BIG CAMERA SHOW presents the work of current students and recent alumni of various BFA and MFA programs working with view camera technologies. For the non-photo nerd, picture an older box camera where the photographer has a dark cloth over their head to focus an upside down and backward image onto a pane of ground glass. Each photograph is made on an individual sheet of large film - for example, the formats most commonly used are 4 by 5 inches and 8 by 10 inches. While they may seem old-school, these big cameras render images with the highest possible visual quality, offering more control of perspective and focus than any other contemporary camera.

As curators and educators, we are excited to celebrate the contemporary teaching and use of view cameras. In tandem with UI’s S’25 Advanced Photography course which is focused on the use of this technology, we also seek to build a community for newly developing large-format artists and to create a conversation across academic programs.

Curators:

riel Sturchio, Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Iowa
Sarah Meadows, Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University, Visiting Assistant Professor
Thalassa Raasch, Assistant Professor, University of Iowa