Tyler Shields has always blurred the line between still and moving image, but with his new Cinema Series he steps fully into the language of film while remaining rooted in photography. Shot exclusively on Kodak film and with Panavision lenses, the very tools that defined Hollywood’s golden age, this body of work transforms his photographs into living frames, as though plucked straight from a reel of classic cinema.

The series is directly inspired by Shields’ latest film, Chapter 51, a project steeped in old-Hollywood glamour and narrative intrigue. In these large-format, limited-edition prints, Shields weaves the moody elegance of Chapter 51 into singular images: a woman with platinum hair lingering in the neon haze of Times Square, lovers silhouetted against the Eiffel Tower, a man in a hat reading Life magazine as the subway blurs past. Each work is a scene unto itself: evocative, cinematic, and meticulously staged, yet together they create a rhythm of storytelling that only Shields could orchestrate.

The choice of Panavision lenses carries particular weight. Rarely used in still photography, these lenses are synonymous with epic filmmaking. Shields’ decision to shoot his photographs with them is both technical and symbolic: it elevates the images with an unmistakable cinematic depth while underscoring his belief that photography and film are part of the same continuum of storytelling.

At once nostalgic and contemporary, Cinema feels like discovering a lost archive of Hollywood’s past, but with Shields’ signature edge.

With edition sizes kept intentionally small, each piece from Cinema Series is a rare artifact, a slice of cinematic history reframed through photography.

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