Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/06/02
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> How did his pictures
>of Half-Dome and El Capitan transcend the merely spectacular (which
>they would have been in a lesser photographer's hands) and become
>powerful (which they indisputably are)?
I think this touches on another crucial component of a powerful image: the
emotional response of the photographer. The power of Adams's best photos is
achieved by careful control of the tones in the final print. The insight
and inspiration for using his technical knowledge are what create the
emotional content of the image, not the technique itself.
There are dozens of books on technique written by uninspired darkroom
technicians.
There are dozens of pictures of momentous, dramatic, moving, or otherwise
significant scenes that don't resonate.
The powerful images come from photographers who are emotionally involved
with the subject and have the technical and asthetic skills to carry out
their vision.
That's a general answer, but unless we're talking about a particular
photograph then it's a general question.
- -Charlie
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Charles E. Dunlap
Earth Sciences Department
University of California
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Tel.: (408) 459-5228 Fax.: (408) 459-3074
mailto:cdunlap@es.ucsc.edu
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