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Thread: Ansel Adams: Sierra Nevada The John Muir Trail - repro quality ?

  1. #1
    Founder QT Luong's Avatar
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    Ansel Adams: Sierra Nevada The John Muir Trail - repro quality ?

    Although I am not sure I needed one more Ansel Adams book, after watching the Ken Burns National Parks series, I was intrigued by the role that Ansel Adams book "Sierra Nevada The John Muir Trail" had in helping establish Kings Canyon National Park. I then learned more about its history, as Adams first landscape photography book.

    Ansel Adams expressed himself a lot of satisfaction over the reproductions of the John Muir Trail book, and Szarkowski calls this book a "landmark" in photography mechanical reproduction, so I assume the 1938 book was faithful to the prints.
    The book was reprinted in 2006. Reviews on amazon are mixed, with some complaining about poor reproduction quality, and some (including Ben Crane, who posts here) defending it as faithful to the less dramatic printing style of the early years.

    However, my understanding is that most of the prints in "Ansel Adams at 100" (I am referring to the hard cover version) are also expressly based on earlier prints, yet there is a considerable difference between the centennial book at the John Muir Trail book. Take for instance the Precipice Lake image, and look at the shadow detail. The centennial book looks much nicer to me.

    It's been a while since I've seen the prints, so I don't remember well. I have also never seen a copy of the 1938 book. So my question is, are indeed the reproduction in the John Muir Trail book faithful to the original edition ? To the prints ? If that's the case how about the difference between this book and the centennial book ?

    On a side note, I was struck by how much the cover image looked better on the grey cloth-covered cover, than inside the book, on the white page.

  2. #2
    Michael E. Gordon
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    Re: Ansel Adams: Sierra Nevada The John Muir Trail - repro quality ?

    QT: I cannot speak to the faithfulness issue, but I found the printing/repro quality of the 2006 JMT book disappointing. On the other hand, IMO the centennial book is downright beautiful.

    The books have significantly different retail prices; this obviously affected their respective qualities.

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    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: Ansel Adams: Sierra Nevada The John Muir Trail - repro quality ?

    I saw the book but didn't purchase it because most, if not all, of the images are reproduced in other editions of his work and I too didn't like the reproduction quality.

    I believe that Adams Banner Peak and Thousand Island Lake, Sierra Nevada, California, 1923 is the image that brought him and the Sierra Nevada to national attention. That image, and several others, is reproduced in Ansel Adams 400 Photographs, 2007 - which is a steal at the full cover price of $40.

    Watch it! B&W can grow on you!

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    Re: Ansel Adams: Sierra Nevada The John Muir Trail - repro quality ?

    Quote Originally Posted by tgtaylor View Post

    Watch it! B&W can grow on you!
    I saw the series but one that really caught my attention was a photographer - George Masa. Very little is know about this photographer and his works - but from what I've seen, they're remarkable.

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    Re: Ansel Adams: Sierra Nevada The John Muir Trail - repro quality ?

    Quote Originally Posted by adonis_abril View Post
    I saw the series but one that really caught my attention was a photographer - George Masa. Very little is know about this photographer and his works - but from what I've seen, they're remarkable.
    I bought the DVD about Masa. It was interesting about the man, but photographically pretty dull, which came as a big surprise after all the hype.
    Wilhelm (Sarasota)

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    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Ansel Adams: Sierra Nevada The John Muir Trail - repro quality ?

    Many of the photographs which were influential in the establishment of Kings Canyon
    Park actually looked quite a bit different back then, whereas recent books often attempt to make everything of AA's look very stereotypically cold tone and crisp, which was not necessarily the case, relatively speaking. I'd call some of these earlier images more approachable, even when they have the almost theatrical subject matter and high contrast for which he is best known by the public. Some of
    them weren't all that sharp either by modern standards. The famous Precipice Lake
    shot is downright gritty, and was almost unprintable, being developed prior to the
    Zone System, as I recall. I think that some of these earlier shots have a charm
    and naivette missing from his later work. The Kings Canyon work included both
    shots of this nature, and ones as he was transitioning into his more classical phase.
    The remoter parts of what became this park were apparently never visited by Ansel;
    but we should be extremely grateful for his significant contribution is having it
    given federal protection. Unfortunately, I won't be going up there anytime real soon,
    because it's snowing at the higher elevations virtually all this week!

  7. #7
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Ansel Adams: Sierra Nevada The John Muir Trail - repro quality ?

    Guess I didn't finish my thought, but again, by the standards of the times, the book
    might have been considered a "faithful reproduction" of the original prints, but back
    then AA had to make prints differently just for mechanical reproduction purposes.
    Today you could high-end scan actual fine prints and make far better reproductions.
    I really liked the Ken Burns series, in fact I like all his documentaries; but this afternoon I wasted a little time drooling over some climber's shots of the Black Divide, Ladder Lk, and Enchanted Gorge country. Wonder if I'll ever be able to do
    much in that rugged trailess area again. I can still handle steep grades with a heavy
    pack, but can't cover anywhere near enough miles in a day. Fortunately, the stupid
    bear barrel rule in the park seems to have been repealed, except in a few critical
    areas; but now Quickload holders are disappearing, so the weight goes back up
    again. I'd go to MF only as a last resort. Figure I'll just have to locate some young
    sucker to carry my filmholders some day. Up there is no country for cheap lightwt
    tents either - I carry a Bibler. Almost no trees in the heart of Kings Canyon Park,
    in utter contrast to the utterly hot canyon bottoms. I can hardly wait, but then,
    neither can the mosquitoes!

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    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: Ansel Adams: Sierra Nevada The John Muir Trail - repro quality ?

    Although an otherwise compelling and historically interesting photographer, George Masa was Great Smoky Mountains photographer and did not photograph in the Sierra Nevada. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Masa

    With respect to early Adams images, it should be recognized that both his technical ability and advancements in film technology made great progress in the years ensuing his landmark Banner Peak image and those made in the '30's. Nevertheless his Banner Peak image still holds its own today and the landform itself is recognized as a "crown jewel" of the Sierra Nevada.

    Considering a 130 to 140% above normal snow pack for this year makes for an excellent time to photograph Banner/Ritter Peak for Thousand Island Lake. I'm going to try just as soon as I can get out there without snow shoes.

  9. #9
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Ansel Adams: Sierra Nevada The John Muir Trail - repro quality ?

    Good luck, Tim! Unfortunately, my old boots have started leaking at the seams - I'm
    putting roof goo on them! And my new boots aren't broken in yet. Apparently the
    hard-sided bear barrel nonsense has been revoked in the Mammoth area, provided
    you have something bear-resistant. I carry an Ursack. Only Yosemite is still under
    the heavy container rules. I'd like to get up to Iron Lake from the west side - it still
    appears to have a healthy cirque glacier, and all the west side of the Ritter Range has a lot of solitude compared to the Mammoth side. I grew up with a view of Ritter
    and Banner from the west, so maybe I'm biased.

  10. #10
    Preston Birdwell
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    Re: Ansel Adams: Sierra Nevada The John Muir Trail - repro quality ?

    You guys talking about Banner Peak is making me homesick! I've spent a lot of time in that country, and it's one of my many favorite Sierra haunts. I will say the that view from the top of Banner Peak, down that east face and then over to Ritter and the Minarets is one of the all-time greats!

    I remember looking at some repros of Ansel's work in some old sixties issues of the Sierra Club Bulliten. I found them to be very inspirong, not as a photographer, but as a climber/wilderness person.

    I think many of us who hung around the Sierra in those days were very strongly influenced by Ansel's work and the writings of folks like David Brower and Norman Clyde.

    --P
    Preston-Columbia CA

    "If you want nice fresh oats, you have to pay a fair price. If you can be satisfied with oats that have already been through the horse; that comes a little cheaper."

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