David Muench moves from LF to MFT (?)

[Brian Stein]

Sure: born 1936 makes him 74.... didnt St A move smaller with the passing of the years?

I am usually reluctant to use one of the "in previous times people cared more..." arguments* but in this case it does seem that there is a dumbing down of the viewing public's expectations of image quality which would not hurt.

(*IIRC Cicero ran with this around 50 BCE....)

[Drew Wiley]

Amen Brian. Age is getting to quite a few of us. In my case I'm still perfectly comfortable lugging a 75lb pack with an 8x10 in it - it's just that I make less miles
in a day than I did a decade ago. So I'm out in the shop this week fiddling with
carbon fiber and fiberglass and so forth, and will probably end up with a pack ten
pounds lighter than previously, without sacrificing the 8x10. But further down the line, you know ... come into the world in diapers, go out with diapers ... begin
photography with 35mm, go out with 35mm.

[Frank Petronio]

Maybe his fling with toy digital cameras will loosen him up so he finally does something creative with his view camera after 65 years or so? I think it is odd he bypassed the DSLR and went with such puny sensors but perhaps he equates the results he gets with watercolors? Dollars to donuts he prints them on rag paper.

I don't discount his work too quickly though. Like Ansel Adams, it's an entry level drug that draws people into photography. The more inquisitive ones look a little deeper but back when I was a proto-tree hugger (and not a photographer) I enjoyed Muench's work, along with Ed Cooper and bunch of other large-format color climbing/nature/postcard togs. Then I found Ansel and started down this path.

[dsphotog]

He sounds happy, isn't that what really matters?
I'll be glad if I'm shooting anything at that age.

[Hovmod]

Perhaps he's the real Chuck Norris of photography: When David Muench needs to adjust the focal plane, Spacetime warps accordingly.

[tbeaman]

Almost sounds like the kind of guy who was using a view camera just because he thought he was supposed to. And now, he realizes, he doesn't.

No big deal. Some of us are gearheads. Some not. All of us (I hope) are about the image. And we each have different audiences, including ourselves.

You probably don't know much about David or you would not have made that statement.

Obviously, I don't. Am I supposed to? I was simply stating the impression I was given by the information presented in that article alone. In it, he seems to emphasize that the gear is not the most important thing, and his end product only requires a certain level of technical image quality. I gathered that maybe that meant a view camera was never really necessary for him.

I'm not sure where what I said should be taken as negative criticism. In fact, I thought I was being positive and supportive, and trying to remind all of us, through him, that the technical stuff isn't always the most important. I'm in support of people using what works best for them.

I certainly didn't mean to belittle his record and experience.

[rdenney]

Denneys is prolific, but does that mean I have to eat there?

Hey, watch that spelling, pal!

Rick "not Denny" Denney

[Daniel Stone]

mmm....

Grand Slams for $3.99

making me hungry .

ohh.. thats right, need to buy film first before breakfast

-Dan

[Drew Wiley]

Muench was a master of his equipment and of light measurement. Mostly Technika;
and view-camera-style movements along with very wide-angle lenses were integral to
his well-known style. But with so much imagery already in stock, and this maybe
switch it equipment, maybe his style will also loosen up and he will allow himself to do
some of that more creative work which Kirk claims he is capable of. I would hope so,
and would love to be proven wrong about the guy.

[Kirk Gittings]

[QUOTE]maybe his style will also loosen up and he will allow himself to do
some of that more creative work which Kirk claims he is capable of./QUOTE]

Drew,

This may be the dumbest interchange I have ever had on this forum. One more time.....where did I say anything remotely related to this? For some strange reason throughout this thread you have been trying to put words in my mouth.