Masterclass-Introduction to Large Format

Photography Masterclass — Introduction to Large Format technique

I've been using 4 by 5 film and a Linhof Technika since the late 1990s. This format is my favourite and I have worked in the highlands of Laos, Pollsmoor Prison and everywhere in between with this amazing camera.

The largest body of work that I have compiled with a large format camera called 'A threat in Carnarvon' has been included in a Thames and Hudson's Street Photography Africa due to be published in October 2026!

If a photographer can grasp the technique and more importantly, the attitude, which the impractical format can bring to bear on the the way they see the world, a very unusual compression of time and space can be achieved. 

In this introductory course I will guide participants through the nuts-and-bolts and do-and-don'ts of large-format photography with sit-down tuition followed my missions in the world.

I will also offer advice on day 2 on what's happening in your photography as we look at the contact sheets.

I'll be running more courses in the coming months, including this trip in late September.

Duration:

Three days, 5 hours per day. 09h-14h.

Participants:

1-3

Skills outcomes:

The Camera

• Camera components — ground glass, fresnel screen, bellows, lens
• Camera movements — rise, fall, shift, base tilts, axis tilts, and swings
• Film holders — loading and unloading film, guarding against light leaks
• Large format exposure and focus
• Hyperfocal distance, Scheimpflug principle

Skills required to start: Intermediate level: familiar with a camera (film and digital); understand aperture, shutter speed, exposure, and focus control; comfortable with basics of editing and processing of images.

Equipment supplied: Linhof Technika and 120/150 lens, dark slides, film, light meter, tripod, large format dark cloth, loupe for ground glass. 

Day 1: How to operate a large format view camera; apply movements (tilt, shift); shoot sheet film; expose and allow for bellows extension.

Day 2: Feedback on the work produced and selection of images to be printed. Discussion about the tradition of large format and practitioners in the field.

Day 3: Produce final archival prints in a darkroom, or with an expert digital printer from negs.

Material outcomes:

-Developed sheet film: 12 colour; 12 BW. 

-24 contact prints prints made at Cape Film Supply.

-2 A2 colour prints and 2 A2 b/w darkroom prints.

Payment:

70% of the course fee is payable upfront to secure a place. The remaining 30% is payable on delivery of the final prints.