Canadian actor and comedian Seth Rogen, widely known for his hit comedy films from the 2000s and his current role in Apple TV's series "The Studio," has recently revealed an unexpected passion: panoramic film photography. The multi-talented entertainer has become an enthusiastic photographer with a particular focus on panoramic film cameras, showcasing a artistic side that many fans may not have known about.
In a recent appearance on GQ's "10 Essentials" YouTube series, Rogen shared his love for panoramic cameras, revealing that he owns two distinctive models: a Widelux and a Hasselblad XPan. The actor demonstrated his technical knowledge while explaining the unique characteristics of each camera. The Widelux, he noted, is purely mechanical and requires a separate light meter to determine correct exposure settings, making it more challenging to operate than modern digital cameras.
"It's hard to load the film," Rogen explained while demonstrating the Widelux's distinctive design during the GQ segment. The camera uses a unique swing-lens mechanism to scan the film, with "a little tiny slit that lets the light in." This mechanical process creates the camera's signature wide-format images that have made it popular among photographers seeking a distinctive aesthetic.
Rogen has put his panoramic cameras to good use in his professional environment, capturing behind-the-scenes moments that offer a unique perspective on the entertainment industry. He mentioned taking "some really cool pictures backstage at SNL" using his Widelux camera. One particularly memorable shot he described was of himself and rapper Snoop Dogg in the studio while recording "Take Yo Panties Off" for "This is the End" soundtrack, demonstrating how he integrates his photography hobby with his film work.
The actor's second panoramic camera is a Hasselblad XPan, which he accurately identified as being much more difficult to find than the Widelux. Rogen showed his camera knowledge by explaining that Fuji actually manufactured the camera, with some units later being rebranded as Hasselblads. His particular model is a Fujifilm TX-2, part of this collaborative camera line that has become highly sought after by photography enthusiasts.
With characteristic humor, Rogen acknowledged the potential cliché of his situation, joking, "There's probably no greater cliché in all of the world than an actor thinking they're a photographer." However, he defended actors' natural progression into photography, explaining, "You're around good lighting, you're around cinematic things all day, you work with cameras, you get it in your head to get some cameras and to try to learn about cameras, as you should!"
Rogen isn't the only Hollywood star drawn to the Widelux camera. He noted that fellow actor Jeff Bridges is also associated with the distinctive panoramic camera. Bridges has become so passionate about the Widelux that he's actively working to revive it through his new WideluxX project. Bridges and his wife, Susan Geston, have partnered with Silvergrain Classics to reverse engineer a Panon Widelux F8, making notable improvements while preserving the original camera's essential characteristics.
Bridges has described the Widelux's unique aesthetic as "the sort of missing link between still photography and motion picture photography because of that lens that actually moves." This distinctive quality may explain why movie stars like Rogen and Bridges are particularly attracted to this unusual wide-angle camera, as it bridges their professional world of motion pictures with the art of still photography. The camera's ability to capture sweeping, cinematic images aligns naturally with their visual sensibilities developed through years of filmmaking experience.
