Topic: Large format tourist photographer

[Blaxton]

Ross Paxton might already be well known here--a Filmwaster perhaps?--but he and his unique approach to photographing tourists and tourist locations with a 4x5 camera was new to me.  I am very impressed with the photos and the tenacity that they must have required.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/behold/2015/01/02/ross_paxton_photographs_tour_buses_in_the_u_k_in_his_series_a_general_history.html

[Late Developer]

As soon as I saw the first photo that flashed up (The White Lion Pub / back of the Science Museum and the Beetham Tower in Manchester), I was interested - primarily because that's a ten minute drive from my home town. The other photos - mostly shot from the top deck of tour buses - are a great, eclectic mix. 

The one thing that caught my attention is how few of the tourists he photographed seemed aware of his (and his camera's) presence.  Maybe they were just caught up in the process of being tourists? Even so, it's hard not to spot someone wielding an Ebony around.

This guy must also be pretty "quick on the draw" as using a field camera almost like a point and shoot can't be easy and it certainly won't be cheap (camera or film / provcessing). I'll have to do a bit more investigation into this chap as I really enjoyed this set.

Thanks for posting.

[Francois]

I haven't read the thing yet but I'm thinking that he probably sets up the camera and lets people get used to its presence. The thing with a large format is that you can look busy doing one thing while you trip the shutter without people really noticing. Since people don't know how these cameras work, they don't know what to look for to detect the picture taking process.