Christopher Rimmer's Technique

[Bateman]

Hello There,

I recently had the opportunity to preview Christopher Rimmer's exhibition 'In Africa' in Melbourne Australia which I really enjoyed. The gallery owner didn't seem to know how Rimmer went about making his images but said he thought he worked with a combination of M.F. digital and also large format film.
Most of the shots in the exhibition are of African animals but I have never seen them photographed this way before. They are more natural looking than Nick Brant's work but the detail and luminosity are just incredible.
If he is using digital for some of the work then he certainly must be giving the files a film look digitally somehow because as far as I can tell, all of the work looks like it is shot on film to me.
I have attached a couple of images from the catalogue, I assume fair usage precludes any copyright concerns. I'd be interested in what other members of this forum think. Notice the borders, which look like large neg edges. Best Sean.

 

[Barrie B.]

Greetings Sean , An interesting comment ; which Gallery is this work on show at ? Nick Brants show was excellent .
......................Cheers Barrie B.

 

[chriscrawfordphoto]

If he's using medium format digital, then that's why he gets the quality he does. To me, the hallmark of the 'digital look' was the poor resolution; too many people make large prints from relatively low-res digital SLRs, like the older 6 and 8mp models, and that looks horrid. The medium format backs out now are incredible and have resolution exceeding medium format film. I doubt he had to do any photoshopping beyond the usual adjusting of contrast and dodging and burning we'd do in the darkroom (you have to do that stuff to digital photos too, straight from the camera they're never perfect).

 

[Bateman]

I saw Nick Brandt's exhibition when I was in San Francisco and there's no doubt that they are stunning images but they don't look natural to me. I lived in Africa until recently and it sure as hell doesn't look like a Nick Brandt picture. That being said, good luck to him as I realize the transformation is all part of the process. What impressed me about Christopher Rimmer's work was the natural look of the images, you really felt like you were there in the picture.
The guy in the gallery said that Rimmer carries a big load of photographic gear around Africa to get these images which made me think that he may be using large format. I must add that I'm a beginner in photography so I'm only speculating.
The shots which got banned and made big news around the world of one of the tribal groups are also on display. They remind me of old postcards but they also have an incredible dignity and presence. I can't remember the name of the gallery but it's in Hampton. It's a small space above a shop. I saw something in the media about it so maybe if you do a Google search, you may locate it.