Tony Hewitt Captures Emotions with the Trichromatic

Tony Hewitt is a multi-award winning Australian fine art photographer. We asked him to test the Phase One IQ3 100MP Trichromatic Digital Back to see how he reacted to the all-new color capabilities.

“As a fine art photographer, I am always looking for ways to use color to evoke emotion, and stimulate a response from the viewer that echoes my own passion for my subjects. One that draws them in and invites a viewing experience that will take them beyond the literal.”

“… most importantly for me, was to try and get as close as possible to the ability to get color the way the human eye sees it.”

What is the Trichromatic Digital Back?

The new color technology, found in the IQ3 100MP Trichromatic Digital Back, has a completely re-designed sensor that can interpret color in a way that mimics how the human eye sees. What this means is that whatever hues and tones the photographer sees, the Trichromatic can more accurately capture, allowing them to convey all that the scene expressed to them at the instant of pressing the shutter. For photographers who use color to evoke emotion and captivate their viewers, they will understand just how much of a potential game changer this is.

“The strength of a color, the vividness and the contrast you can get out of color, is so important because what it will do is it will drag the viewer in, it will actually capture their emotion… Whatever it is that the color is evoking, is something that I want it to be true to my vision.”

The story behind the images

The Fringe Festival comes to Australia every couple of years. It is a collection of performance artists ranging from acrobats to vaudeville acts to burlesque dancers. Brightly colored, weird and magical – Tony chose them as his subject knowing the importance of vibrant color in their work to grab the attention of audiences. To really make use of contrast with these artists, Tony placed them in a remote and desolate location, devoid of distraction, far out in the washed-out landscape of an Australian salt-lake.

“The Trichromatic Camera System itself becomes a true extension of my vision, and what my eye sees and what my eye wants to express; the camera delivers.”

Tony Hewitt shot this series of photographs with the new Phase One IQ3 100MP Trichromatic Digital Back with the XF Camera System. The lenses he used include: the Schneider Kreuznach 55mm, f/2.8 LS Blue Ring, the Schneider Kreuznach 80mm, f/2.8 LS Blue Ring, and the Schneider Kreuznach 240mm, f/4.5 LS Blue Ring lens.