How did you first fall in love with photography?

Nature and landscapes have always played a big role in my life. I was born in the mid-1970s in a small town in Thuringia, on the edge of Hainich National Park, right in the middle of Germany, where I grew up very close to nature. Trips and vacations with my parents and grandparents often led to nature. I discovered photography very early in my childhood as I toyed around with my parent’s and grandparent’s analog EXA and Praktika cameras, which were made in GDR (German Democratic Republic). 

What started as a small hobby developed over the years into my job and my passion. While I was studying business administration, I also developed my love for travel. My fascination with landscape photography developed through various stays abroad in Canada, Mexico, and the US, all of which have very diverse landscapes.

From where do you draw your inspiration?

I draw a lot of inspiration from design or architecture, which surrounds me all day long here in Germany. I also draw from my friends who have a strong relationship with photography and/or architecture as well. Old-fashioned location scouting with long hikes in nature is another way I find inspiration. It is an essential part of my process to spend a lot of time in the nature to find new places to shoot. 

Do you have any specific influences you’d like to share?

I’m not the typical landscape photographer who draws inspiration only from other landscape photographers or artists. I tend to very often look outside the box. I admire the works of Sebastiao Salgado, Ragnar Axelsson or younger photographers like Kiliii Yuyan or Carsten Egevang. Most of their images can tell a story and have more of a photojournalistic approach. I’m also influenced by the minimalistic approach of photographers like Michael Kenna and Hengki Koentjoro.

If you were behind your camera and could choose anything you wanted to be in your viewfinder, where would you be and what would you be looking at?

I would like to go to Antarctica and shoot icebergs in that very special light you often have in the cold regions of our planet.  I’d like to get lost in a town like Valencia in Spain with all its modern architecture. And there is always Switzerland with its amazing glaciers, mountains, vast valleys, wild creeks, and picturesque villages. But I also feel that the location is not as important as being happy with where you are, and having inspirational people with you (that you like) while you shoot. 

What drew you to the Actus system and what do you like about shooting landscape photography with it?

With my classic camera setup, I was getting more and more frustrated because I felt stuck. I was not able to create the shots I wanted. Especially in landscape photography, I was frustrated with the look ultra-wide-angle lenses are creating. I constantly had to make compromises with lens distortions – mountains or waterfalls in the background started to look tiny compared to what the scenery really looked like. The game-changer for me was that, with the Actus system, I could shift the camera body – I was able to capture scenes as a panoramic shot with the right proportions. I’m very thankful that Richard Lotte from Cambo Netherlands gave me an Actus System for testing. After trying the Cambo Actus system for the first time in landscape photography, I was impressed by the ease of use, and it made it so simple to create panoramic shots, selecting the right depth of field. I’m just starting to understand the endless possibilities and how I can achieve a unique style in my photography. 

A lot of new photographers consider a view camera “Old School.” What are the advantages you see shooting with an Actus instead of a DSLR?

It looks a bit old school and intimidating at first sight but when you start using and understanding the view camera, everything feels easy and it becomes a very modern tool. In my opinion, the Cambo Actus system is superior compared to classic tilt-shift lenses because you have the additional function of the camera shift for panoramic compositions. When using longer focal lengths like the 60mm, you can use that lens, of course, for classic landscape or product photography but you can also use that lens for macro photography. With a system like the Actus, you have to be more thoughtful and you need to be more focused on the composition you have in mind. You have to set up everything in advance for the optimal shooting results – but that’s a good thing. The camera system slows you down a little bit while shooting, but in the end, it makes post-processing much smoother. I never had it so easy with stitching panoramic shots. Another advantage is that the system itself is very flexible. Not only was I able to use the Cambo Actar 24mm and 60mm, I can use the Pentax’ 45-85mm and Pentax’ 75mm medium format lens on the same system. Then when I’m not using my Sony A7RIII body, I can attach a Fuji GFX, EOS R, Nikon Z or a Hasselblad X1D Camera body. There are so many lens-camera-combinations possible with the Actus system.

What is the next path you see your creativity taking your photography?

With a view camera, your own creativity is getting back more in focus and with a tool like the Actus it is easier to achieve the style of photography I’m looking for. I will do more architectural photos, create more unique product photos with a more defined plane of focus, and of course, more panoramic pictures to get the right perspective of waterfalls and mountains. 

You can see more of Matthias Conrad’s work on Instagram @matthconphoto. All photos used with permission of the artist.

How did you discover your love for photography?
I received a Brownie Kodak Camera when I was 10 years old, and loved taking walk in the streets or at a park and take pictures. From there, my Dad gave me a Retina Kodak, a real camera! It fascinated me as a child to play with the f/stops and the shutter speed so I quickly built a small darkroom at home and started to photograph the old French cobblestone streets and the countryside.

Where do you draw your inspiration from? 
I live in California so inspiration is all around, the sea, the desert, the people, the streets, the Museums (I think we have 70 of them in the Greater LA), we are surrounded by cultural influences that are rich and revitalizing.  As a photographer, it is a constant stream of images to the point that it can be head-spinning at times.

Do you have any specific influences you’d like to share?
I vividly remember the day I saw the book of Irving Penn “Moments Preserved” in 1960; it had everything I was dreaming of: still lifes, portraits, fashion, black & white, color. I was just mesmerized by the work.

From there of course I looked at Avedon’s photographs, Hiro and many others like Bill Silano and Neil Barr. I admire the discipline they put in their work, never allowing themselves a short cut in their mastery of photography.

If you were behind your camera and could choose anything you wanted to be in your viewfinder, where would you be and what would you be looking at?
I would be in my studio looking at more disparate and elaborate objects and patiently reassembling them into a different concoction of emotions.

What drew you to the Actus System, and what do you like about it? 
When I started my still life project I quickly became very frustrated with being stuck with a camera that only knew fixed parallel planes.

I felt like I was working with a shoebox and was longing for my Sinar P2, so I called Dave Gallagher at Capture Integration wondering if there was an affordable solution to my problem. After asking a lot of questions and without up-selling he sent me the Cambo Actus View Camera.

My fingers were so happy to find those knobs allowing the shifts and swings I had been used to for over thirty years of work, again able to place the plane of focus where I want it.

I also love being able to use only one lens instead of fighting with cumbersome macro rings adapters and lenses. Just one lens, my Sony A7R4 as a sensor, all of it tethered to my little Mac with Capture One and I again enjoy creating photographs. 

The Cambo Actus conforms to my needs and wants, instead of the opposite so I can build more complex photographs without constant irritating limitations.

Where do you see your body of work going next?
Next will undoubtedly be the IQ4 back and more still lifes. I love sitting in front of the tabletop in my studio and freeing my imagination – I am alone, it is quiet,  it feels like meditation…

The French-born photographer Benoit Malphettes, known for his large format work, followed a childhood dream and permanently moved to America in 1977, eventually becoming a US citizen. Benoit’s meticulous attention to detail and his sense of drama gained international recognition with his work published in French & American Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, W, Glamour, Essence, NY Times and others. His bold images were used for major national advertising campaigns as his signature style and unique vision with his 8×10” camera became quickly recognized. At the same time demand for his portraits grew, and the preeminent business and political elite of the West Coast were regular visitors to his Pasadena Studio.

His work from the fashion years to the more recent still-lifes and landscapes is represented in private collections and several museums. Since 2015, his work has been exhibited in two one-man shows in California museums. In 2018, his work was included in NY’s Museum of Modern Art exhibit “Is Fashion Modern” and in 2019, Benoit received the California Journalism Award for his portrait of Dr Sterling Stuckey.

You can see more of Benoit’s work at Benoit.LA, Photos used with permission of the artist.