Thomas Birke

I did some calculations and defined the final equipment I will need to perfectly produce super large prints of urban landscapes.

I made the following observations:

1. I like 8x10 and it is a good way to achieve my goals. But after trying different print sizes I get the feeling, that 1,50m by 1,20 meter is the largest I can go and still have unlimited sharpness - meaning you can go as close as you want to the image and never get the feeling the detail goes no further. I mean at a 1,50m printsize you can really examine the print at 5cm distance and still see every smallest detail.
2. I do not like the 8x10 aspect ratio - it is not made for the human field of view. The human eyes want wide screen images, like cinema scope.
3. The highest and largest quality print in the world can be achieved by an OCÉ Lightjet 500XL - it has a maximum print size of 300x180cm.
4. The 300x180cm print size is ideal to create the feeling of “beeing there” - I have tried this and it is amazing!

See the following image with me in front of an 300x180cm print at my last show in October:

you can find the image here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/move_lachine/2831249098 (sorry for the look, I was a bit drunk)

So, what conclusions du we get? Exactly - the perfect format to cover 300x180cm perfectly sharp is 12x20in. The aspect ratio is just right and the resolution as well.

OH MY GOD.

12x20! Only the toughest and meanest guys in the world go that large. And if they do, they mostly shoot landscapes from close by their car. One guy whose work I recently found and admire is Clyde Butcher, check out his website. I do not want to imagine the trouble of airtravel with that monstrous equipment, I think carrying it alone will be impossible. So these are the obstacles I have to overcome in order to shoot my dream format:

1. build a decent 12x20 camera -  I do not want a wooden camera, since I do not trust them - my CNC milled Sinar is just perfect - I imagine having a custom Sinar 12x20 back made
2. Find some plastic factory that can copy the Fidelity Design and adopt it to 12x20 - again, I do not want to go with wood
3. Find a light and stable Bellows
4. buy the most expensive LF Lenses on the planet to cover the Format with movements
5. get an assistent to help me carry the gear
6. Get Kodak to produce a batch of 12x20 cut colour film e100g or 160nc for me - they do this for large orders in the $20K range
7. Get a hell of a faster computer - mine has 16GB RAM right now and 8 cores, and totally kneels in front of a large 8x10 scan - impossible to think of a 12x20. I fathom I need at least 128GB RAM and certainly some Fibre Channel Disks to accelerate the swapping.
8. New Baggage, probably custom made cases because you wouldn’t get a single component in checked luggage, eccept the lenses maybe.
9. An Airline Elite Member Status that allows to carry 40kg of luggage, I do not want to pay 30€ per kg per leg - that would be insane

But hey, at least I already have the following to start from:

1. a light meter :)
2. a sinar p2 8x10 - a very sturdy base for ANYTHING
3. a Heidelberg D8200 Drumscanner and a big 212mm drum that can take 2 sheets of 12x20 film at once

I fathom the following lenses:

1. Schneider-Kreuznach Super-Symmar XL 210mm
2. Schneider-Kreuznach Fine-Art XXL 550mm
3. Schneider-Kreuznach Fine-Art XXL 1100mm

Alright, I am glad I got that of my chest. Now I can bury this post and look at it when I have assembled my FINAL equipment.