If you’ve ever wondered why high-end fashion photographers demand Mamiya quality, check out this short video detailing some of the features which make the reborn Mamiya RZ33 the epitome of medium format cameras.
This model combines the legendary features of the Mamiya RZ system with a matched 33 megapixel digital back. You can shoot horizontally or vertically by simply rotating the back. Any of the RZ system accessories can be used with the RZ33.
We hope you enjoy this video. The full features of the RZ-Series can be seen on our site.
Duncan at The Inspiration Roomrecently posted some very cool creative work by DDB in New York. The series of three print ads featured the Mamiya 645DF shot at 1/1600 scond high flash sync speed. One of the three triptychs is presented below.
Duncan states the three ads were created by “creative director Eric Silver, art director Chuck Tso, photographer Craig Cameron Olsen, with retouching by John Cason and Aaron Needham.”
Michael Zhang writing for PetaPixel has pointed out Hamish Innes-Brown’s beautiful images of planes landing at night. Innes-Brown is a Ph.D. student in Australia who hung around Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport with his Mamiya C330 loaded with Kodak Portra 160NC.
You can learn more about this photographer from Down Under in an interesting interview on the Melbourne Silver Mine site, of which he is a founding member. He’s also on Flickr. Go to Innes-Brown’s site to see more recent film work in both color and black and white. Be prepared for more beautiful night photography!
Atlanta, Georgia photographer Otto Kitchens is fascinated with the Japanese aesthetic known as wabi-sabi. According to Wikipedia, wabi-sabi celebrates beauty that is “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete,” among other qualities. Asymmetry and asperity also also reflect values in the aesthetic, and it seems Kitchens knows how to find these in abundance.
Kitchens has some beautiful examples of wabi-sabi and they were shot with his Mamiya 645 Super. Check out the way he captures the textures of Detroit’s finest in various stages of decay using medium format film goodness. He frequently relies on Kodak Portra 400 color film, and the muted light makes the forgotten and discarded look magical.
Cars aren’t the only thing Kitchens has captured. There’s a fascinating series on the Miller Theater in Augusta, Georgia, and lots of examples of decay in small rural towns of Georgia.
Wabi-sabi is indeed the finding of beauty and art in the ordinary. Kitchens does this regularly and is worth following. His site is a great photoblog, and breaks down his shots by the type of camera they were captured with. A great job all the way around!
Elmsford, NY, June 20, 2011 – Jan Lederman, President of MAC Group (formerly Mamiya America) is proud to announce in the U.S., the collaboration of the leading companies in professional digital photography: Mamiya, Leaf, Phase One and Schneider Kreuznach. This has led to the creation of the New Mamiya – Powered by Leaf & Phase One.
Now, as the exclusive importer of Mamiya / Leaf products in the USA, Jan Lederman states, “This collaboration is the fulfillment of a dream we have worked towards for years. The finest solutions in hardware, optics and software are now all together from a single source to offer photographers the best in large sensor digital photography.” Both customer and repair service for Mamiya and Leaf products will be provided by factory-trained technicians at MAC Group.
New Mamiya DSLRs and Digital Backs range from 22 megapixels up to the exciting 80 megapixel version. Mamiya / Leaf Digital Backs, also available separately, are compatible with Mamiya 645, Mamiya RZ, Hasselblad V and H series, Contax 645 and most view cameras.
Camera bodies and lenses are manufactured by Mamiya, digital backs are manufactured by Leaf under the Mamiya/Leaf name, Capture One software is made by Phase One, and new leaf shutter lenses are designed and certified by Schneider Kreuznach.
Included with all Mamiya DSLRs and Digital Backs are two native software options: award-winning Phase One Capture One and Leaf Capture. These powerful software programs are industry leading, and will be valuable assets to any professional’s workflow.
“We’re pleased to be part of this effort. The combination of products brings together the best in medium format photography delivered with service and options to expand the capabilities of professional photographers,” says Henrik Hakonsson, President of Phase One.
About Mamiya For over 50 years, Mamiya has been a name synonymous with excellence and innovation in professional photographic cameras and lenses. Mamiya continues to be a pioneer by continually improving and refining the finest professional, digital photographic products with state-of-art advancements as well as developing superior apochromatic lens technology.
About Leaf Leaf Imaging has been a pioneer in professional digital photography beginning in 1992 when Leaf introduced the world’s first commercial digital camera back. Leaf is dedicated to improving the quality of its products, technologies and services to support the advancement of professional digital photography.
About Phase One Phase One’s Capture One software helps streamline capture and post-production processes for both medium format and DSLR cameras. Phase One products are known for their quality, flexibility and speed enabling professional photographers shooting in a wide range of formats to achieve their creative visions without compromise.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
One of Alfie Goodrich’s earliest memories is at the age of three, sitting in a darkened living room, looking at his father’s slides projected onto a big screen. It left a lasting impression which would shape his career. At seven, his father helped kickstart his son’s love of photography further by passing down an old rangefinder camera.
Goodrich used the rangefinder until he joined the British Army. A knee injury got him discharged, and began a three year study of photography at an art college in the U.K. He spent the next nine years at a record company, working his way up to Director of Public Relations. Taking many photos during his time in the music business, he eventually managed a record label in London for a few years before turning to a solo career as a professional photographer.
Photography legend Mary Ellen Mark will be hosting a hands-on workshop in Oaxaca, Mexico from June 26 – July 6, 2011. The workflow is centered on black and white film photography. Each student will receive multiple reviews of their work, assignments, and individual conferences with Mark herself. A book will be put together containing the best images from the workshop, with three or four images from each student.
Mark’s site also contains PDFs optimized for Apple’s iPad which chronicle the Oaxaca workshop photographs from 2009 and 2010. Full details are available here.
Visit her site to view all details of the workshop, including logistics, requirements, travel and lodging information, applications, and an insightful statement from Mark herself on the workshop.
We previously profiled Mary Ellen Mark on the Mamiya blog in April of 2010, when she reported, “The work my students do in Oaxaca is very inspiring to me. I’m very proud of them. It’s great work.” She has run workshops in New York, and launched her beautiful new sitein February.
Similar to the 1954 Mamiya Speed Shot Special we found online last year, here’s something equally cool, if not quite as rare. Gadgethobby.com has recently posted not one, but two 1950′s Mamiya Super 16 cameras.
There are plenty of examples of this beauty online, and they do pop up for sale now and then, although collectors don’t part with mint specimens very often. Made from 1949 to the early 1960′s in many slight deviations, all model Mamyia Super 16 cameras have a rabid fan base. There was even an automatic version. Many are no longer functioning, but some folks are still actively shooting the 16mm film today. Some collectors are making scans of the original manuals available for intrepid fans attempting to repair them.
There are manyresources online for this old gem from Mamiya if you’re thinking of starting or building your existing collection. If you’re diligent, you can even find and collect an official Mamiya Super 16 Cleaning Brush or some of the originaladvertising. Some fans are so passionate about these models there’s an abundance of great images of the cameras themselves. They are, after all, obsessed with photography.
Alex Waterhouse-Hayward has pulled some great Polaroids and prints out of his archive, scanned them, and posted them with commentary. This blog entry is filled with shots from a 1992 photo shoot he did with Lisa Montonen holding various flora.
Karen Nakamura has put together a review of the Mamiya RB67 Pro. It goes into some fine detail on the history of model, which was first introduced in 1970, with substantial improvements over the past 30 years.
Nakamura explains modifications she’s done to her RB Pro, including mounting an RZ waist level finder on it, “which confuses everybody,” she writes. She warns you won’t be able to use your RB hood after this conversion without replacing the screws a second time. She also reports this modification is physical, and there are no working electronics between her RB body and the RZ hood.
The review also contains interesting sections on lenses and an auxiliary handle.
Now, as the exclusive importer of Mamiya / Leaf products in the USA, Jan Lederman states, “This collaboration is the fulfillment of a dream we have worked towards for years. The finest solutions in hardware, optics and software are now all together from a single source to offer photographers the best in large sensor digital photography.” Both customer and repair service for Mamiya and Leaf products will be provided by factory-trained technicians at MAC Group.
