Gigantic DIY Ultra-large Format Film Camera

Craft & Design Photography & Video
Gigantic DIY Ultra-large Format Film Camera

Searching for a way to enlarge some 8″x10″ prints without going digital, photographer (and close friend) Darren Samuelson decided to forego using an enlarger and instead built a gigantic ultra-large format camera capable of taking pictures on 14″x36″ X-Ray film. Taking over six months to complete, when fully extended the enormous hand-made bellows camera is close to six feet long. In this short by videographer Matthew Sultan, Samuelson talks about his process while on a photo shoot at Lands End in San Francisco.

Next week Samuelson will be embarking on a road trip, taking his camera along a route from New Orleans to New York, stopping off at points between. You can follow his progress on his blog and view images taken with the camera here.

60 thoughts on “Gigantic DIY Ultra-large Format Film Camera

  1. Adric Menning says:

    Very interesting,  ive been going up and up in scale too.   my latest camera, i used a old bellows camera lens.shutter i got off ebay, built it into a huge Ammunition Box, and started taking photos/solargraphs on blueprint paper.

    Camera,
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/killbox/5688374374
    one of my early prints. (scanned flipped and made Black and white, instead of Blue and White)
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/killbox/5728312289/sizes/l/

  2. Adric Menning says:

    Very interesting,  ive been going up and up in scale too.   my latest camera, i used a old bellows camera lens.shutter i got off ebay, built it into a huge Ammunition Box, and started taking photos/solargraphs on blueprint paper.

    Camera,
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/killbox/5688374374
    one of my early prints. (scanned flipped and made Black and white, instead of Blue and White)
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/killbox/5728312289/sizes/l/

  3. Adric Menning says:

    Very interesting,  ive been going up and up in scale too.   my latest camera, i used a old bellows camera lens.shutter i got off ebay, built it into a huge Ammunition Box, and started taking photos/solargraphs on blueprint paper.

    Camera,
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/killbox/5688374374
    one of my early prints. (scanned flipped and made Black and white, instead of Blue and White)
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/killbox/5728312289/sizes/l/

  4. Joseph molina says:

     are there any instructions on how to build one of these? 

    1. Adam Flaherty says:

      Check out Darren’s site. Most of the build is there and he includes some PDFs.

  5. Joseph molina says:

     are there any instructions on how to build one of these? 

  6. Joseph molina says:

     are there any instructions on how to build one of these? 

  7. Joseph molina says:

     are there any instructions on how to build one of these? 

  8. Jake Spurlock says:

     This is so rad. I want a pocket version. ;)

  9. Jake Spurlock says:

     This is so rad. I want a pocket version. ;)

  10. Louie Gonzales says:

    Amazing. I am sooooo proud of you!!You decided you wanted to do it, and you did!!!!!

  11. Shannon Hogan says:

    I’m sure the prints are beautiful, you must want to just crawl inside of them.  What size lens is that? 

  12. Yue says:

     that’s awesome!!

  13. Yue says:

    That’s awesome!!! 

  14. Jonathan Agnew says:

     Wow! That guy is dedicated. I am very impressed.

  15. Colin Graham says:

    Now, that’s a camera. Makes that fifth of Jim Beam look like it came from the minibar.

  16. Colin Graham says:

    Now, that’s a camera. Makes that fifth of Jim Beam look like it came from the minibar.

  17. Colin Graham says:

    Now, that’s a camera. Makes that fifth of Jim Beam look like it came from the minibar.

  18. Singlee L Derly says:

    Hello Adam Flaherty, may I translate your article to LomographyAsia magazine in Chinese? It’s a really interesting idea to all analogue photography lovers! : D

    1. Adam Flaherty says:

      You may, with attribution.

  19. Singlee L Derly says:

    Hello Adam Flaherty, may I translate your article to LomographyAsia magazine in Chinese? It’s a really interesting idea to all analogue photography lovers! : D

  20. designbyemh says:

    Awesome Cam!

  21. designbyemh says:

    Awesome Cam!

  22. Anonymous says:

    Some times making the tool is more fun than using it. Congrats and enjoy

  23. Anonymous says:

    Some times making the tool is more fun than using it. Congrats and enjoy

  24. My oldest friend, Darren Samuelson… | LittleWingConnections says:

    […] Camera Video  […]

  25. My oldest friend, Darren Samuelson... - says:

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