William Garnett Aerial Photographs

[h2oman]

I was reading the Jay Maisel book "Light, Gesture and Color," and came across mention of William Garnett, who I hadn't heard of (or forgot about if I had). When I looked him up on the web I found some of his images intriguing. I then found some favorable reviews for the book titled simply "Aerial Photographs," so I ordered a copy. Here is a brief review:

The images are all black and whites from an airplane, many shot straight down, others at a lesser angle to the earth's surface. Most are fairly high contrast, graphic images, often somewhat abstract. Some of them depict landforms that are difficult to identify without reading the associated captions. The closest thing I can identify the photographs with, based on my limited knowledge, is perhaps images by Aaron Siskind or Carl Chiarenza.

I have no idea what sort of camera(s) Mr. Garnett used, and the book gives no technical information of that sort. I doubt he used large format cameras, Regardless, I would recommend this book for anyone who loves good B&W imagery.

[Mark Sampson]

Thanks for reminding us of Mr. Garnett. You can find a good interview and a fine portfolio of his work in the book 'Landscape: Theory', published by Ralph Gibson's Lustrum Press. (Out-of-print now, of course, but available on the used market and a valuable resource for landscape shooters of all types.)
He began shooting aerial landscapes after WWII and has/had quite a reputation... his work is beautiful. In the book I mentioned, he spoke of using a 4x5 Speed Graphic while flying his Cessna 170... and the daunting technical problems he had to solve. I think most of his later work was done with a 35mm Pentax but I'll have to find the book to be sure.

[Merg Ross]

I was reading the Jay Maisel book "Light, Gesture and Color," and came across mention of William Garnett, who I hadn't heard of (or forgot about if I had). When I looked him up on the web I found some of his images intriguing. I then found some favorable reviews for the book titled simply "Aerial Photographs," so I ordered a copy. Here is a brief review:

The images are all black and whites from an airplane, many shot straight down, others at a lesser angle to the earth's surface. Most are fairly high contrast, graphic images, often somewhat abstract. Some of them depict landforms that are difficult to identify without reading the associated captions. The closest thing I can identify the photographs with, based on my limited knowledge, is perhaps images by Aaron Siskind or Carl Chiarenza.

I have no idea what sort of camera(s) Mr. Garnett used, and the book gives no technical information of that sort. I doubt he used large format cameras, Regardless, I would recommend this book for anyone who loves good B&W imagery.

Thanks for posting. Check this earlier forum post and the Scott Nichols Gallery exhibit. On Scott's site (page not found) scroll down to William Garnett and you will find images of his work.

https://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?70923-William-Garnett-San-Francisco-Exhibit&highlight=william+garnett

[John Layton]

Garnett is one of my early heroes. He could pilot a plane as he photographed with a 4x5 over his shoulder - having figured out the precise angle and point of vantage, the precise time of day to be at that vantage point, and then the precise engine rpm's to mitigate vibration. There is certain work of his...I think of his desert abstracts like "Nude Dunes," or his flock of birds flying low over shimmering water - timing and vision just so perfect! I place him on an equal plane (no pun intended!) to another one of my true heroes (who I was fortunate enough to meet): Bradford Washburn.

[Jerry Bodine]

I met Mr. Garnett at one of my AA Yosemite workshops in the late '60s, when he was invited by Ansel to help out with that workshop ... an amazing person. He showed a series of projected color slides taken from his Cessna that were jaw-dropping. He mentioned using his Pentax with thread-mounted lenses that were provided by Pentax to be precisely focused at infinity with his camera body. He described how he would shoot through the open window, controlling the plane with his knees on the column and somehow pull up its nose to the point of stall at the moment of exposure.

[Drew Wiley]

I have a large book of his color images. While he is better known for his black and white shots and b&w printing skill, he was highly competent in color too, and in those images shows the same kind of predilection for sophisticated abstraction. I don't think he actually printed color; the published pages were made from transparencies, mostly 35mm Kodachrome, as I recall.

[Merg Ross]

I have a large book of his color images. While he is better known for his black and white shots and b&w printing skill, he was highly competent in color too, and in those images shows the same kind of predilection for sophisticated abstraction. I don't think he actually printed color; the published pages were made from transparencies, mostly 35mm Kodachrome, as I recall.

Drew, he started making his own Cibachrome prints in the early 1980's. For the color book, he duped the 35mm capture onto 4x5 Ektachrome for reproduction.

[Drew Wiley]

Thanks for that info, Merg. I've never seen any actual color prints of his, just the book. Of course, his b&w prints were exhibited quite a few places in that era and were very well done. Other than Bradford Washburn, I can't think of anyone else in his league as an aerial photographer.

[Eric Biggerstaff]

Garnett is one of my favorites for sure! I cannot photograph a sand dune without thinking about his work, stunning!

[h2oman]

I've enjoyed reading all your responses, giving me further insight into this wonderful photographer. Here is a direct link to what Merg mentioned:

http://www.scottnicholsgallery.com/artists/william-garnett/

I failed to mention in my "review" that the printing of the book seems excellent, in my opinion, and the images are pretty large. My only beef is there are one or two images printed across the gutter between facing pages, which I can't stand. I'd rather see it small, on one page.

[Merg Ross]

Here is a direct link to what Merg mentioned:

http://www.scottnicholsgallery.com/artists/william-garnett/



Thank you for doing that. By the way, there is a link between Scott Nichols and Garnett. Scott was Garnett's student at UC Berkeley in the Environmental Design Department (1970's) where William taught photography. Through that relationship, Scott was introduced to Garnett's good friend Brett Weston, and the idea of a photography gallery was born; Scott Nichols Gallery. Still going strong after forty years, recently relocated to Sonoma, Ca. from San Francisco.

[Drew Wiley]

Indirectly related. But is the relocation just another casualty of the entropy of downtown gentrification, or perhaps a pre-retirement option to less nervous terrain? Relocating is alway a risky step when a limited circle of clientele is involved; but it seems they've got other avenues set up to show actual samples, and not just a web presence. Sonoma is still healing after quake and fire, but I'd rather go there than to SF to see an exhibition.

[Andrew Tymon]

There is a chapter on William Garnett in the book "Landscape Theory" Lustrum press, 1980.

[Merg Ross]

Indirectly related. But is the relocation just another casualty of the entropy of downtown gentrification, or perhaps a pre-retirement option to less nervous terrain? Relocating is alway a risky step when a limited circle of clientele is involved; but it seems they've got other avenues set up to show actual samples, and not just a web presence. Sonoma is still healing after quake and fire, but I'd rather go there than to SF to see an exhibition.

Several factors, Drew. Scott has been contemplating a move for a long time as rents increased in that Geary St. building, and other gallery owners began to flee. I think that those he sold to, the serious buyers, would be just as happy visiting him in wine country as in San Francisco. He has a good location in Sonoma, closer to his home, and without the daily commute across the Golden Gate Bridge. You are probably aware that Brett Weston is his specialty, work he started collecting in the 70's before the boom. Sonoma will recover, and always be a destination.

[Drew Wiley]

Thank you once again for your special insights, Merg. Downtown Sonoma, if it can be called a downtown, had earthquake damage to older buildings, but largely escaped the surrounding fires. But it put quite a dent in seasonal visitorship. But if he's mainly dependent upon longstanding known clients, relocation won't be a significant issue. I looked at the area for gallery use myself, and while it might have been a realistic commute in more youthful years, it certainly isn't now! I've been peripherally involved in a remodeling project even further up the line in Calistoga, but did that in my own shop here, and didn't need to do the installation myself. I would like to drive that way soon and see what has greened up after the fires. Another fire narrowly missed a friend of mine right across the Carquinez strait, which actually jumped the River briefly into Crockett, where the channel is nearly a mile wide. I spent Saturday with another fellow who lost a house to the Santa Rosa fire, but fortunately it was vacant at the time because they had already begun relocating for other reasons. I love the large live oaks around Sonoma. They make certain restaurant outdoor settings inviting. "Oak-land" has lost all of its own, at least the ones down on the flats for which the city was named. I think the last one was cut down around 1910. They were used for barges and docks etc, being quite a bit bigger than the many oaks still remaining up in the hills. I was hoping to go back out today with some heavier artillery and rephotograph some big live oaks inland which I shot last week scouting around with the 6x7, but want a bit closer replication of the same light, maybe tomorrow.