
Why Photographer David Burnett Shot 4×5 Film at Impeachment Hearing - ng7j5d9
https://pdnpulse.pdnonline.com/2019/11/why-photographer-david-burnett-shot-4x5-film-at-impeachment-hearing.html
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scintill76
> Burnett’s stock archive, we should note, includes coverage of the Watergate
> hearings in 1973, an impeachment hearing that felt, Burnett says, less
> “tribal.”

I won't pretend to know much about Watergate or what he meant by "tribal", but
I thought it ironic that hearings about one party literally tampering on the
property of another, felt less tribal.

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dwd
He was also in Vietnam.

This was a fascinating story about the "Napalm Girl" photo. He was also there
and struggling to load film into a camera when Nick Ut took that iconic image.

[https://doculinks.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/david-burnett-
nap...](https://doculinks.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/david-burnett-napalm-girl/)

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lm28469
They didn't mention the 4x5 look, 4x5 is huge [0] and gives you an insane
amount of detail with shallow DoF, perfect for portraits. What cracks me up
every time is that his camera uses a lens made for reconnaissance planes
during ww2 [1]

I'd encourage anyone interested in photography to try film, gear is quite
cheap these day (I just bought a medium format lens for 100$, it used to be
sold for 1500$ less than 30 years ago), it's quickly getting more expensive
though. You can easily develop your own film at home and scan it yourself too

[0] [https://www.thephoblographer.com/wp-
content/uploads/2014/06/...](https://www.thephoblographer.com/wp-
content/uploads/2014/06/frame-sizes.png) [1]
[https://lommen9.home.xs4all.nl/aero/](https://lommen9.home.xs4all.nl/aero/)

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duckymcduckface
I'd add that development is also pretty foolproof since there are charts with
precise times and concentrations for every known film and developer combo.
There's also stand development which is actually fool proof.

