Ansel Adams: Do you fight or embrace his influence on your landscapes?

[John Kasaian]

Lately I've been feelin' the urge to get in a brawl with Edward Weston.

[Drew Wiley]

High-end black and white reproduction techniques already exist. People like most of us generally can't afford that kind of thing unless it's maybe a gamble on a once in a lifetime book that sucks up our entire life savings. But I wouldn't confuse this kind of reproduction with garden-variety inkjet. That in itself can be nicely done, but still fails for many kinds of images, esp those that involve simulating complex or subtle toning. The whole point, however, is that any such thing - unless it was the photographer's chosen medium to begin with - is a reproduction and not an original. The AA trust can afford to do this sort of multiple-pass things from time for high-quality copies of his famous images. Gosh ... it getting to be a stuck record, however. I can't even find decent reproductions of Carleton Watkin's work. The ones in books were so-so, and gave a poor impression of the subtlety of his actual prints. AA certainly wasn't the first notable photographer on the block, even in Yosemite. But that's marketing ...

[Lenny Eiger]

High-end black and white reproduction techniques already exist. People like most of us generally can't afford that kind of thing unless it's maybe a gamble on a once in a lifetime book that sucks up our entire life savings. But I wouldn't confuse this kind of reproduction with garden-variety inkjet.

Inkjet printers can all be outfitted with b&w inks, and can all print exquisitely. There is no "garden variety".

What we have is garden variety people who print, whether that be in the darkroom, with alt process or inkjet. There are people that have trained their eyes, and pay attention to the subtleties, and those that don't, who don't want to bother, or can't yet, as they haven't met that 10,000 hour mark, or however long it really takes to go from a mediocre printer to an excellent one.

All you have to do is compare at the work done by AA vs the same prints made by his assistants. The assistants didn't do very well. Further, most of these images printed in a calendar book, aren't fine prints. They're just offset, which can be a lot better these days, but it was just ok....

I am not sure I want any more LF photographers influenced by AA's work. I'd like to see some other influences, where we are looking at landscape, ourselves, our culture, a bit deeper.

Lenny

[Drew Wiley]

Lenny, I was referring to inkjet in general. Yes, I know that some of you can do very good work in monochrome inkjet. But there are PROPRIETARY true press techniques which can really stretch the qualtitative possibilities. These kinds of operations require expensive industrial equipment, not just a good scanner. And I do mean expensive. Not to be confused with ordinary halftone like most books and calenders etc. Yes, AA did sell numerous prints up there at Best Studios made by assistants. But you seem to forget who some of these assistants are. Some of them are highly accomplished printers in their own right. Alan Ross still officially makes silver prints from the original negs, if that if what someone wants rather than a press reproduction, and he has been making them all along according to AA's specific tutorship per image. Sadly, I've learned that Rondal Partridge is now bedridden and unable to print anymore; but he did manage to stay active in the darkroom until around 95!

[Heroique]

Sometimes I feel like fighting with Andre Kerestz.

Lately I've been feelin' the urge to get in a brawl with Edward Weston.

I just wanted to say I’m getting a kick out of your "fights"! They lighten all our serious talk about fishes and half-tones. My great hope is that you'll also tell us which photographer you have the urge to "embrace." Georgia O'Keeffe? Cindy Sherman?

I am not sure I want any more LF photographers influenced by AA's work. I'd like to see some other influences, where we are looking at landscape, ourselves, our culture, a bit deeper.

I wish I'd included a poll. But from my general sense of the replies, and with a lot of reading between the lines, it seems "More AA" is fairly equal to "Please, less AA." Just as many and hugs as slugs. However, I had expected more bear hugs than we've seen.

[Drew Wiley]

That's like a "more salt" or "less salt" survey, Heroique. Aren't we allowed to use any other kind of spice?

[Heroique]

That's like a "more salt" or "less salt" survey, Heroique. Aren't we allowed to use any other kind of spice?

"Dorothea Lange: Do you fight or embrace her influence on your portraits?"

(Still in R&D – but she might be the paprika to AA's salt.)

[Drew Wiley]

In this town Dorothea Lange is both revered as a photographer and still dreaded as an individual. Anti-stalking restraining orders were invented for people like her and her camera. She has zero influence on me simply because I am humanly incapable of the kind of photography she did so well. I know my limitations. I did take some grazing goat portraits Saturday. They were too busy eating to seem to mind. A relative of Dorothea comes in here almost daily. These famous photo types tend to have tangled family trees, and in this particular instance, the more-salt/less-salt influence has hybridized with the more-pepper-spray-defence canister/ less pepper survey, at least if we factor in AA's early assistants, which did not in fact all grow beards and wear cowboy hats! (Sorry to disillusion anyone).

[wager123]

your comment about AA assistants is way off base I would put several of his assistants ( Ross & Sexton ) up against anyone. I have seen one of AA prints printed by him next to the same negative printed by Alan .


QUOTE=Lenny Eiger;1231243]Inkjet printers can all be outfitted with b&w inks, and can all print exquisitely. There is no "garden variety".

What we have is garden variety people who print, whether that be in the darkroom, with alt process or inkjet. There are people that have trained their eyes, and pay attention to the subtleties, and those that don't, who don't want to bother, or can't yet, as they haven't met that 10,000 hour mark, or however long it really takes to go from a mediocre printer to an excellent one.

All you have to do is compare at the work done by AA vs the same prints made by his assistants. The assistants didn't do very well. Further, most of these images printed in a calendar book, aren't fine prints. They're just offset, which can be a lot better these days, but it was just ok....

I am not sure I want any more LF photographers influenced by AA's work. I'd like to see some other influences, where we are looking at landscape, ourselves, our culture, a bit deeper.

Lenny[/QUOTE]

[Lenny Eiger]

your comment about AA assistants is way off base I would put several of his assistants ( Ross & Sexton ) up against anyone. I have seen one of AA prints printed by him next to the same negative printed by Alan .

It's not way off base, you just disagree with me. I was up at the AA Gallery in Yosemite, and I noticed a marked difference. Hey, maybe its only the ones that they have vs somewhere else. I've met both of these guys, had nice conversations with them, and had Alan over at my house. They're nice people. However, as an example, I don't appreciate the way the John Sexton prints. It's deliberate, to be sure, he knows what he is doing. However, I don't like it. It's too much of a commercial look for me.

These people are not gods, they are humans, and artists. And, as any artist knows, if you put your work out there, there will be people that like it and people that don't.

I prefer Frederick Evans, Paul Caponigro, Watkins, Sutcliffe. Different style.

Lenny