The US Open Through a Viewfinder of Another Era: Photographer Challenges Modern Sports Journalism with 4×5 Large Format Film

Sports photography is an industry defined by relentless technological advancement. In an era where modern mirrorless cameras routinely achieve staggering electronic shutter speeds—capturing upwards of 30 frames per second with sophisticated, artificial intelligence-driven autofocus tracking—professional sports photojournalists are continually equipped to freeze fractions of a second with pinpoint precision. Yet, amidst the high-speed cacophony of motorized shutters at major international tournaments, traditional analog techniques occasionally make a striking return. Recently, a notable experiment at the United States Open tennis championships challenged contemporary standards of sports documentation, trading high-tech digital efficiency for the deliberate, methodical pace of a 4×5 large format film camera.

The undertaking, carried out by prominent photography educator and content creator Jared Polin alongside collaborator Austin, invited a unique technical friction into one of the world’s most fast-paced sporting environments. Rather than relying on the rapid-fire capability of modern digital bodies, the team deliberately handcuffed themselves to a medium that requires manual focus, individual sheet-film loading, and an entirely manual exposure calculation for every single frame captured. The resulting endeavor offered not only a compelling visual contrast to modern tournament coverage but also a profound exercise in artistic restraint and the reevaluation of modern media workflows.

The Chronology of an Analog Experiment at a Modern Major

Planning for the unconventional shoot began weeks prior, requiring coordination with tournament officials to secure media access under unusual operational constraints. Unlike digital photographers who can navigate the grounds with multiple camera bodies strapped to their shoulders, moving quickly between outer courts and stadium arenas, shooting with a 4×5 large format camera demands a stationary, highly deliberate setup.

On the day of the event, Polin and Austin arrived at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, navigating the bustling media facilities with a wooden field camera, a heavy-duty tripod, and a limited supply of sheet film holders. The chronology of the day was dictated entirely by the physics of large-format photography. Where a digital sports photographer might capture 500 frames during a single service game, the large format setup restricted the team to a fraction of that output for the entire day.

Each image required a sequence of deliberate steps: selecting a location with a stable viewpoint, setting up the tripod, composing the upside-down and inverted image on the ground glass, inserting the film holder, pulling the dark slide, focusing critically on a specific plane of action, and finally releasing the mechanical shutter. Throughout the matches, the pacing of professional tennis—characterized by explosive rallies followed by brief pauses between points—offered the only window of opportunity to execute this complex sequence. Multiple times during the grueling sessions under the tournament sun, the creators questioned the viability of the choice, confronting the stark reality of how difficult it is to adapt antiquated technology to a sport moving at elite athletic speeds.

Technical Realities and the Friction of Choice

To understand the magnitude of shooting a major tennis tournament on 4×5 film, one must examine the mechanics of the format. A standard 4×5 sheet of film measures four by five inches, vastly larger than a full-frame digital sensor (36mm by 24mm) or a medium format digital back. This massive physical surface area yields incredible detail, rich tonal gradation, and a uniquely shallow depth of field that renders backgrounds with a distinct, painterly blur.

However, these optical advantages come with severe operational penalties. Large format lenses operate with manual leaf shutters or barrel designs, and focusing must be performed visually on a ground glass screen under a dark cloth. In bright daylight, viewing a ground glass can be exceptionally difficult, requiring a focusing hood or cloth to shield ambient light. Furthermore, the physical depth of field at wide apertures on a 4×5 lens is razor-thin—often measuring mere millimeters. Given that professional tennis players move rapidly across the baseline, tracking focus on a static ground glass without the aid of phase-detection autofocus or eye-tracking algorithms borders on the impossible.

The experiment highlighted a central philosophical debate within contemporary media: the tension between technical perfection and intentional creation. Modern digital systems, such as the Canon EOS R5 Mark II utilized as a behind-the-scenes recording device during the outing, offer near-limitless safety nets. High-ISO performance allows for clean images in fading light, continuous autofocus virtually guarantees sharpness, and instantaneous review permits immediate error correction. In contrast, the 4×5 camera offered zero room for error, transforming every exposure into a high-stakes gamble where the results would remain entirely unknown until the film was developed days later.

Background Context of the US Open Media Environment

The United States Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the tennis calendar, represents a pinnacle of athletic achievement and media saturation. Annually drawing hundreds of thousands of spectators and a global television audience numbering in the tens of millions, the tournament is a high-pressure crucible for accredited journalists, broadcasters, and photographers.

The media operations infrastructure at Flushing Meadows is designed for speed and volume. High-speed fiber-optic networks allow photographers stationed courtside to transmit RAW images directly from their cameras to agency editors within seconds of a point ending. In this hyper-accelerated ecosystem, the currency of sports photojournalism is immediacy. Images of dramatic celebrations, athletic stretches, and victorious match points must be published before the match has even concluded to capture audience engagement across digital and print platforms.

By introducing a 4×5 large format camera into this ecosystem, the project deliberately bypassed the demands of instantaneous news cycles. The initiative was not intended to compete with wire service photographers delivering real-time coverage of the matches, but rather to explore the artistic boundaries of the medium. It served as a reminder of the origins of sports photography, echoing the early 20th-century techniques of pioneers who similarly labored with heavy glass plates and bulky wooden boxes to capture the athletic spectacles of their day.

Reflections, Lessons, and the Value of Creative Friction

Reflecting on the experience after the tournament concluded, the organizers acknowledged that the project was as much a mental test as it was a technical one. The deliberate imposition of difficulty served as a powerful antidote to creative complacency. In modern professional photography, the reliability of automated camera systems can sometimes lead to a mechanical approach to image-making, where photographers rely on frame rates rather than decisive timing and composition.

The experience yielded valuable lessons in anticipation and environmental awareness. Because capturing spontaneous action was largely unfeasible with the 4×5 setup, success relied entirely on predicting where a player would pause, how the light would fall across the court at a specific hour of the afternoon, and framing static elements of the tournament environment—such as architecture, crowds, and player preparation—in a way that conveyed the scale and atmosphere of the Grand Slam.

If invited back to the tournament in subsequent years, the creators noted that the insights gained from this initial hurdle would directly inform a more refined approach. Anticipating the logistical hurdles, managing the physical weight of the equipment across expansive grounds, and better understanding the specific vantage points permitted to media personnel would allow for a more streamlined execution.

Broader Implications for Modern Photography and Digital Workflows

While large format film remains a niche pursuit practiced by fine art photographers and traditionalists, experiments of this nature resonate deeply within the broader photography community. They underscore a growing counter-trend against the relentless march of digital automation. As camera manufacturers push the boundaries of artificial intelligence, computational photography, and automated capture, a segment of the creative community actively seeks out mechanical constraints to spark originality.

This philosophy of embracing friction extends beyond capture techniques into post-production and education. The demand for specialized tools that help photographers reclaim control over their aesthetic—such as custom Lightroom presets designed to emulate classic film stocks or complex tonal responses—remains exceptionally high. Projects that juxtapose bleeding-edge digital technology, like modern mirrorless bodies and RF-mount optics, with archaic analog formats serve to bridge the gap between historical craft and contemporary digital mastery.

Ultimately, the deployment of a 4×5 camera at the US Open transcends a mere novelty or stunt. It stands as an exploration of medium and message, demonstrating that the value of an image is often proportional to the intentionality and effort required to bring it into existence. In an age where capturing a sharp, perfectly exposed photograph requires less technical expertise than ever before, choosing to make the process painstakingly difficult offers a profound reminder of why photography captivated its practitioners in the first place.