Hiroshi Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer and conceptual artist known for serene, minimalist black-and-white images that explore time, memory, and perception. Whether he’s photographing the sea horizon, empty movie theaters, or dioramas at natural history museums, Sugimoto’s work is technically immaculate and deeply philosophical.
His gear is inseparable from his method — large-format cameras, long exposures, and a nearly obsessive control of the photographic process.
Camera Gear & Technical Method
Main Camera: Deardorff 8×10 View Camera
Sugimoto’s primary camera is a Deardorff 8×10 large format field camera, a wooden-bodied bellows camera originally designed in the 1920s. It’s heavy, slow, and fully manual — but also supremely capable of producing images with exquisite detail and tonal range.
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| Deardorf 8x10 |
He also sometimes uses an 11×14 large format camera for extremely high-resolution work.
I like old cameras. You need to spend time. You can’t just press the shutter.
— Hiroshi Sugimoto
Lenses
Sugimoto has used a variety of large-format lenses over the years, typically:
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Schneider and Rodenstock lenses for their precision
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Long focal lengths (e.g., 360mm, 480mm) to flatten perspective
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Occasionally antique lenses for special visual effects (e.g., Petzval-style lenses for subtle swirl or softness)
Film
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Sugimoto uses Ilford HP5 Plus or Kodak Tri-X sheet film for black-and-white work.
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He often develops his own negatives in his studio and makes silver gelatin prints using traditional darkroom processes.
Printing & Development
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Prints are made as gelatin silver prints or platinum/palladium prints — sometimes reaching sizes as large as 4×6 feet or more.
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He is deeply involved in every part of the printmaking process — dodging, burning, toning — with a commitment to archival quality and perfection.
Why This Gear Matters to Sugimoto’s Vision
Sugimoto’s use of large format film and long exposure times are not just technical preferences — they are conceptual tools. He believes photography can compress and distill time, and that the slow process allows the camera to capture a reality beyond what we see.
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Large format = absolute sharpness + rich grayscale tonalities
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Long exposures = time made visible
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Manual gear = meditative, ritualistic photography
His process is slow, contemplative, and demands full presence — the antithesis of today’s fast photography.
Final Thoughts
Hiroshi Sugimoto’s gear reflects his philosophy of time, silence, and perfection. The slow tools of large-format analog photography allow him to reveal things too subtle or too vast for digital sensors or quick snapshots. He doesn’t just take pictures — he builds them slowly, like sculptures of light and time.
Whether capturing the eternal calm of a sea horizon or the ghostly light of an empty cinema, Sugimoto shows how choosing the right tools can elevate photography to fine art of the highest order.
Books by Hiroshi Sugimoto
Time Machine : see it on Amazon
Seascapes : see it on Amazon
