Your 5 favorite large format COLOR photographers?

[rustyair]

I will go first. It changes every month. :p

-Richard Misrach
-Gregory Crewdson
-Atta Kim
-Alec Soth
-Richard Learoyd

[Bill_1856]

Marie Cosindas

[Vaughn]

Christopher Burkett

Charles Cramer

[Nathan Potter]

Vaughn, yes Burkett and Cramer both master craftsmen. But I have a sense that a lot of their images are somewhat static; maybe more so with Burkett.

I think Misrach is in a different league artistically.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Peter Gomena]

Joel Meyerowitz
David Muench
Andy Goldsworthy
Eliot Porter

[Vaughn]

...I think Misrach is in a different league artistically.

Rather than a different league (and the ranking that it implies), they are just in different books. My opinion, of course. I have met all three, and would hesitate to rank them on artistic levels, or leagues. All see intently and with passion.

[prado333]

Richard Misrach
Joel Sternfeld
Janelle Lynch
Jem Southam
Alec Soth

[Bill_1856]

QT Luong. Let's give credit where it's due.

[paulr]

Stephen Shore
Richard Misrach
Andreas Gursky
Jeff Wall
Alec Soth? Still deciding.

[sun of sand]

If I were walking around with Misrach I'd probably be setting up the camera for the same sort of shots he'd be seeing
But I can skip right through most of his photos without missing a beat. Too other-worldly as if shot in some lost civilization on Jupiter
Beautiful but I get my fill quickly

Eliot Porter
Robert Glenn Ketchum
Some John Pfahl and and every other color photographer
There is another but I can't remember his name now

I hardly ever pay attention to the band/group/performers name ..or the title of the song
Does that mean I don't pick the same music as Billboard or Rolling Stone?


You cant call chocolate chip your favorite if you eat peanut butter more often and often choose peanut butter over chocolate chip
Nothing wrong with just appreciating everything with no favoritism involved
Specialization does not make you more enjoyable to be around or anything else
It may get you laid by another person "deep into that style" but I have little patience for that


If I were to ever have a show of artwork I would display what I felt like
Not a grouping of similar work with any sort of cogent cohesive concise clarified succinct or distilled message behind it


How does that relate to this? I'm sure it twists along the line all the way along the line and the line is what's important ..not the F-G segment

[Daniel Stone]

Christopher Burkett
Ansel Adams(Yes, he did shoot color, although not much has been circulated)
Cole Weston
Andreas Gursky
Jock Sturges

[JohnnyGator]

Ben Horne has been doing some great 8x10 LF stuff lately. His video blogs are amazing to watch.

www.benhorne.com

[Bruce Watson]

The Dean of Color is (still) Elliot Porter. And he's still the best to my eye. I've about given up waiting for someone to unseat the master.

[Vaughn]

If I were walking around with Misrach I'd probably be setting up the camera for the same sort of shots he'd be seeing...


Having watched Richard photograph with an 8x10, it would be safe to say that as we were setting up our cameras, he'd would have taken his photograph and probably a couple more elsewhere before we could get a film holder in our cameras! LOL!

But this was over 20 years ago -- perhaps he has slowed down a little...

[sun of sand]

Elger Esser was the other guy I was thinking of in case you were on pins and needles
Really like him equally for his black and white but his color is yesteryear surreal sublime both uplifting and haunting at the same time

[ScenicTraverse]

+1 for Ben Horne. His work convinced me that I needed to try LF!

[paulr]

Having watched Richard photograph with an 8x10, it would be safe to say that as we were setting up our cameras, he'd would have taken his photograph and probably a couple more elsewhere before we could get a film holder in our cameras!

That's my memory of watching Ed Ranney with his 5x7 ... arms and film holders and dark slides flying in every direction in a blur. I wonder if people who live in the desert, where the light's always changing from minute to minute, become these kinetic monsters by necessity.

[paulr]

The Dean of Color is (still) Elliot Porter. And he's still the best to my eye. I've about given up waiting for someone to unseat the master.

Could you post a link to something of his that shows his mastery?

[Vaughn]

That's my memory of watching Ed Ranney with his 5x7 ... arms and film holders and dark slides flying in every direction in a blur. I wonder if people who live in the desert, where the light's always changing from minute to minute, become these kinetic monsters by necessity.

He might have gotten his habits from chasing fires for his Desert Cantos series... http://pdnphotooftheday.com/2012/09/16943

[IanG]

Very difficult as I'm not a fan of Colour :D

Simon Norfolk
Simon Roberts
Jem Southam
Robert Misrach
Edward Weston

Ian

[Vaughn]

Ed made a few good color images of sea shells.

[andrew gardiner]

Candida Hofer, Simone Nieweg and Hans Christian-Schink are who first come to mind - sorry for so many Germans so here's a Brit:

http://www.davidspero.co.uk

Clever and understated, I particularly like his 'ball' series of photographs.

[IanG]

Ed made a few good color images of sea shells.

If we add colour to B&W the your old pal Thomas Joshua Cooper, many shades of black, grey and redish tones.

More seroiously Bob Carlos Clarke who's book Dark Summer is full of woderful hand coloured/toned images (he used chromogenic colour couplers & colour redevelopment as well).

Ian

[Richard Mahoney]

Taryn Simon
Tina Barney
Paolo Roversi
Norfolk too



Richard

[h2oman]

Elger Esser was the other guy I was thinking of in case you were on pins and needles
Really like him equally for his black and white but his color is yesteryear surreal sublime both uplifting and haunting at the same time

Thanks for the heads up on that guy - I really enjoyed the images I found when I Googled him.

[adelorenzo]

I'm a big fan of Kip Praslowicz (http://www.kpraslowicz.com/).

[Bruce Watson]

Could you post a link to something of his that shows his mastery?

For you Paul, probably not. ;)

But one I've held in my hands is Apples, Great Spruce Head Island, Maine, 1942 (http://www.josephbellows.com/artists/eliot-porter/#1). It's plate 30 in the book Eliot Porter. It may be the most gorgeous color print I've ever held.

If you want someone who understands color and knows what to do with it, Porter is second to none.

[miesnert]

Hans-Christian Schink
Julian Faulhaber
Bas Princen
Andreas Gursky
Peter Bialobrzeski

[andrew gardiner]

If we're talking LF and colour Richard Mosse is worth looking at.

http://www.richardmosse.com

[Jim Noel]

Phillip Hyde is unsurpassed.

[K. Praslowicz]

I'm a big fan of Kip Praslowicz (http://www.kpraslowicz.com/).

Excellent. :)

[Robert Brummitt]

Christopher Burkett
Charles Cramer
Clinton Smith
Elliot Porter
Ansel Adams
EW
Cole Weston (Big Sur photo is his best)
I even have seen some John Wimberley color images I thought "Interesting".

[Mark MacKenzie]

I love Eliot Porter, too, but I thought his photography was 35mm and dye transfer. I certainly might be mistaken.

EDIT: Appears I am mistaken. He used a Linhof 4x5 according to some website. I do know he did alot of bird photography with 35mm. A friend of mine called him "the Ansel Adams of color."

[David Schaller]

I love Eliot Porter, too, but I thought his photography was 35mm and dye transfer. I certainly might be mistaken.

EDIT: Appears I am mistaken. He used a Linhof 4x5 according to some website. I do know he did alot of bird photography with 35mm. A friend of mine called him "the Ansel Adams of color."

I believe he actually did some of the bird photography with LF cameras!

Here is a good description of Porter's dye transfer process:

http://www.cartermuseum.org/collections/porter/collection.php?sec=dyetrans

[Mark MacKenzie]

Thanks for that link. Very interesting. There is a picture of Eliot Porter there with a Graphic View. Glad to see that endorsement! (I love my Graphic View!)

[pdmoylan]

Porter's bird photography at the nest was predominately 4x5 kodachrome. He used some Hasselblad and 35mm on occasion when it was best suited for the situation (Antarctica). Birds away from the nest were frequently with 35mm.

I am adding Dykinga, and O'Hara when he as shooting some 4x5 in the 80s for his National Park book series. Yes to Cramer and especially Carr Clifton whose digital work IMHO is of equal quality to his LF work.

There are a large collection of other LF shooters over the years whose color work was exceptional but are lost among the big hitters. Of course Philip Hyde had a wonderful eye.

It's interesting that David Meunch and others who shot for Arizona Highways are not among other's choices.

[David Karp]

Paul Schilliger

[biedron]

It's interesting that David Meunch and others who shot for Arizona Highways are not among other's choices.

Actually, he was on Peter Gomena's list. But I like his work an awful lot so count +1 or more :)

I also like Charles Cramer, Jack Dykinga and Carr Clifton

Of the locals, Jim Becia and Preston Birdwell come to mind

Bob

[h2oman]

If you we're gong to start leaning toward the Meunch/Dykinga school, the Brit Joe Cornish does some very nice work. And another vote for Paul Schilliger.

[Uri A]

Looks like people are divided into the Modernist gang and the Contemporary crowd.

[Bill_1856]

See one Eliot Porter image, and you've seen them all, (except, possibly, the Redbud in Kentucky woods).

[andrew gardiner]

Looks like people are divided into the Modernist gang and the Contemporary crowd.

Care to expand?

[Uri A]

Care to expand?

This is a massive topic, but I'll try :)

Modernism (in photography, as well as other artforms) is characterised by the artists desire to find and express a hidden "truth" or essence in their subject matter. This is accomplished by endeavouring to employ a certain technique (wet-plate, large format, color, B&W, drawing, oil paint, ceramics, etc) and take that technique to its limits - i.e. become a "master" at it. By mastering the technique and using ones creative insight the artist hopes to be able to show something that exists in nature but is not visible to someone without this combination of formal skill and artistic creativity (think of Weston's capsicums). This is why there is a lot of abstraction in modernist art: the artist is showing you something in nature that you can't see. Adams, Steichen, Weston, Avedon, etc are all key modernist photographers. For more on this read Clement Greenberg, who was the champion critic of modernism.

Modernists are generally concerned with technique, aesthetics and finding a hidden truth or essence in nature, rather than being motivated by political, philosophical or social narratives (although there are notable exceptions to this - Arbus comes to mind, Steichen to an extent).

What we now call "contemporary art" seeks to move away from the focus on "aesthetics for aesthetics sake" and trying to depict truths, favouring an examination of society, politics or philosophy to express in art. Contemporary artists reject the formalistic ideals of mastering a specific artform and often either work across several mediums (although artists like Gursky, Wall, Struth, etc do seem to stick to photography). Gursky, for example uses hired technicians to do his retouching, composing, lab work, scanning, diasecs - almost like Andy Warhol did with his factory screen prints. There is no truth in a Gursky photo, but certainly many ideas about the word to discover, wonder and argue about! There's no emphasis on mastering it all yourself, like Adams would have done. Jeff Wall's work is technically excellent, but what is important to him is the statements he makes about art (often painting), composition, colour, society, etc.

In essence, modernist photography is an aesthetic endeavour: trying to create or express beauty, whilst contemporary photography is usually less about technique, truth or perfection and more about engaging in a narrative about politics, society etc or responses to existing art.

As far as this thread goes, my first comment was just pointing out that people's top-5 show that they generally prefer either the modernists or the contemporary artists (even if they are unaware of the distinction).

[JMB]

Curiosly, if I were to guess at the inquiry simply by reviewing most of the responses, I would have thought that the task was to name the five weakest large format photographers that have managed to gain some level of recognition. I have seen some Kertesz color polaroids that were quite elegant, but by and large color only seems to weaken potentially strong photographs. Accordingly, it seems incongruent or futile to think about favorite large format color photographers.

[Uri A]

Curiosly, if I were to guess at the inquiry simply by reviewing most of the responses, I would have thought that the task was to name the five weakest large format photographers that have managed to gain some level of recognition. I have seen some Kertesz color polaroids that were quite elegant, but by and large color only seems to weaken potentially strong photographs. Accordingly, it seems incongruent or futile to think about favorite large format color photographers.

I rest my point :)

[emmett]

Paul Outerbridge
John Pfahl
Joel Sternfeld
Roger Mertin
Jim Dow

How's that for diversity?

[pdmoylan]

See one Eliot Porter image, and you've seen them all, (except, possibly, the Redbud in Kentucky woods).

You obviously haven't seen all of his work.

[pdmoylan]

Curiosly, if I were to guess at the inquiry simply by reviewing most of the responses, I would have thought that the task was to name the five weakest large format photographers that have managed to gain some level of recognition. I have seen some Kertesz color polaroids that were quite elegant, but by and large color only seems to weaken potentially strong photographs. Accordingly, it seems incongruent or futile to think about favorite large format color photographers.

My attitude about color is if you can't control it, let it control the image. It is far too difficult IMHO to manage color accurately along with proper contrast, no matter the scanner. Adams generally shunned color for this reason. With Dye Transfer Porter attempted to approach accuracy but contrast was a huge issue for him as it is in color generally, even now. Since you don't offer 5 strong color candidates, I assume you have a bias against popularity rather than quality.

[David R Munson]

Masataka Nakano is probably my number one, not really sure about positions 2-5. He did a book of places in Tokyo with nobody in them, and he did it on 4x5 and 8x10 color film. The results are gorgeous, and I swear nobody else knows about it. The book is called "Tokyo Nobody" and it's one of my favorite books. I'm going to attempt to attach some examples culled from around the web.

93494

EDIT: nevermind, remote servers are cranky. Google image search "Masataka Nakano" to see some of his work.

[jonreid]

I like the social landscapists such as Misrach, Sternfeld, Soth, Shore etc.
I've never heard of this guy before but thought some might be interested in this work.
http://johselnamkung.net/a-retrospective/for-book-lovers/

Jon

[RHITMrB]

All for different reasons, in no particular order:

- Alec Soth
- Joel Sternfeld
- Todd Hido
- Edward Burtynsky
- Gregory Crewdson

[miesnert]

Todd Hido uses a Pentax 67.

[Jerry Flynn]

I find it interesting how few have cited Joel Meyerowitz. He was THE guy around 1980 who was making color photography acceptable in the fine art (i.e. major non-photo gallery, MOMA) world. He was using an 8X10 for the Cape Light series, for example.

Jusy a fad, I guess.

[marfa boomboom tx]

Todd Hido uses a Pentax 67.

then how about his teacher, Larry Sultan.(RIP).. a former classmate of mine...