Slowly but surely, I find myself shooting more film. It’s getting to the point where my digital cameras are almost strictly for video. They may offer better resolution and more versatility, but there’s a look to film and a fascination with the cameras that pull me to it. The one man that took me into the bottomless hole in my wallet that is film photography is Mat Marrash, a coworker and an avid large format photographer. It's some of the most gorgeous landscape photos of the Ohio Valley I've seen. A few weeks ago, Mat, myself, and the good folks at Rooted Content traveled to Hocking Hills, where Steve and Kyle from Rooted created this short of Mat’s work.
In the short, Mat explains what it is that draws him to large format. He explains how the look of the film and the process of setting up his large 8x10 camera slowly and methodically separates large format from the rest for him. Most of the story is focused around Mat’s dialogue. We see several shots of him illustrating various points that are beautifully created by the folks at Rooted Content. They shot almost the entire video on the new Canon 1DX Mark II. I asked Steve about the camera, and he offered a few words.
On the topic of why he chose the 1DX Mark II for the video, Steve stated that they wanted to shoot everything in 4K. On top of that, they wanted to illustrate the slow, methodical process through a bit of slow motion. By shooting the video in 4K at 60 fps, they were able to retain the gorgeous detail offered by the surroundings of Hocking Hills and that of Mat’s camera while having enough frames to realistically slow down the footage.
Another feature of the 1DX Mark II that Steve and Kyle made good use of is the autofocus. The cameras was practically glued to a Rhino Slider with the motor drive. The autofocus was quick enough to keep up with the slider even as it moved directly towards the camera. There’s a specific shot where the camera moves forwards towards the lens and front standard of Mat’s Tachihara view camera, and the focus stays perfectly sharp throughout the slide. You can also see the touchscreen autofocus in use in the shot of Mat setting up his camera in front of the small waterfall. Steve used the touchscreen to smoothly rack focus from Mat to the waterfall and back. Steve commented that the ability to easily rack autofocus and even adjust the speed at which it moves makes for quicker and more simple shooting.
Mat has been shooting 8x10 for almost 7 years. In the beginning, he was gifted an Eastman Commercial B, which he shot for a long time. The camera featured in the video is a Tachihara 8x10 Double Extension. Mat uses this camera mainly because of its relatively light weight over his third 8x10, the Sinar P2. The Tachihara is wooden and folds down for better portability. The P2 is a monorail camera, offering more movements and better close focus ability due to the option of a rail and bellows extension. The P2 is mostly metal and can’t be folded down, making it better for studio work.
For film, Mat is a longtime user of Ilford films, specifically FP4 and HP5. He states that this is due to excellent availability and Ilford’s commitment to film photography. For color, Kodak is his go-to, largely for the same reason. Mat also develops his own black and white using Pyrocat HD, a particularly nasty but wonderful developer. For landscape work, specifically higher contrast scenes like those Mat works with regularly, Pyro can pull much more detail out of the highlights than most developers. It’s kind of like an HDR developer, but for black and white film. The downsides to it are that it is a very nasty chemical and requires great care and proper protection during mixing and developing. The results, however, are beautiful.
Mat is also a part of the Film Photography Project, an organization intent on keeping film alive and promoting its use. It’s good to know that there are photographers in the world supporting large format photography. Have you or do you shot large format? If not, I recommend trying it by taking a class at a local college. I also recommend film in general; it’s good for you. Check out some of Mat's work below!
Images used with permission of Mat Marrash.
I enjoyed the video. Large format photography is something that I want to get involved in; I've been shooting 35mm film since 1980. Large format and medium format (Mamiya RZ67 and 645) are my bucket list cameras.
Perhaps Mat can do a video of the various focal lengths of large format lenses and their purpose.
. . . so, it's about the process for him. I am kinda realizing that there is a ton of us out there that are in it for the process and for a so so end result as long as the process moves them.
for me is the other way around the end result is what matters... the shot, how it happened, when, where or with what. When you look at that plate, or paper and the message is there the intensity the light capture that you wanted... imho that should be the priority.