The Mamiya 7 is a legendary camera known by all serious film photographers around the world. It’s a unique medium format camera that combines super sharp leaf shutter lenses (namely the 80mm f/4) and simple yet robust electronic controls that sync its shutter across all shutter speed ranges up to 1/500th. Best of all, it’s all packaged in a beautifully stream-lined lightweight range finder package that is simply perfect for travel and documentary photography.

I have been using a Mamiya 7 / Mamiya 7ii since 2008 when a friend first introduced me to it. What can I say? I was instantly hooked! The image quality this camera produces is out of this world. Unlike other formats and body and lens combinations, the resulting 6x7cm negatives always seem to just look real. Extremely sharp and detailed, the quality of this camera can even surpass modern digital full-frame cameras. 

Released in 1995 and discontinued almost two decades later in 2014, the Mamiya 7 is still ranked among the world’s best cameras ever produced. From personal experience: it's an all-around joy to use with an almost silent shutter. It just feels good in my hands. It’s so light I can carry it all day, unlike its heavier 6x7 cousins. Its no wonder this camera is admired and loved by many professional and amateur photographers, creating one of the camera worlds most dedicated cult followings. As a result of its discontinuation and soaring popularity, the price of a mint Mamiya 7 now almost double what it used to cost originally. I am happy to share that the price you will pay for one of these beautiful cameras is still well worth the damage it will do to your wallet.

With that being said, if you needed even more temptation to pick up a Mamiya 7, I’ve carefully selected 20 images by some of my favorite photographers who also happen to use this vary camera. These particular images were selected because of their beautiful colors, clean lines, and their representation of something epic and large that life. They are photographs that bring an element of surprise to our ordinary lives. After seeing these artists’ work you’ll finally understand why my curated Instagram page is called Mamiya 7 Ruined Everything! Make sure to follow us at @Mamiya7ruinedeverything and if you are currently shooting this camera, tag your photos with #mamiya7ruinedeverything to get featured!

-Monika Murren, Co-curator of @Mamiya7ruinedeverything

20 MAMIYA 7 PHOTOGRAPHERS YOU NEED TO KNOW!

Artist: Matt Peers | Location: England
Links: Website | Instagram

Matt Peers is photographer based in Birmingham, England whose work explores the themes of change and loss through the representation of personal and urban identities. His work has been featured in The Guardian and has been exhibited through the Some Cities collective.

Matt is amazing at capturing seemingly ordinary urban sites and what I love about this image I selected is the juxtaposition of the serene, almost warm and inviting landscape with the giant and almost scary looming power station towers in the background.

Artist: Jim Ryce | Location: Toronto
Links: Website | Instagram

Jim Ryce is a Toronto based, freelance portrait and travel photographer. Having spent most of his career as a graphic designer he tries to bring that same design sensibility to his images.

Jim is so skillful at taking very clean and beautifully composed architectural and landscape photos such as the image of the sign below. He works mostly around the southwestern area of the US. This image has clean lines and your eye is instantly drawn to the red rectangular sign in the middle of nowhere.

Artist: Jake Davies | Location: London
Link: Instagram

Jake Davies is a Mamiya 7 hobbyist taking photographs of places he travels to, or around London, where he is based. 

This image struck me both in his use of architectural geometry, that moves across the picture plane and the subtle way he captures the gradient of dark tones without sacrificing structure. 

Artist: Nick Hinch | Location: Melbourne
Links: Instagram

Nick Hinch’s photographic journey has emerged over the years as he documented the streets of Melbourne, with a focus on life within the urban landscapes.

As we have been flooded with images of Iceland, it is hard to find truly original work from that beautiful country. Here is one that really stands out and seems timeless at the same time. The subtle colors of the car and the station blend in so perfectly with the landscape behind it.  

Artist: Mariusz Lemiecha | Location: Poland
Links: Website | Instagram

Mariusz Lemiecha comes from Eastern part of Poland but he is currently based in Warsaw. He explores landscapes, suburbs, woods and also observes people and how they live in their urban or country surroundings. He prefers to use medium format film, 6x7 format.

Mariusz is excellent at capturing dramatic light in his very serene landscapes.  He photographs mainly around my native country of Poland. This image below is one of them. He captures the depth of this beautiful, gentle landscape emphasizing its multiple green textures. The fog in the background not only enhances the texture but adds a layer of mystery to the photo. I highly recommend all of Mariusz’s work.

Artist: Romain Saccoccio | Location: France
Links: Website | Instagram

Romain Saccoccio is an architect and photographer living and working in Paris, France. As an architect, he has always had a special attachment to landscapes and spaces, emphasizing lines, textures and depth by composing clear images with a strong feel of emptiness.

This photo is a perfect example why Mamiya 7 is ideal for photographing architecture and interior spaces. The lenses help capture low light in a clean way  while  retaining  detail. The use of clean lines and a tiny pop of blue make the photo stand out for me.  The image has a meditative quality. 

 Artist: Chanel Irvine | Location: London
Link: Website 

As a documentary photographer, Chanel Irvine’s practice seeks to portray the power of human initiative, connection and contribution. Inspired by the importance of constructive, solution-based journalism, she embraces visual communication that empowers.

As Chanel describes her own work, she focuses on scenes that are somehow timeless and I do find in her work here. There is an incredible simplicity in the way the figure floats grounded only by the bottom edge of the frame. We are drawn to the subtle greens and blues and warm tones in the skin and hair. I love the perspective and especially the position of the model’s hands. 

Artist: Sol Rapson | Location: Nowhere
Links: Website | Instagram

Sol Rapson is a 22 yr old photographer from Oakland, CA currently living in a van traveling the country for the foreseeable future, trying to pass on peace.

White Sands is one of my favorite places in the world. I love Sol’s use of symmetry and how he framed the two picnic benches. In the vast landscape of the White Sands park, it is great to find more detail and a closer focal point. The image is clean and has no distracting elements.    

Artist: Nick Goring | Location: UK
Links: Website | Instagram

Nick Goring is a UK based photographer with a particular interest in our relationship with the past, both collectively and individually, and the impact it has on our identities. He trained at UAL London College of Communication receiving an MA in Photojournalism & Documentary Photography with Distinction in 2020.

I chose this photo because I really love the light blue and green color hues here and the composition. I feel like the canal we see in the foreground really leads your eye and the beautiful grassy textures make it truly serene. I wish I could be there right now.  

 Artist: Dave Scaringe | Location: East Coast USA
Link:  Instagram

Dave Scaringe is a West Coast man living in an East Coast world.  He enjoys taking photographs and being outdoors. He is a co-curator on the Mamiya7ruinedeverything Instagram.  

Dave’s image is a great example of the way Mamiya handles window light. I love his use of symmetry and lines. The ship that appears in the far left window adds perspective and depth and makes this image really strong.  

Artist: Ioana Marinca | Location: London
Links: Website | Instagram

Ioana Marinca is a photographer from Transylvania based in East London. She has recently been selected as one of the winners in British Journal of Photography’s Portrait of Britain 2019 so I thought it was fitting to include of her portraits as my selection.

Her portrait work is both still and dynamic. I love the mood here. We are immediately curious about what is happening in this woman’s life. Is she tearing up or just wiping off her make-up? I love the lines of trees in the background, they frame the subject’s head and direct our attention to the mood in the photo.

Artist: Jake Williams | Location: SF, USA
Links: Website | Instagram

Jake Williams is a lifestyle and portrait photographer raised in New Hampshire with a passion for the outdoors. He is currently based in San Francisco where he finds his inspiration in the outdoors

Jake’s use of color and light is inspiring. I chose this landscape photo because the green he captured, coupled with perspective and depth of the rolling hills creates an image that is soothing and beautiful.

Artist: Alberto Genato | Location: NYC
Links: Website | Instagram

Albert Genato has owned his Mamiya 7 for five years. He uses his Mamiya 7 to create contemporary landscape photographs and to document the mundane spaces that surround us all. Albert has been photographing for 20 years and makes his way from the Philippines. He is currently based out of New York City.

Alberto is great at capturing NYC with his Mamiya 7ii, more proof that portability is one of this camera’s greatest strengths. I love the stillness and the intimate mood he was able to convey in this night shot of a Chinatown barber. Our eye is mainly drawn to the intimate scene inside, but the dark signage and the brick detail provide more context and amplify our focal point. 

Artist: Matthew Santomarco | Location: Colorado    Link: Instagram

Matt Santomarco is a film photographer from Colorado who is inspired by the great painters of the Hudson River School. He's continuously on the search for dramatically lit landscapes and relics of the American West

Anyone who has ever visited Monument Valley National Park knows how incredibly magnetic this place is. The light and colors, as well as the epic size of the rocks are jaw dropping. You have to see it with the right scale, and I love that Matthew had that here with the lone ranger in the foreground. The layering on the ground and even the layered clouds are what make his image so strong.  

Artist: Jean-Luc Bertini | Location: France
Links: Website | Instagram

Born in France in 1969, Jean-Luc Bertini, like Walker Evans, dreamed of being a writer before becoming a photographer. From his literary training, he has kept this same attention to reality and this taste for stories.A renowned portrait painter, he pursues several long-term projects which regularly take him from east to west. Whether for his first book (Solovki, la bibliothèque perdue) or the one he dedicated to American writers (Amérique, des écrivains en liberté), his work questions the fragile place of man at the heart of his environment.

Jean-Luc is so great at documenting real life and it is especially rare among Mamiya 7 photographers who seem to be more drawn to still life and architectural/topographical subjects. I encourage you all to check out his series from America. The scene in this photo could certainly be a painting, it is full of action and the viewer could spend a long time analyzing all the details. 

Artist: Mat Hay | Location: Scotland
Links: Website | Instagram

Mat Hay is a Scottish commercial and documentary photographer working in London, the Scottish Highlands, and internationally. His award winning personal and commercial projects are exhibited frequently, including shows in Quebec, LA, New York, London, Sydney, Melbourne, Seoul, Vancouver, Bristol, Glasgow, Derry, Inverness, and Edinburgh.

Mat’s use of color and ability to emphasize detail exhibits a technical precision as well as creates a deeply intimate portrait. I absolutely love the painterly quality of this image. I am most drawn to the girl who is peering wistfully through the window. This image is definitely one of my favorites in this collection. 

Artist: Gili Merin| Location: New York
Links: Website | Instagram

Gili Merin is an architect, photographer, and PhD candidate at the Architectural Association in London. She is a Diploma unit master at the AA, a lecturer for History and Theory of architecture at the Royal College of Arts, and a visiting professor in Syracuse University.

Gili writes and photographs regularly for the Architects' Journal, Frame Magazine and Ha'aretz. Her essays and reportages have been published in a number of print and online journals.

I love Gili’s photo, because not only is it idyllic and the perfect vacation postcard, but she was also able to document a moment in time with the people swimming in the pool and the ones sitting around it. This photo is both dynamic and yet completely serene with a beautiful use of color.  

Artist: Robert Cauble | Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Links: Website | Instagram

Originally from Hawaii, Robert Cauble was educated in studio art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. There, he studied painting, photography and video art. His video art/experimental film work has been screened at many festivals and museums, including The International Film Festival Rotterdam, London Film Festival and Madrid’s Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. He currently live in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he works as a cinematographer, and can be often be found carrying a camera around to capture the vibrancy and textures of the city.

Robert’s photo is immediately striking, it captures a rare moment in the city. The viewer is just as absorbed in what they are seeing as is the family sitting on the bench watching the fire in the foreground of this photo.  

Artist: Grant Peters | Location: Australia
Links: Website | Instagram

Grant Peters grew up in a coastal town along the south eastern coast of Australia where he began making photographs in and around the ocean, with his work being recognized and published by various international magazines. 

The transient nature of the elements whilst photographing in the ocean has heightened his senses and has cultivated an appreciation for the way light interacts with changing topographies. Taking on a simpler approach, his current work brings solace by inviting his audience to view the ordinary with new-found excitement and enthusiasm.

I think Grant’s image is very striking. I love images that manage to combine landscape and commercial equipment. He uses an interesting angle to further create a more dramatic scene and that coupled with the darker clouds make the image very visually strong for me.

 Artist: Justin DeGarbo| Location: California
Links: Website | Instagram

Justin DeGarbo is a photographer who was born and raised in rural Colorado. After graduating college with a degree in Creative Writing, he traveled around Europe where he lived in Milan and taught English to Italians. He ended up falling in love with street photography. 

When he returned to the United States, he moved to Los Angeles and began assisting other professional fashion photographers. Currently in Santa Monica where he pursues acting and works as a drug and alcohol counselor. Photography is his passion and an obsession.

Justin’s portrait, which he chose to leave as “Untitled” not to distract the viewer with the name, feels very intimate and carries some melancholy at the same time. This is why I love black and white portraits, they make us concentrate on the feeling and the mood in the photo, rather than more technical aspects.  

ABOUT THE CURATOR

Monika Murren is a Polish born photographer based in the Hudson Valley, NY. She has spent a large part of her adult life in the New York and Seattle area and has relocated to the Hudson Valley in recent years. 

Her photographs express her passion for the intimate landscapes of Eastern Europe and the untouched beauty of America.  As a dedicated environmentalist, Monika’s work seeks to document the vanishing beauty of her surroundings. In doing so, she hopes to both inspire and bring attention to the beauty and fragility of these places.

She uses medium format film photography (Mamiya 7ii) and focuses the mood of landscapes in black and white and color. Her pieces range from topographical landscapes to works that bring the viewer into intimate contact with nature. Her work has been shown in galleries around the Hudson Valley.  

Connect with Monika on her Website and on Instagram!

RELATED ARTICLES