Ever since I’ve seen Sam Taylor-Wood’s 360 degree medium format panorama series (title) I know that sooner or later I had to get my hands on one of those cameras.
At 1 picture per single roll of film, scanning would have been a nightmare – not to mention processing costs. Elton John’s CD cover for “Songs from the West Coast” is a good example of her work with this camera.
Pictures look other worldly, as if they are a never ending panoramic shot. They contain weird distortions that do not come from a fisheye lens. It’s like watching a Cinerama movie like How the West was won: I’m thinking of the end sequence of “modern times”.
It’s a shame that these cameras are so rare and exotic that it’s unlikely mere humans like myself would pick one up to play with. Ever.
Cut to July 2010. Enter Lomopgraphy and their new 35mm version of this beast: The Spinner! At £110 it’s not a toy – it’s a dream come true.
t takes