Edward Weston

[Steven Ruttenberg]

Interesting video.

[Bruce Barlow]

Yes, very interesting.

My big takeaway: Once again, validation that you use one film, one developer, one paper, and one print developer. Then learn through many, many pictures what these materials can do. While the materials then influence what pictures you make...well, that worked pretty well for him!

I wish I had that discipline!!

[MichaelPRyan]

Right on! And then hope it doesn't get discontinued.

Yes, very interesting.

My big takeaway: Once again, validation that you use one film, one developer, one paper, and one print developer. Then learn through many, many pictures what these materials can do. While the materials then influence what pictures you make...well, that worked pretty well for him!

I wish I had that discipline!!

[Jim Jones]

The parts of the video showing Edward Weston are from a 25 minute film, The Photographer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8S4HoxuDzw, by Willard Van Dyke and released in 1948. Ironically, at this time Weston was doing less B&W photography, and was finishing a series of 8x10 Kodachrome transparencies for Kodak. It is obvious in the film that the once vigorous photographer was suffering from the onset of Parkinson's disease. 1948 was the last year he could handle a camera, although he continued to supervise the printing of prodigious quantities of his photographs.

[Doug Howk]

Was the paper Ed Weston used Kodak AZO or some other chloride paper?

[tgtaylor]

It's interesting to note that Kim Weston, who said he printed many of Edward's negatives with his father Cole, described those negatives as being "bulletproof" and that they were developed for as long as 30 minutes.

Thomas

[Steve Sherman]

I spent a weekend at Wildcat Hill and overnight in the Bodie House. Kim gave us a tour of the house and EW’s darkroom. He showed us a “project print” which was printed by Brett. It remains the single most luminous and vibrant print I have ever seen, Museum or otherwise. Interestingly Kim told us EW only made 6 prints of Pepper # 30 himself. All others were project prints made by others. Kim went into say EW felt Brett’s version on grade 1 was too contrasty and preferred his own printing on grade 0.

[tgtaylor]

When I was at Wildcat Hill Kim showed us a Brett Weston negative that he salvaged after Brett had punched holes in them with a puncher. From my recollection it was a standard exposure - one that could be printed on a Grade 2 paper. Thus it would appear that Edward over-developed his negatives rendering them suitable for alternative (platinum) printing and Brett developed normally, as for SG printing.


Thomas

[sanking]

When I was at Wildcat Hill Kim showed us a Brett Weston negative that he salvaged after Brett had punched holes in them with a puncher. From my recollection it was a standard exposure - one that could be printed on a Grade 2 paper. Thus it would appear that Edward over-developed his negatives rendering them suitable for alternative (platinum) printing and Brett developed normally, as for SG printing.


Thomas

Edward Weston was known to have used a pyro staining developer. Pyro staining developers have a higher effective density range when printing with platinum, or other UV sensitive processes, than when printing with silver. He writes about this in the the Daybooks from the period of his stay in Mexico.

Sandy

[Merg Ross]

Was the paper Ed Weston used Kodak AZO or some other chloride paper?

Hi Doug,

Some of the finest prints Edward made were on Convira and Velour Black chloride papers. He did print on Velox and Azo. The prints by Brett for the Fiftieth Anniversary Portfolio were made on Haloid Industro, a chloride paper. The Project Prints, that Brett printed from 800 plus negatives chosen by Edward, were also made on Haloid Industro.