Large Format Photography

2024 started with an extraordinary opportunity. I was fortunate to be accepted as one of nine participants in a programme to learn how to use a Wispa Large Format camera. The project was run by Mabel & Co owned by James and Kate Jenkins. Under James’s guidance we each took a couple of images of our choice in the Suffolk coastal area. We came together to hand develop the negatives and to print a half tone booklet of the best images.

Large prints were commissioned and in March an exhibition was held at Mabel & Co Studio. Over a week 500 visitors were astounded by the extraordinary equipment we had been fortunate to use and were highly complimentary about our resultant photographs.

This success encouraged us as a group to ponder how best to continue joint photographic ventures. We all enjoyed local landscape work and had varied levels of experience with traditional film photography. We formed ourselves into a collective entitled ‘ephemera’. We would continue to explore our own work but come together either as a group or just a few to take forward local projects. As a group we attended a workshop to use a range of Super 8 cine cameras and lenses and to develop our resultant films. This experience brought back all the happy memories of my past 18 mths working on Dad’s collection of cine films. ( See my blog. https://vmwphotography.com/2023/10/03/2023-vintage-cine-film-project-complete/

It was suggested by James we produce a 3 monthly ‘ephemera’ newspaper of our images to distribute in libraries, museums and cafes along the Suffolk coast. This would printed by ourselves in black and white using a Riso copier. Each newsletter would have a theme and include two images by each of us. The first issue to be titled ‘Trees’.

The experience of producing the large format analogue prints had been a delight, taking me back to my father’s darkroom and reminded me of the high level of skill and patience needed for analogue work. I wanted to return to this slow working which required the knowledge which I was quickly losing having spent a year using highly pre-programmed digital gear such as the Iphone (see blog https://vmwphotography.com/2023/02/27/2023-another-learning-journey-iphone/).

I appreciate how the smart phone has democratised photography and how many more people are enjoying this form of communication and regularly sharing images of their lives, hobbies and compositions with others across the internet. However, I felt I was losing the emotional connection to my subjects and scenes and the joy of less predictable execution.

Medium Format and 35 mm and making my own plant based developer

Consequently, I pulled together the basic equipment required for home development of 35mm and 120mm film and attended a workshop to learn how to make plant based developer. I had been unhappy about using the toxic darkroom chemicals normally involved. The London course was run by Hannah Fletcher, who founded the ‘Sustainable Darkroom’. I highly recommend visiting. https://sustainabledarkroom.com/

I took copious notes. These were revisited back home and one morning I developed my first film – 36 exposure Ilford 35 mm. This had been taken on a ‘Rollie 35’ kindly lent to me by a local gentleman. The camera had not been used for 40 years and the battery had corroded. This was replaced but the exposure meter needle remain stationary. Nevertheless, I was able to estimate settings which worked well enough for me to take shots and test my new developing know-how. I was amazed to find I had been able to produce reasonable negatives albeit some partially fogged, (Additionally, the camera back had been difficult to open and close.)

Next I tried a film in a Zenza Bronica ETRS Si , a medium format camera from the 70’s. Although I must have made a mistake loading the film as there was an overlap of frames, yet again I managed to develop sturdy negatives, using my own home-made developer. My third attempt was another film taken on the Rollie but, regretfully, this time the film did not wind on correctly giving me about 6 images on each of the first 4 frames ! Nevertheless the negatives were yet again strong and I had some extraordinary serendipitous effects! Lessons were being learnt about the need for precision equipment maintenance and, in contrast, the developing time needed using seasonal herbs!! A lovely combination.

My next med format film is loaded into the Bronica (with great care) and I move forward with confidence knowing my garden herbs can produce the phenol needed to develop good negatives. I am determined my images in the 4th Ephemera newsletter will be from plant-based developed film ! Subject ‘dreams’.

It is now a year on from the Large Format Wispa project. The collective ‘ephemera’ are about to print our 3rd newsletter, ‘Water’, with exhibitions booked for April at Mabel & Co studio and August bank holiday weekend at ‘The Fishermans’ Hut, Dunwich. One of the collective is half-way through his MA . Five of us entered images to the Photocopying Club, these were all exhibited and included in the recent issues of the club’s zine. Another member has entered a super 8 cine film, made with help from two others from the collective, into an international competition. Result awaited. I shall be showing my trials and tribulations at both traditional work and alternative photography (see next blog -to come) at my Open Studio in June. All in all a fun year of challenges, learning and best of all, new encouraging photography colleagues.