Ansel Adams color slide show

[Kirk Gittings]

http://www.time.com/time/photogaller...974604,00.html

I have never been very fond of AA's color work-it just doesn't have the depth or drama of the B&W IMHO. But here is a nice selection.

At least one of these looks suspiciously like an infamous Norsegian glass plate, but in color and flipped! Maybe that's why I don't like his color-they were done by Uncle Earl!

[Brian C. Miller]

I remember browsing the book, Ansel Adams in Color, when it came out a number of years ago. The images were OK, but he never really persued color. I think he would have liked Photoshop: "astonishing developments await us in...[the] electronic image."

[jp]

They had a color AA photo or two mixed in with the Stieglitz and OKeefe exhibit at the Portland (ME) museum of art a couple years ago. It was not good. There was on a small wall all by itself a pretty large cibachrome of a desert scene in golden light and it was colorful, but not a good presentation. The contrasty scene printed on cibachrome was just a tough combination. It was also not that sharp and fairly grainy; I'm wondering if an intermediate image had been made to reduce contrast or something. It looked real bad compared to Eliot Porter dye transfer prints or John Paul Caponigro inkjet prints. No disrespect for AA's talents or for Cibachrome, but they are not suitable for all photographic needs, and excel nicely for certain situations.

[Robert Brummitt]

I had the pleasure of printing some Ansel's color work just before the book came out. The lab, (Custom Color of Palo Alto, Calif) where I was employed, was working with a digital company that scanned the original chromes and I had to make the contact I-negs for prints. It was fun! I had never seen 8x10 Kodachromes! The masters.
The only problem, I had argued that the I wanted to do some dodging and burning and was told to print them "Straight". I said that Ansel had said the negs were the score and the printing the performance. The word from my bosses was the AA foundation wants the prints to match the chromes.
Like I said it was fun! I was to get a copy of the book for my efforts but the VP of my lab intercepted it. Darn it! I got a copy later from a friend later. I understand that some Cibachromes were made as well of the chromes. I wonder if that printer had to print them "Straight" as well?
The images on Time article looks like they have been enhanced.
Later after I left Custom I was told that the AA foundation was looking for me. Oh-oh!

[Kerik Kouklis]

The church at Rancho de Taos is pretty nice as is the shipwreck. Thanks for the link.

[Darin Boville]

Abominations. Adams would have never allowed these to be published if he was alive.

Note to self: Destroy all work that I don't want seen.

Note to self: Put strict limits of any trust I set up for my assets.

--Darin

[Ken Lee]

Only one image made mid-day, as far as I can tell. All the rest are at dawn or dusk.

[QT Luong]

So do you think Adams excluded them from his oeuvre, or was just waiting for color technology to allow him to print them the way he wanted ?

[sun of sand]

Sunset From Hurricane Ridge is the only one id consider a partial dud

Tree, Barn, Near Livemore is maybe my top choice out of these
Cliffs of the Pali i like also..its a tweener but has some character i like more than the other ones

[Robert Brummitt]

From what I understand. Printing color, when Ansel was trying his hand at it, was Dye-transfer and that was pretty hard to do. I tried it studying under Charlie Cramer. Thank goodness (my opinion) Kodak decided to discontinue making the materials. I went back to type C and R papers. Fuji Crystal Archive was the best paper in my opinion.
I also read that Ansel visited a photo show of Eliot Porters work, the master of Dye-transfers, looked at some cloud photos and said "Not white enough." What he didn't know was Eliot was sitting on a bench behind him and heard this.