Simon Norfolk's work with the NY Sunday Times

[Simon Larbalestier]

Simon Norfolk (who works with Large Format cameras 10/8" and 5/4") image's are featured in this link below: well worth a look.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/10/19/magazine/20071021_NORFOLK_FEATURE.html

A friend of mine here in Bangkok who has traveled with Simon, has a huge print of the Balloon Vendor shot in East Kabul, on his wall. Simply outstanding.

 

[kmack]

The idea of using a 4x5 field camera to cover war zones is unique but seeing his reasons for it, makes sense. His images seem to justify the cumbersome nature of equipment.


Thanks for the link. I had not heard of Mr. Norfolk before.

 

[shadowfox]

Thanks for the link, the image with the balloon vendor is very powerful. Any indication that these are taken with 4x5? On such low resolution, I can't tell.

 

[kmack]

The College of Charleston has a gallery of his work including the balloon vendor. The notes, supplied by Mr Norfolk, I assume, mention his use of a field camera.

The photography in this project was all shot on a cherrywood and brass field camera that uses 'plates' of film 5 inches by 4 inches. This is what gives the photography its great detail and smooth tonalities. It is a cumbersome camera to use; always needing a tripod and a black cloth over my head so that I can focus on the glass screen. The camera attracted a certain amount of derision from the many photojournalists in Kabul who thought it resembled a circus act. However I have often found that the best defence in difficult situations is look like a harmless prick. The camera looks like an antique and this makes people with whom I canít communicate appreciate quickly that I am probably not the CIA or some other threat, nor am I probably worth robbing or kidnapping.The camera also accords with the ordinary Afghan's idea of what a camera should be, since it resembles the cameras of the itinerant street portrait photographers that one sees in every town.