In May of 2026 Getty Images Sr. Director of Photography Neilson Barnard used a Graflex Crown Graphic 4x5 equipped with an ObscuraFlex Adapter and iPhone 16 to capture the star-studded arrivals at two legendary gala events. More...
Cannes Film Festival amfAR Gala
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This short video shows the camera in action during the arrivals at amfAR Gala at the legendary Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France, during the Cannes Film Festival.
Using the ObscuraFlex let Barnard combine the look of vintage large format photography with the rapid fire immediacy needed to capture a fast-paced high-stakes event like these.
The resulting images bridge over seventy years of photographic technology. The Graflex 4x5 was the go-to camera for press photographers in the 1950s, originally exposing single sheets of black and white film, often rush-processed and contact printed in makeshift mobile darkrooms to meet overnight newspaper deadlines.
ObscuraFlex lets that same esthetic live on while producing digital images that can be transmitted and published within seconds, bringing the visual language of photography's past into today's real-time media environment.
The Met Gala in NYC
Earlier in the month Barnard used the same ObscuraFlex kit to shoot the stunning art-inspired costumes at the 2026 Met Gala. More...
Heidi Klum, Russell Wilson, Ciara, Rachel Zegler, LISA, Luke Evans, Katy Perry, Alex Consani, Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Naomi Osaka and Rachel Sennott attend the 2026 Met Gala celebrating "Costume Art" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
In an era when celebrities are photographed by hundreds of high-end digital cameras burst-shooting incalculable millions of crisp megapixels per second, Barnard's works feel unique and deliberate. The large-format look, with its shallow depth of field and inherent vignette, transforms a fleeting red-carpet moment into something timeless, creating images that to me feel less "perfect" and more human because of it.
If Barnard's experience interacting with his subjects is anything like mine when I'm out on the street shooting with this same setup, I venture to guess that the people in front of his camera are more intrigued and at ease with the historic charm, novelty, and unassuming elegance of a vintage camera than they are staring at the wall of Nikon logos they are usually confronted by.