Ilford has announced a major new creative photography project with the Chrome-Camera, a room-sized camera based at the Ilford site in Marly, Switzerland. The finished camera will measure 6m in length, 2.5m in height and 2.5m in width and features a lens specially sourced by German photographer Heino Heimann from Italy. The Chrome-Camera will be used to create prints using direct exposure on Ilfochrome (formerly known as Cibachrome) media, which produces images using a dye destruction positive-to-positive process. “My two great passions in photography are to use my art to push boundaries and to educate the younger generations,” Heimann says. “Therefore the Chrome-Camera project is a fantastic opportunity for me.”

Ilford Press Release

INTRODUCING THE CHROME-CAMERA
ILFORD BRINGS TOGETHER TRADITIONAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHOTOGRAPHY WITH THE ROOM-SIZED CHROME-CAMERA

The Chrome-Camera is introduced at the ILFORD site in Marly, Switzerland, measuring 6m x 2.5m x 2.5m
Direct exposure prints are to be created on ILFOCHROME media, the world’s only direct positive colour material International photography artists and students are invited to explore the possibilities of the Chrome-Camera

Marly, 30 August 2012 – ILFORD, a leading developer and manufacturer of professional quality media for both inkjet printing and colour photographic processes, today announces a major new creative photography project with the Chrome-Camera, a room-sized camera based at the ILFORD site in Switzerland. The camera will be used to create prints using direct exposure on ILFOCHROME, the world’s unique direct positive colour material.

The Chrome-Camera is a joint project between ILFORD Imaging and German photography artist Heino Heimann. The finished camera will measure 6m in length, 2.5m in height and 2.5m in width and features a lens specially sourced by Heimann from Italy. The Chrome-Camera will be used to create prints measuring up to 50 x 80 inches on ILFOCHROME media, developed on site by ILFORD. Thanks to the size and quality of the materials used, the unique print result promises to have the optical powers of the human eye in terms of image sharpness and resolution.

The Chrome-Camera will be rented by international photo artists, who will have the opportunity to explore the creative potential of the camera and create prints on unique ILFOCHROME media. College and university groups from Switzerland and beyond are also invited to visit the ILFORD site to experiment with the Chrome-Camera and learn about direct exposure on ILFOCHROME.

“My two great passions in photography are to use my art to push boundaries and to educate the younger generations. Therefore the Chrome-Camera project is a fantastic opportunity for me.” Says photography artist Heino Heimann. “It is a privilege to be working with an internationally-renowned media such as ILFOCHROME and I am excited to be able to offer other artists the opportunity to do so too.”

“ILFORD has been enabling photographers to achieve their artistic vision for over 130 years and we are pleased to be working with Heino Heimann to offer them this new creative opportunity.” Says Lars Sommerhäuser, Chief Operating Officer at ILFORD. “Our ILFOCHROME media is a truly unique product and we anticipate the creation of some eye-opening work when it is used to develop images from the Chrome-Camera.”

ILFOCHROME media produces images using a dye destruction positive-to-positive process. The material features 13 layers containing azo dyes, gelatine and silver halide grain coated on a polyester dimensionally stable base. This combination gives a perfectly stable material over an extended period of time. Tests conducted by Wilhelm Imaging Research have indicated that the ILFOCHROME resists fading under display conditions longer than any other known photographic colour material. Further characteristics of ILFOCHROME prints include excellent image clarity and colour purity.

Born in Hamburg in 1957, Heimann is a German photo artist. He has worked as a freelance studio photographer in Germany, France, the U.S.A. and for brands including Kodak and Minolta. Heimann’s previous experience in medium and large format photography includes theBigPlayersbillboard project with Foto Museum Frankfurt. Immediately prior to beginning work on the Chrome-Camera, Heimann took the 8x10 inch Sinar camera to shoot the Aletsch Glacier in the Alps, where he pulled around 65kg of equipment in a handcart. With the Chrome-Camera project Heimann looks forward to building his commitment to photography education, which includes training photographers at his studio in Hamburg and managing the Navajo Reservation School of Photography in Arizona U.S.A..

Those interested in renting and visiting the Chrome-Camera at ILFORD in Marly, Switzerland are invited to contact Heino Heimann via [email protected]. It is also possible to follow Heino Heimann’s progress in building the Chrome-Camera via the ILFORD website at www.ilford.com/en/community.

Illustration sourced from the Chrome-Camera Blog

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