Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/01/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Yes indeed those luscious dramatic skies. I got a comparatively new Ansel book "Yosemite and the High Sierra" (published 1994) from the gallery in Yosemite. It has about fifty of the photos from one of the luxury, now unavailable earlier books. About 75 photos in total. Lots of glorious 8x10 plates of very iconic photographs. Highly recommended. Cheers Geoff http://www.pbase.com/hoppyman/e http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/gh/ Pick up your camera and make the best photo you can. -----Original Message----- Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: Ansel Adams and digital To me its mainly in the darkening of the skies and the way clouds pop out which you'd not even see standing there looking at it. And printing down. Dark. And lots of contrast and blacks. Black and white is an abstraction. Mark William Rabiner > From: Chris Saganich <chs2018@med.cornell.edu> > Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org> > Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:21:05 -0500 > To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org> > Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: Ansel Adams and digital > > Mark, > It was his attempt to part from the pictorial photography popular in > the early days. His intention I believe was to make you feel the > landscape as much as see it. While the filtration may not be subtle > the connection between your eye and the gravity of a large boulder is > and can work with proper use of perspective and tonal relationships. > This is most evident I think from his work in harsh outdoor light; > when I look at some of those prints I squint. It may not look the > same as if I were there but my body wants to react the same. Without > the body there would be no intelligence or perception. We interact > differently with a photograph compared to actually being in a place so > Adams figured out how to compensate on a pretty deep level and passed it all on to us. > > Remember the Star Trek episode where the aliens had evolved into "pure > intelligence" and were depicted as brains in a bell jar? That's just silly. > > > At 04:07 PM 1/13/2009, you wrote: >> You put a dark red or green filter on something, deep yellow even and >> your interpretation of the shot is in your minds eye is certainly is >> not what everybody else is seeing when they're standing next to you >> watching you take the photo or what they're probably getting in their Brownies. >> AA's filtration was as often as not not all the subtle. >> He's critised about that; by people who no doubt walk around feeling >> great about how subtle they all are. >> But it fits my tastes perfectly. As in black and white landscapes I >> tend to go for the gusto as well. >> Realistic NOT I think as dramatic effect is possibility as most often >> the intention. A shot that would knock your socks off. >> All I ever asked from a picture... >> Mine or what I'm looking at. >> >> The f64 ethic meant get it all in focus no fuzzy wuzzie pseudo art >> but it didn't not mean having things look realistic. >> Or look like they'd really look in a "straight" black and white shot. >> >> >> Mark William Rabiner >> >> >> >>> From: TCB <tcb@thadbrown.com> >>> Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org> >>> Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:48:06 -0600 >>> To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org> >>> Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: Ansel Adams and digital >>> >>> Indeed. I was just flipping through 'The Negative' again and AA >> suggests doing >>> a >>> polaroid before exposing a negative, instead of taking two >>> negatives, developing one in the lab, and then developing the second >>> according to the first. The funny thing is that my D300 has more or >>> less devolved to doing this job. When I'm trying to be 'serious' and >>> shooting MF I put my D300 on the tripod first. I like to shoot a lot >>> of low and night things, so exposures can vary pretty >> wildly. >>> The >>> D300 gives me an LCD and a histogram to read to get an idea of >>> what's what with shadows and highlights, just like a polaroid. >>> >>> The other funny thing in 'The Negative' that I ran across was the >>> closest thing you'll ever to an AA 'rant.' It was something like, 'I >>> am categorized as a realistic photographer, but great care and >>> effort is needed to make an >> image a >>> viewer will perceive as natural' which I took as AA's very gentle >>> way of saying, 'You know, folks, I didn't just happen upon some >>> dogwood blossoms and >> pull out >>> my >>> point and shoot, that thing too some flamin WORK!' >>> >>> TCB >>> >>> On Tue 13/01/09 8:24 AM , Slobodan Dimitrov s.dimitrov@charter.net sent: >>>> Couldn't agree with you more on this! >>>> The very fact that he was instrumental in the development of PN55 >>>> at Polaroid attests to the possibility. >>>> I mean, who took Polaroid as a serious, and relevant, product at >>>> the time? >>>> sd >>>> >>>> On Jan 12, 2009, at 9:30 PM, TCB wrote: >>>> >>>>> AA had a deep, almost sensual understanding of >>>> all of the > technology involved in >>>>> making an image. I can't imagine he would be >>>> resistant to any newer > tech >>>>> available today, though I also can't imagine >>>> he'd be locked into > any kind of pure >>>>> digital rig. >>>>> >>>>> On Mon 12/01/09 11:05 PM , Nathan Wajsman photo@fr >>>> ozenlight.eu sent:>> I am certain he would. In his autobiography, >>>> written shortly before>> his death in 1984, he comments on the then >>>> revolutionary notion of>> digital photography and makes some very >>>> positive statements about >> what >>>>>> he imagines will be its possibilities. I >>>> cannot find the exact>> reference at the moment, but it is in >>>> there.>> >>>>>> Nathan >>>>>> >>>>>> Nathan Wajsman >>>>>> Alicante, Spain >>>>>> http://www.frozenlight.euhttp://www.greatpix.euhttp:// >> >>> www.nathanfoto.com>> Books: >>> http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/search?search=wajsman&x=0&am >>>> p;am>> p;y=0PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/pawsBlog:> >>> http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On Jan 13, 2009, at 12:18 AM, Geoff >>>> Hopkinson wrote:>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I believe that if AA was with us today, >>>> he would>> be an avid > enthusiast for >>>>>>> Photoshop as his darkroom. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information