask).

Back then, I was thrilled to get into the new format. At home, I set up the camera and went through the process of taking photos with it in order to learn the process. At some point, I bought 50 sheets of the least expensive black and white film. You gessed it: Fomapan 100 and Fomapan 400. I sacrificed one sheet of Fomapan 100 to go through the loading process in daylight. And then even loaded the two film holders I had with two sheets of Fomapan 100 each. In theory, I was ready to go out and take my first shots.

It was late June, another hot summer. Earlier this year, I had experienced a bout of health problems that largely destroyed of what was left of my physical fitness. By summer, I was still trying to get to grips with that. That and the fact that the company I am working for had decided that spring that I could actually do the work of two people, so they sacked my colleague, completely out of the blue.

So I was left with a lot more work, feeling very insecure about myself, my job, and everything else. My hobby was put on the back burner and I was largely in survival mode, going out to take photos mostly into our small backyard or on the roof terrace, but rarely anything farther.

Tomatoes growing on our roof terrace. Shot on film. Typical for what I do when I don’t have time to go out more.

On the weekends, it was often too hot to take bike rides or make some other plans. So the summer went by, and after the summer came September and October, which are typically the busiest months in business. Then a business trip to Poland for a week, which I enjoyed, but then more work. More work, less time to recover. And instead of easing up by mid-November, it only seemed to pick up even more.

My favourite photo from my business trip to Poland in October 2024. Taken with the Fujifilm X100V on the pier in Sopot while venturing out with my colleagues.

I am writing this on 23rd of November. A special date for me. My second birthday, after I survived a life-threatening health scare that day eight years ago. I am also writing this after a week of work frenzy, little or no chance to go out and enjoy the cold Berlin November. Let alone going for photo walks or small trips around the city.

While I was quietly suffering through my professional life, I developed an interest in pinhole cameras and the pictures they produced. The first one that I acquired was the Noon 612 pinhole. It is, as most of the pinhole cameras on the market, made by a one-man band. This one was made in Poland, and it is beautifully crafted from walnut wood.

One of the first pinhole shots, taken with a Noon 612. Again, another one from our roof terrace.

Once my interest in pinhole cameras and pinhole photography was piqued, I noticed that there is a host of small manufacturers across Europe. I ended up buying three cameras from RealitySoSubtle in France, and one from Ondu in Slovenia. And that is where we circle back to the beginning of the blog, where I talked about my attempt to venture into large format photography. The Ondu Pinhole that I ended up with is actually a 4x5 inch camera. And the two pictures at the top of this article were my very first large format pictures that I’ve ever taken, and they were shot with the Ondu. Of course, in our backyard, on a grey day in late October or early November.

So, what were a very challenging couple of months for me personally provided, at least occasionally, some room for experiments. This is not to say that I will move full time to pinhole photography, but the simplicity of this type of photography is a welcome change from the often complex stuff I have to deal with at work.

A photo taken with a RealitySoSubtle 6×9.