My relationship with large-format cameras began in the early 1990s because of some strange sign of fate. I was taking some commercial photos and, when I stopped for a lunch break, some thieves stole my equipment from the car, except for an 8×10 camera that remained in a suitcase. I had hardly ever shot with that camera, it was big and bulky and not easy to use except at a certain height. So I thought I had to find a way to use it, I built my own scaffolding, headed to the nearest beach, and… you know the rest – that’s how it all started.
My first large format camera was Deardorff 8×10, later joined by a Deardorff 11×14 and a Canham 8×10. Then it was the turn of a Phillips 8×10, which was very fashionable at one point because it’s light, and finally a Gibellini 11×14.
1. Alessandro Romanini, “Digital vs. Analog”, in Il passo sospeso. Esplorazioni del limite, catalog of the exhibition at the Ragghianti Foundation in Lucca. June 24 – September 3, 2017.
