Uploaded February 2012 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Dennis Manarchy is raising funds for his photography campaign through Kickstarter. In order to receive contributions, the project must be funded in full by 4/1/12. To help: kickstarter.com/projects/2060332949/vanishing-cultures-by-dennis-manarchy
From Dennis: Over 10 Years In The Making...Vanishing Cultures will be an audacious 20,000-mile mission to capture the uncommon beauty and individuality that define our people in a way that has never been done before.
Dennis Manarchy, world-renowned photographer, has constructed a prototype 35-foot long traditional FILM camera that produces 4.5-foot by 6-foot negatives with unbelievable detail.
We are trying to construct a new state-of-the-art version of the camera that will fit in the back of a semi-trailer for a nationwide trip to photograph and commemorate Vanishing Cultures in their own environments.
The new camera will be an archival tribute to film photography and our hope is to donate it to a museum upon completion of our mission.
The negatives, measuring 6 feet by 4.5 feet, have 1,000 times greater detail than an average digital photograph. This camera will be a monumental achievement for photography and it will be an unprecedented tribute to a dying art.
The size of the negatives allows us to enlarge the photos to over 2-story tall prints (24 feet x 16 feet) with such pristine detail that you can see the fleck of an iris, the weight of an eyelash on a child's face or the individual pores on our skin.
WE MUST TRAVEL with the camera in order to visit and document these incredible cultures in their natural environments and surroundings, which is why we need your help to build the version in the video below. Once we build the new version we will embark on a 20,000-mile journey across America to capture representative subjects of Vanishing Cultures in their own environments. A documentary team will capture the stories surrounding each destination and culture that we visit.
As a result of the detail and scale of the big camera, 24-foot photographs will be produced and displayed in stadium-sized outdoor exhibitions along with the negatives and the stories behind these spectacular people. Educational materials and text books will capture history and cultural background; documentaries will provide intimate views of the folklore, stories and environments surrounding these people in imaginative, cinematic ways; and the photographs will provide a timeless and artistic capture of our cultures.
The scope of Vanishing Cultures reaches far beyond the art of photography. This is an opportunity to ensure a place in history for these amazing cultures and people before they are gone forever. This project is both a tribute to these unique people and an amazing era of traditional film photography.
thefpac.org
manarchy.com
About the Photographer...
Over the past 30 years, Dennis Manarchy has ranked among the world's top photographers. After growing up in Rockford, Illinois he graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology and apprenticed with Irving Penn. After serving as Lieutenant in the Vietnam War, he returned home disillusioned and met a Lumbee Indian Chief at a local book store in North Carolina. The Chief invited Dennis to live with his tribe and Dennis spent months readjusting to post-war life while refocusing on photography. His experience with the Tribe changed him forever.
Dennis has won countless awards for photography and commercial directing and his works are included in permanent collections within the Museum of Contemporary Photography and the Museum of Modern Art, among many others. He has shot major advertising campaigns and celebrities and has twice been rated Best Photographer by Graphis. Yet despite his achievements, Dennis maintains amazing humility and deep concern for humanity, and his love and appreciation for cultures and real people are evident throughout his work. His wife, Mary Beth, and his daughter, Molly, are two incredibly gifted and talented spirits and I have been blessed with the opportunity to become friends with their family over the past 4 years as Dennis' vision for Vanishing Cultures has finally come to fruition...we are now just steps away from making this dream a reality. Thank you for your support!
Dennis Manarchy is raising funds for his photography campaign through Kickstarter. In order to receive contributions, the project must be funded in full by 4/1/12. To help: kickstarter.com/projects/2060332949/vanishing-cultures-by-dennis-manarchy
From Dennis: Over 10 Years In The Making...Vanishing Cultures will be an audacious 20,000-mile mission to capture the uncommon beauty and individuality that define our people in a way that has never been done before.
Dennis Manarchy, world-renowned photographer, has constructed a prototype 35-foot long traditional FILM camera that produces 4.5-foot by 6-foot negatives with unbelievable detail.
We are trying to construct a new state-of-the-art version of the camera that will fit in the back of a semi-trailer for a nationwide trip to photograph and commemorate Vanishing Cultures in their own environments.
The new camera will be an archival tribute to film photography and our hope is to donate it to a museum upon completion of our mission.
The negatives, measuring 6 feet by 4.5 feet, have 1,000 times greater detail than an average digital photograph. This camera will be a monumental achievement for photography and it will be an unprecedented tribute to a dying art.
The size of the negatives allows us to enlarge the photos to over 2-story tall prints (24 feet x 16 feet) with such pristine detail that you can see the fleck of an iris, the weight of an eyelash on a child's face or the individual pores on our skin.
WE MUST TRAVEL with the camera in order to visit and document these incredible cultures in their natural environments and surroundings, which is why we need your help to build the version in the video below. Once we build the new version we will embark on a 20,000-mile journey across America to capture representative subjects of Vanishing Cultures in their own environments. A documentary team will capture the stories surrounding each destination and culture that we visit.
As a result of the detail and scale of the big camera, 24-foot photographs will be produced and displayed in stadium-sized outdoor exhibitions along with the negatives and the stories behind these spectacular people. Educational materials and text books will capture history and cultural background; documentaries will provide intimate views of the folklore, stories and environments surrounding these people in imaginative, cinematic ways; and the photographs will provide a timeless and artistic capture of our cultures.
The scope of Vanishing Cultures reaches far beyond the art of photography. This is an opportunity to ensure a place in history for these amazing cultures and people before they are gone forever. This project is both a tribute to these unique people and an amazing era of traditional film photography.
thefpac.org
manarchy.com
About the Photographer...
Over the past 30 years, Dennis Manarchy has ranked among the world's top photographers. After growing up in Rockford, Illinois he graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology and apprenticed with Irving Penn. After serving as Lieutenant in the Vietnam War, he returned home disillusioned and met a Lumbee Indian Chief at a local book store in North Carolina. The Chief invited Dennis to live with his tribe and Dennis spent months readjusting to post-war life while refocusing on photography. His experience with the Tribe changed him forever.
Dennis has won countless awards for photography and commercial directing and his works are included in permanent collections within the Museum of Contemporary Photography and the Museum of Modern Art, among many others. He has shot major advertising campaigns and celebrities and has twice been rated Best Photographer by Graphis. Yet despite his achievements, Dennis maintains amazing humility and deep concern for humanity, and his love and appreciation for cultures and real people are evident throughout his work. His wife, Mary Beth, and his daughter, Molly, are two incredibly gifted and talented spirits and I have been blessed with the opportunity to become friends with their family over the past 4 years as Dennis' vision for Vanishing Cultures has finally come to fruition...we are now just steps away from making this dream a reality. Thank you for your support!
