Observations of early Ansel Adams

[ScottPhotoCo]

As I am researching for a long-term project I have been viewing historic work by many artists at the incredible Huntington Library in Pasadena, CA. The curator of photography recommended that I look at some of the early work of Ansel Adams as I try to finalize the process that I will use to create the final prints of this long term project.

Yesterday I was able to spend a couple of hours privately viewing Ansel's Parmelian Prints of the High Sierra that were gelatin silver prints produced as a portfolio in 1927. (More at http://blogs.princeton.edu/graphicarts/2010/04/not_photographs_they_are_parme.html)

I will be the first to say that I am not a huge fan in general of Ansel Adams. I greatly respect his vision and what he accomplished in his craft and I do enjoy seeing his work from time to time. I do also very much an appreciate the intense approach to crafting an incredible image through his process and technique.

The images from this series were printed on a light, thin paper and the image seemed to sit on top of the paper in a very pleasing manner. The paper has a very light yellow/brown tone though I'm not sure if the paper was originally like this or if it came from age.

You could see Ansel's perspective even in this very early work. The series was almost entirely sharp and extremely detailed with the exception of one pictorial style more soft and glowing style image. This struck me as odd in such a cohesive series.

What I most appreciated in this work was the art of the print. None of these were large yet they retained incredible detail. Ansel certainly had no issue allowing some of the whites to go completely white. But in the dark tones there was only one or two images where he chose to go to complete, detail-less black on an image. The dodging and burning was tastefully done without the heavy-handed halos so often seen in lesser works.

Overall it was a very educational and enjoyable experience as I continue to feed my head with approaches, ideas and quality work. Next week, very early Weston works to view. I do love this stuff.

Tim
www.ScottPhoto.co

[hmf]

Shouldn't this be in the "On Photography" section?

[ROL]

Tim, I would encourage you to read AA's autobiography (and bios of others who you are researching) before presenting his (their) work as an undergraduate museum visit exercise. Understanding the man, may help you better relate to his images as artist.

[Darin Boville]

Hey Tim,

I for one would love to hear more of your experiences looking into Ansel's early work. We hear so much on this board from photographers who basically plant their tripods in those well worn holes (both literally and figuratively)--and can't understand why everyone else doesn't lionize them for it--that we all get a sort of distorted view of Ansel and his work. Sharing what you find in Ansel's early work--even if only your own reactions to that work or your thoughts on your own project as it moves forward--would be a welcome contribution. Just ignore the folks who would shout you down.

--Darin

[brucetaylor]

Geeze, ROL, a little harsh? I think it's perfectly valid for Tim to share his impressions on the work he saw. He wasn't writing about what AA thought of his own work. There are certainly many ways of looking at art: trying to see it through the creator's eyes, or within it's historical context, or as someone encountering it today from a current perspective, or any combination. Should the work stand on its own or do you need to read about the artist's life to "get" it? I don't think there is any "right" answer.

[Alan Gales]

Tim, I would encourage you to read AA's autobiography (and bios of others who you are researching) before presenting his (their) work as an undergraduate museum visit exercise. Understanding the man, may help you better relate to his images as artist.

+1 Excellent advice!

I have always been an Ansel Adams fan and after reading his autobiography I appreciate him even more.

View Camera Magazine showcased George Tice and I just didn't get it. Later I saw a documentary on George Tice and I became a fan. I was exposed to more of his images and I also got an insight into what he was trying to do. I now understand the man and his work a whole lot better.

[ghostcount]

As I am researching for a long-term project I have been viewing historic work by many artists at the incredible Huntington Library in Pasadena, CA. The curator of photography recommended that I look at some of the early work of Ansel Adams as I try to finalize the process that I will use to create the final prints of this long term project.

Yesterday I was able to spend a couple of hours privately viewing Ansel's Parmelian Prints of the High Sierra that were gelatin silver prints produced as a portfolio in 1927. (More at http://blogs.princeton.edu/graphicarts/2010/04/not_photographs_they_are_parme.html)

I will be the first to say that I am not a huge fan in general of Ansel Adams. I greatly respect his vision and what he accomplished in his craft and I do enjoy seeing his work from time to time. I do also very much an appreciate the intense approach to crafting an incredible image through his process and technique.

The images from this series were printed on a light, thin paper and the image seemed to sit on top of the paper in a very pleasing manner. The paper has a very light yellow/brown tone though I'm not sure if the paper was originally like this or if it came from age.

You could see Ansel's perspective even in this very early work. The series was almost entirely sharp and extremely detailed with the exception of one pictorial style more soft and glowing style image. This struck me as odd in such a cohesive series.

What I most appreciated in this work was the art of the print. None of these were large yet they retained incredible detail. Ansel certainly had no issue allowing some of the whites to go completely white. But in the dark tones there was only one or two images where he chose to go to complete, detail-less black on an image. The dodging and burning was tastefully done without the heavy-handed halos so often seen in lesser works.

Overall it was a very educational and enjoyable experience as I continue to feed my head with approaches, ideas and quality work. Next week, very early Weston works to view. I do love this stuff.

Tim
www.ScottPhoto.co

Thanks for sharing Tim. Not a huge fan of Ansel either but I wouldn't mind having his print hang on my wall. :)

[Drew Wiley]

It was apparently those Parmelian prints which put AA on Stieglitz's map and lauched the better-known side of his career. I don't think if he were alive today he'd
appreciate a bunch of backpacker kayaks floating around Thousand Island Lake while attempting to bag a shot of the lake with Banner Peak in the background. Neither would I. But this series of prints was seminal for a kind of transition point in his work, and it was certainly before his hard-nosed f/64 phase. I wouldn't term
it still pictorial, but simply not technically what one expects of him later in life. The signature poetry to the composition and atmospheric quality to the light is pretty obvious, however.

[tgtaylor]

Interesting. Albumin paper was thin, was available in tones, and the image sits on top of the paper too. Could those prints have been printed on albumin paper?

Thomas

[ghostcount]

I believe they were made on Kodak Vitava Athena Grade T Parchment paper.

[ScottPhotoCo]

Thank you everyone for your comments here. This is what I love about art, it encourages spirited conversations of differing perspectives and I think that that is awesome. :)

Let me clarify something. I have HUGE respect for Ansel Adams and his work. Many years ago it was some of his prints hanging at the UC Riverside campus that helped stir my deeper interest in photography. I often go out of my way to see original work made by him and if he were still alive I would gladly drive quite a way out of my way to meet and learn from the man himself.

For some reason, when I see Mr. Adams work I am very inspired technically but it doesn't inspire me visually to create work as works by other people may at this point in my journey. This is absolutely nothing against the man, his work or his legacy. The world, in my opinion, is a better place because of his passionate and beautiful work and efforts in preservation. That is an incredible legacy.

What I am looking for at this point is final process inspiration. I have never seen and been able to hold and examine prints like these and it was an amazing opportunity and experience. I will tuck away this knowledge and my personal interpretation of what I saw as source inspiration for things that I make moving forward. I was simply hoping this post would inspire some interesting conversation and I thought that some others might have something beneficial to add as well.

Again, than you all for your thoughts, suggestions and ideas.


Tim
www.ScottPhoto.co

[paulr]

Can you tell us more about the project?

[ScottPhotoCo]

Can you tell us more about the project?

Hello Paul,

Thank you for asking. I am beginning a long-term project with the kind assistance/advising from a Curator of Photography of a major art institution here in Southern California. It will be a large format based-pictorial influenced project lasting a number of years. That's all I can share for now. :)

ps. Love your sub/culture work. Makes me miss NYC. Such a great city with so much inspiration.


Tim
www.ScottPhoto.co

[Bill_1856]

I believe they were made on Kodak Vitava Athena Grade T Parchment paper.

I understood they were printed on paper make by Dossenville, a local San Francisco photographer, with the same base paper used for writing and coating the emulsion.

[paulr]

Thank you Scott.

I still wouldn't know how to be helpful with your project ... you've given us one body of work that inspires your technically but not artistically. If you're interested in looking at other kinds of printing decisions made by people from that era, I'd recommend looking at Paul Strand's work. There must be somewhere in your area you could get your hands or eyes on some prints. The retrospective book of his work printed by Richard Benson is for all practical purposes as good as the prints. Stieglits's work from that era as well. I saw some of his equivalents in that little museum in Santa Fe and found them quite remarkable in person.