The Camera

The centerpiece of The Vanishing Cultures is a remarkable 35-foot film camera designed by Dennis Manarchy that will be used to capture the portraits of over 50 distinct, vanishing cultures across the United States. An enigma in today’s digital world, the camera’s classic construction and unprecedented 6-foot film negatives are a tribute to a fading era in photography as we approach the 200th anniversary of the camera. Despite its traditional design and function, the camera is capable of producing images with over 1000x more detail than today’s most advanced digital cameras. Resulting exhibition prints will be breathtaking 24-foot portraits with detail never before seen in photography. More importantly, they will provide an indelible glimpse into the history, achievements, struggles, and environments of these extraordinary people and their unknown worlds.