New York Times article about Clifford Ross ULF

[paulr]

I'm not sure what the whole dogpile is about here, but I checked out the guys site ... some of his work is very, very good. it's uneven, but i think that's a good sign if someone's work is exploratory. not everything you discover works perfectly, or at all.

Impressive resume, too. I suspect there's more to self promotion involved in getting your work into the permanent collections at the met, the guggenheim, the icp, the whitney, and the yale art gallery. Or getting a pattent, or getting awards from the national academy of design, the american academy & institute of arts and letters, and yale university.

Just some thoughts.

[QT Luong]

While there might be dozens of photographers on this forum who use larger cameras, I think it is a safe bet to speculate that all of their methods are geared at b&W contact printing, and their images probably contain less information than Ross negatives. Ross is already well established and does something which is relative rare with this camera, so I don't see what so strange about the recognition he receives, or why one should diss it.

[QT Luong]

If you want to know what's the originality (or lack thereof) in Ross Camera, there is no better place
to check than the US patent he received for it

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,795,648.WKU.&OS=PN/6,795,648&RS=PN/6,795,648</a>

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

I have to disagree with you QT, the guys has nothing more than a camera with a vacuum back, and two standards that have been check for parallelism. I dont see anything great here. Since there is no color film on these sizes I guess nobody has been able to compare, but even on B&W, I doubt he can get more info on his negs than I can on my wobbly Korona. I agree with those who think this is more a case of good marketing.

[QT Luong]

While it is one thing to say "it's nothing but an extremely well-aligned ULF", building and using it is another. Ross receives some publicity, but it's not like people are saying that he is the next Leonardo. I would think that a very precisely aligned camera would give sharper results than a wobbly one.

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

I dont know QT, I mean Wisner, Canham, Philips do it everyday. I recall a while back there even was a vacuum holder on e bay....There are people making their own cameras and doing a great job, Bob Herbst comes to mind.

What I meant by the wobbly remark was that with a little bit of care, even a 75 year old camera that is not known to be the best can produce outstanding results. I dont see the differenc between using his camera and using my 12x20.....I bet both of us are not hiking with them..

I guess I just dont get what is so special about this.......This guy talks as if he invented the wheel. In the mean time I am not sure that I cannot get similar results with just plain old film holders and good technique.

[Mark Sampson]

Well, as we all know, having the newest, largest, and most expensive camera means that you will automatically make the best photographs... And even if your photographs made with the newest, largest, and most expensive camera are not particularly exceptional, proper application of publicity will ensure success.

[Ken Lee]

I retract my sarcastic remark.

Any publicity is good publicity.

I wish the guy all the best.

May we all gain more recognition and fulfillment.

[Kirk Keyes]

I agree with Jorge - it's just a camera with a "microscope" for focusing, a vacuum back, and what is probably similar to a ZigAlign mirror system permanently affixed to the camera. I think we all use a "microscope", i.e. loupe, to focus our cameras, and some even focus on an aerial image instead of ground glass. A well constructed camera probably does not need a mirror alignment sytem, and I think we all agree that a vacuum back will improve resolution for any camera system.

I don't really see this as something that special. I mean, after all, it doesn't sound like he has some special lenses, just something that we all have access to.

Maybe it's me, perhaps I have larger format envy...

[Frank Petronio]

The 10-inch wide aerial mapping cameras - complete with vacuum backs and rare-earth, custom made lenses - were made back before WWII. I think the only significant thing he is doing is proving that a Yalie trust-funder can reinvent 70-year old technology.