Ultra Large Format (ULF) photography refers to photography using cameras producing negatives larger than 8x10" (20x25cm). The ULF photography 'movement' has known a revival in the last few years, and is still expanding, along with film photography which, despite the very large market share of digital photography, still has many practitioners. Black and white panchromatic film in the various ULF sizes is still being produced, Ilford and Adox are two such manufacturers.

Origins

In the 19th century photographic materials were not sensitive enough to light to allow for enlarging, and though after the advent of images on glass, enlargers became available in 1857 in the form of the solar camera, for most photographers they were too expensive and impractical until the 1880s when gas or electric light and faster materials arrived. Consequently prints were made by contact which meant a large negative was needed if one wanted a large picture, which usually required a view camera.

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