Amateur Photographer – 30 August 2019

InaworkshopinBrighton,a

smallmanufacturingcompany

isshakinguptheworldoflarge-

formatphotography.Ailsa

McWhinniefindsout more

LARGE-FORMAT PHOTOGRAPHY

T

hetolerant,welcoming,
vibrantcultureofthecity
ofBrightonandHovemakes
it a greatplacetolive.Oneof
itsflaws,however,is itslackofdecent
employment.Vastswathesofthe
workingpopulationboardcommuter
trainstoLondoneachmorning,while
manyothersareself-employed.And
asformanufacturing,well...
Butonecompanyis buckingthat
trendandcreatinga smallbeaconof
lightinthemanufacturingwilderness.
Nearlyfiveyearsago,recentgraduate
MaxGrewfoundhimselfmovingintoa
workshopinordertobeabletoservice
theordersfromanunexpectedly
successfulKickstartercampaign.
Theproduct?A simplebutslick
5x4incameramadefromhigh-quality
birchplyandanodisedaluminium,
withbellowsconstructedfrom
coatednylon.CalledtheIntrepid
Camera,itslaunchwasthestart
ofa realstoryofsuccess.
‘I wasdoinga degreeinproduct
designatSussexUniversity,’saysMax,
IntrepidCamera’sfounder.Weare
sittingintheinformalcoffeeareaof
thesharedindustrialbuildingnear
thebackofBrightonstation,‘and
I usedphotographyasa wayofmaking
mycollegeportfolio– andsomenot
verywell-thought-outideas– a bit
better,’helaughs.
Inhisfinalyear,hestartedto
experimentwithbuildingcameras,but
it onlyoccurredtohimtoincorporate
thisintohisstudieswhenthetime
cametopresenta briefforhisfinal
project.‘I calledit Intrepidfromthe
start,’hesays.‘I wanteda namethat
wouldsuggestthatcreatinga new
large-formatcamerawasa bitof
a stretch.Also,I wantedthe
camera to be quite lightweight

bigger picture

The

Thefourthgenerationofthe

Intrepid5x4in– thecamera

that started the story