Bob Jones

In 2016, Bob Jones started a journey with not much more than the photo lens of an old enlarger. Their aim was to build their own large-format camera and finance their travels by portraying the people they’d meet. The Wanderkamera came into being a few months later, when Jones ran into 70-year-old Graham Davis. The former engineer and hobby photographer became as enthused about the large format camera project as they were and was quick to support the project with his available tools and a shed full of unused wood. Three months later, Jones took the first test photos which turned out completely black. Back in Berlin, with the guidance of print master Jochen Rohner, they found the missing pieces to completely blacken out the camera body. They were finally set to put up the camera at a first event. The benefits of the self-built camera became evident quickly: people love the experience of sitting still for an analogue portrait and then watch it being developed. The mobile camera stand has since been a connecting point of likeminded people at events such as festivals, markets and weddings. It is also being used for artistic shootings with a great number of artists, actors, performers and musicians.