Re: [Leica] Evercolor

["JeffS" <segawa@netone.com>]

Though I can certainly find things to gripe about with both photographer's
works, I think I would've liked to see the exhibit, as their two styles are
so very different, with Rowell focusing more on large scale dramas
(including his famous image of the Potala (sp?) in Tibet), and Atkinson
finding mood and pattern in inner space, deliberately eliminating points of
reference to indicate true scale, or anything else which might connect the
images to the "real world".

I am less concerned about the grain in Rowell's images than what they say to
me. Some, I feel are mostly nice pictures to illustrate a story, while a few
others are powerful and at times, a little overwhelming. His big Potala
print would be too much for my compact living quarters, as it really needs
to be viewed from a greater distance, and surrounding clutter would detract
from it, but a much smaller print, maybe as little as 5x7", would work.
There is a tendancy to look at such colors and say that can't be true, but
I've seen real-life examples not far from the mark, with filtration being
used mostly to "force" the film into approximating what the eye saw.
Jeff Segawa
See my photography online at
http://www.netone.com/~segawa

- -----Original Message-----
From: Gib Robinson <robinson@sfsu.edu>
>By the way, while I was impressed by the Evercolor printing process, I was
>struck by a number of what, to my eyes, are the limitations in Rowell's
>photographs.  First, he uses Velvia exclusively which means he accepts
>heavily saturated landscapes. Not my cup of tea. I just don't think that
>color palette works well in large landscapes with subtle textures and
>colors. Second, he often takes photos that I think are best left to medium
>or large format photographers (or at the very least Leica users): that is,
>photos that beg for rich detail and extraordinary sharpness to convey
>texture and subtlety. And, of course, he's not using Leitz lenses. To my
>eyes Rowell seems to be working toward the drama and entertainment side of
>photography rather than toward showing us a way of seeing in and through
>what's there in the landscape so that I am learning to see better through
>his photography.  Atkinson seemed technically proficient but without a
clear
>or compelling vision.