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Thread: a very large project

  1. #11

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    a very large project

    Ahhh! B+W!:-) The Cirkuit camera would be my weapon of choice(if I knew how to use one!) I read an article in View Camera awhile back about someone who was using an 8x20 Korona for contacts and got so many requests for enlargements he ended up building a special back to convert his camera into an enlarger. Build a back, rent an aircraft hanger, make some giant trays out of 2x6s and plastic sheeting, invite some friends and have fun! Another camera that might be interesting is the K-19 aerial camera, which is 9x18, no moves though, but you can get your film processed for you t labs that process aerial film and with a 200' roll of the stuff you'll be able to take lots of "back up" shots.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  2. #12
    multiplex
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    a very large project

    hi amanda:

    last time i asked i found out you can rent a billboard around here ( rhode island ) for a 3-4 thousand dollars a month - this includes rental of the board, as well as making the "art". they don't use any monster cameras for billboards, you could probably use just a 4x5 ... if money isn't a problem, you might ask some of the outdoor ad people if they can turn some of your work into a billboard display. it might be kind of fun, and it would be a "dry-run" since your final image could probably be printed on the same sort of fabric billboards are printed on.

    good luck & keep us posted

  3. #13

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    a very large project

    Amanda,

    By all means contact Clayton Tume, www.bigshots.co.nz/ I believe he's in Wellington NZ and is an authority on, well, Big Shots! It would be a good idea to check out his website in any case, but he might be able to connect you with sources for suitable cameras, film etc...as well.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  4. #14
    Resident Heretic Bruce Watson's Avatar
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    a very large project

    It seems doable, if a huge task.

    The 12x45 feet objective gives you an aspect ratio of 1:3.75

    With 20" long film, you'd need 5.33x20 for the same aspect ratio.

    Sounds like the "best" fit might be an 8x20 camera, masking off the ground glass so you can compose a 5.33x20 image.

    You can drum scan this in "slices." It'll take a big scanner - something like a Hell 3900 maybe. The file sizes would be way big, which is why you'd want to do it in slices that correspond to the size of the paper you can print on.

    Print the slices on something big like a "Grand format" ink jet printer like a big honking Roland (on canvas) or a wide format lightjet printer (B&W RC papers). I think you can do 60" wide on either. Maybe larger?

    Think about how you are going to get the print to the installation site. This alone will probably limit you to slices in the range of 6x12 feet at the largest. To go bigger than 12 feet implies that you are in for really expensive shipping, or you are going to roll it up and carry it with you and mount it in place. Determing this will help you decide how to print it.

    If you go with inkjet on canvas, you can mount the slices on traditional stretcher bars. You can do this with very long pieces. Do spray the finished print with a protective coating like Liquitex Acrylic Varnish because people are going to want to touch this monster it they can get near it, and you want it to be cleanable.

    If you go with an RC paper, consider getting it mounted on aluminum plate. This will limit you to probably 4x8 feet, maybe 6x12 if you can find a) find the plate, and b) find someone with the expertise to mount to that size plate.

    Either technique you can mount on the wall and make it nearly seamless.

    I advise doing all your research up front, so that you go into this project knowing exactly how you are going to execute it. That way, you can concentrate on the art, because the rest of the process has already been decided.

    Bruce Watson

  5. #15

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    a very large project

    Hi Amanda

    It all depends on the quality wich you want to get! If you want very good quality then take a 8x10 camera take the pictures in portrait vertical modus put 4 pictures in row wich you can stich together! If the quality is not so important the same can also be done in 4x5! Ask a specialist for large displays they know what they need! Gigabit film can also help if you like to do it in 4x5 inch! Good light!

  6. #16

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    a very large project

    I think Jim Galli is on the right track. Get about ten boxes of 4x5 film, and go out and scope the exact spot you want to shoot from, and make an imaginary grid in your mind of that whole area. Then, with a lens something like 360mm, shoot a photograph of each part of the grid. You'll end up with something like 25 shots, which, when laid on top of each other and lined up, will produce a huge panoramic image. Then, go to your local lab and have them make a 40x50" print of each image. Line up all the huge prints on your giant wall, and there you'll have it.

    good luck!!

  7. #17

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    a very large project

    How do you get a job like this if you don't know how to do it?

  8. #18
    Resident Heretic Bruce Watson's Avatar
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    a very large project

    First thing is, you don't tell the client that you don't know how to do it ;-)

    Bruce Watson

  9. #19

    a very large project

    Amanda,

    There are companies that specialize in this sort of thing, the mural I mean. You’ll have to do some phone calling but when you find a company that can do the output, you can ask them what kind of image requirements they have.

    I imagine you will end up doing a careful series of images in a panning view. A series of 4x5 verticals might do. 8x10 would be a whole lot better. The company is most likely going to do some digital magic to them anyway. I do NOT recommend you try this big a job on your own. Stay a photographer and don’t try to become a production company. Congratulations on the commission.

    Cheers,

  10. #20

    a very large project

    The client is someone I met through a friend, and she knows I'm not sure how we're doing it yet. She had a wallpaper person do it, and all they did was take a digital picture of the lake, and blow it up. It came out very pixellated and she absolutely hates it. I had shown her some work I had done previously and she loved it so she has asked me to do the project--well-aware that I've done nothing like it before I'm really excited to even attempt something of this magnitude, and again, thank you for all of your input. I'm ordering some books on large format and whatnot, and will make the calls to see about labs in the area, although they were planning on making a lab for me to process the portraiture work that I will also be doing for them ( but I realize the wall project is way too large to do by myself). Thanks again!

    Amanda

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