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Archive 2014 · Ansel Adams Exhibit

  
 
pjbishop
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


Adams is, as someone else remarked here, the master of tone. He eye for composition was superb as well. I never get tired of looking at his photos and return to them again and again ( in repro ) for pure enjoyment. As well as black and white, he did some exquisite work in color. It should be noted that he did like to tinker with his prints and developed different versions in the darkroom just as digital photographers might produce different versions of a photo by tinkering with tonal balance in Photoshop.

I don't have any original Adams prints but I do have a collection of books of his photos with a decent quality of reproduction. Some of the repro was done under his supervision; other publications are much later with separations by new hands.The quality varies from publisher to publisher and even with different editions of the same book or by the same publisher. If I happen to buy a book with inferior repro, I get rid of it.

The fine Canadian landscape photographer Freeman Patterson put out a little series on photography. The repro of his photos in the original hardbacks by the Canadian publisher Van Nostrand-Rinehart was good. Subsequently, the series went to paperback versions by another publisher, in the same size and format but lacking the tonal subtlety of the originals. One difference was probably the quality of paper. It's such a shame to see an artist's work published in inferior form so that its true merits aren't obvious. Even Ansel Adams hasn't been impervious to mistreatment of this sort. The 'Trusts' that oversee an artist's material legacy aren't always perfectly judicious in licensing.




Jul 25, 2014 at 09:01 AM
Peter Figen
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


Adams used to make prints destined for reproduction slightly flat to accommodate the increase in contrast that always used to happen in the process. He also understood and oversaw the entire process and even claimed he could get a wider range of tones from a printing press than he could in the darkroom.

You're absolutely correct that paper makes a huge difference, and today there are even more factors that make even better printing a reality. Drum scanners, which didn't really come into their own until the late 1980's. Direct to plate imaging, skipping the intermediate and very lossy steps of separation negatives. Digitally controlled presses (as opposed to digital presses) which make ink delivery much more controllable and consistent over an entire press sheet and press run.

I'd actually love to drum scan one of his original negs and do all the burning and dodging in Photoshop, then print with a quadtone black inkset on a semi-matte McCoy paper. Eliminating the physical paper print in the reproductive process is one more layer to peel back and improve quality. One can only speculate what Ansel would be up to today given the rapid advancement of the tools we use.



Jul 25, 2014 at 12:50 PM
gdanmitchell
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


wtlloyd wrote:
"Moonrise over Hernandez" is a photo I was familiar with via books and web. Pretty much "meh!" has been my reaction, while other AA photos have much more impact in those media forms.
Then I saw an actual print of Moonrise in a gallery. "Oh, now I get it".
Some things just need to be seen in actuality for the impact to be felt. No media reproduction does justice to that particular image.
Regardless of technical merits of a particular print, the full emotional impact an image is capable of bringing is only felt when standing in front of an actual print.
Similar to
...Show more

Adams photographs were not created for our modern, seen-it-on-the-web-and-move-on mentality. They were made to be seen as prints and, as such, they are among the photographs that represent the best that can be accomplished that way.

It has been pointed out that if he were still around to post his stuff on the web, today a lot of it would simply get overlooked. Which, by the way, is also try of the work of quite a few of our current greatest photographers, who are often not noticed online against the background of [fill in your own list of me-too flash-in-the-pan photographers].

Peter Figen wrote:
I'd actually love to drum scan one of his original negs and do all the burning and dodging in Photoshop, then print with a quadtone black inkset on a semi-matte McCoy paper. Eliminating the physical paper print in the reproductive process is one more layer to peel back and improve quality. One can only speculate what Ansel would be up to today given the rapid advancement of the tools we use.


I'm not certain, but I think one of his former assistants (who I know, but who will remain nameless here in case it turns out I'm imagining this) may have done something like that already. I know that the AA Gallery is selling some modern reprints of his work.

pjbishop wrote:
Adams is, as someone else remarked here, the master of tone. He eye for composition was superb as well. I never get tired of looking at his photos and return to them again and again ( in repro ) for pure enjoyment. As well as black and white, he did some exquisite work in color.


To the first sentence, yes. To the last half of the second sentence... I've seen some of his color work and my reaction (along with that of others, including some of his proteges) was "Now I see why he stuck to black and white!"

Another story: Another of his assistants was once tasked with going through Adams' archive of old negatives and making prints — these were not the famous photographs but the others that had been left behind. After viewing all of that work and making (contact?) prints of them, the assistant's description was that they just looked like "record" shots... surprisingly boring.

Which I find very reassuring. ;-)

Dan



Jul 25, 2014 at 01:31 PM
Rajan Parrikar
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


gdanmitchell wrote:
Adams photographs were not created for our modern, seen-it-on-the-web-and-move-on mentality. They were made to be seen as prints and, as such, they are among the photographs that represent the best that can be accomplished that way.
Dan


A great photograph should be able to stand on its own regardless of the output medium. A great piece of music does not become any less great if it is heard in one's living room instead of in an acoustically-enhanced auditorium. The experience may be heightened in optimal conditions but at its core a great work of art ought to speak to people in any medium even if the full impact of the work may not be realized in some situations. A great photo has a few elements to it, some of them quite independent of the medium.



Jul 25, 2014 at 01:40 PM
RustyBug
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


gdanmitchell wrote:
Which I find very reassuring. ;-)

+1 @ "one leg at a time"

Seeing his work in person made me realize the imperfections, the continued effort and the excellence that comes with vision & discipline at which he approached his work.

To that end (and the fact that his workflow spanned decades of experimentation and development) ... very reassuring that we can also apply those tenets to our progressive growth, if we will so choose to be as studious, diligent and workmanlike as he was.

Most folks however ... don't want to put forth that kind of effort. Kinda like the diff @ crafting a concerto o vs. a u-tube jingle.



Jul 25, 2014 at 04:59 PM
gdanmitchell
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


He was a bit obsessive. (From what I hear, today he might be diagnosed as having ADHD. Note the difficulties with school, combined with deep interest in music and photography, and his predilection for being self-taught.) He also experimented to discover how things worked best. And his work was not "perfect," though he excelled at excellence.

Dan

RustyBug wrote:
+1 @ "one leg at a time"

Seeing his work in person made me realize the imperfections, the continued effort and the excellence that comes with vision & discipline at which he approached his work.

To that end (and the fact that his workflow spanned decades of experimentation and development) ... very reassuring that we can also apply those tenets to our progressive growth, if we will so choose to be as studious, diligent and workmanlike as he was.

Most folks however ... don't want to put forth that kind of effort. Kinda like the diff @ crafting a concerto o vs. a
...Show more



Jul 25, 2014 at 08:34 PM
RustyBug
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


I had an opportunity to speak with his son on one occasion. Dr. Adams was most confident that his father would have embraced the digital world (and all the experimentation that is would offer) with great enthusiasm ... as Ansel was aware of the early R&D of it.

+1 @ how things worked (best). I remember seeing a photo of his workspace once. On it was an image (straight print, I suppose) with markups on the print of the tonal value changes he was planning on making, and also a notebook. I saw this image long before I ever saw one of his prints in person.

While seeing the markup & notebook were a bit of an "Ah-ha", seeing the prints afterwards "connected the dots" back to his workspace @ how he would want to push/pull us around an image.



Jul 25, 2014 at 09:04 PM
gdanmitchell
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


RustyBug wrote:
While seeing the markup & notebook were a bit of an "Ah-ha", seeing the prints afterwards "connected the dots" back to his workspace @ how he would want to push/pull us around an image.


Much of what he did to photographs in optical/chemical post was roughly equivalent to what we do in digital post today, though some things we can do he could not. I sometimes wonder if he would trade the control of digital post for giving up the unique quality of every print that comes from his methods. (Some folks have pointed out that one thing that was/is different about the film process was/is that every print was a unique object, and not exactly the same as any other. That realization is perhaps more clear now in this era in which every print can be essentially the same, so his perspective might have been different.)

Dan



Jul 25, 2014 at 09:09 PM
RustyBug
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


+1 @ the inherent variability diff of wet vs. digital.

But, I'm quite sure he would have liked opacity, masks and the "undo" button.

However, if you think about it, we often talk about progression of RAW software in future terms (both @ software development and personal PP growth/change). In that regard, an image I shot and processed 5 years ago ... if I go back and reprocess it now, it comes out different. Or if I switch to C1 from LR/PS or use an upgraded plug-in, etc.

In that regard, I think that the curve of technology and personal technique retains an element of uniqueness for those who aspire to go beyond the "straight" pp at what they can do with the tools of the day (and their personal growth with those tools) ... even though we do have a much easier time @ save/reprint. But there too, ink development still continues to change and things like metal substrate and metallic papers, etc harken to the myriad of options/combinations.

Imo, AA was pushing the envelope in trying to mix/match/ experiment with the available elements of the day to generate his (changing) desired presentation of his message. For those who think the approach/discipline of AA is behind us, just because the wet darkroom is no longer a mainstay part of the masses @ digital (not inferring anyone here) ... they probably haven't really embraced the spirit/heart of AA's passion for our beloved craft ... maybe they just know he is famous and has some really cool pics.

Beyond the imagery that AA brought to the world, I think he brought a paradigm shift about the process of bringing those images to fruition, to wit:

Rules ... what rules ... i.e. whatever it takes to make you see/feel what I want you to see/feel.
Steadfast, methodical, analytical progression @ understanding the cause & effect of process variation





Jul 25, 2014 at 09:44 PM
Rajan Parrikar
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


gdanmitchell wrote:
Much of what he did to photographs in optical/chemical post was roughly equivalent to what we do in digital post today, though some things we can do he could not. I sometimes wonder if he would trade the control of digital post for giving up the unique quality of every print that comes from his methods. (Some folks have pointed out that one thing that was/is different about the film process was/is that every print was a unique object, and not exactly the same as any other. That realization is perhaps more clear now in this era in which every
...Show more

I will not speculate on what Mr. Adams might/might not have done since he does not interest me. But your claim above is not true. In these digital times, there is nothing to stop a photographer from revisiting a RAW capture and reinterpreting it as many times as (s)he wishes. We can have multiple and unique variations of prints of a single capture today, with a degree of facility and freedom not available to people in the past. To summarize: every print need not be the same, pace your assertion.





Jul 25, 2014 at 10:15 PM
RustyBug
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


I don't think Dan was saying that we don't / can't have that variability ... just that for Ansel Adams EVERY print had a variability despite his best efforts to impart exacting controls.

Manually performing D&B is not exactly a perfectly repeatable activity ... this (and other aspects of human processing) just suggests (imo) that digital may take on a bit more clinical feeling activity than he had been accustomed to (and he may not prefer that was Dan's point, iiuc). To me, that's kinda like how you can compose music on a computer, but it isn't the same experience as working it out on an instrument by the touch of your fingers or the breath from your lungs ... just not quite the same thing.



Jul 25, 2014 at 10:33 PM
Rajan Parrikar
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


RustyBug wrote:
Manually performing D&B is not exactly a perfectly repeatable activity ...


Neither is post-processing on the computer if you start afresh with a RAW file at default settings.




Jul 25, 2014 at 10:38 PM
Ed Brooks
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


Back in the 1980"s, while visiting my daughter in San Diego, I had the privilege of seeing AA last show, while he was alive. It was in a little gallery in Balboa Park. His prints were exquisite. I thought his posters were as good as many photographers prints - his enlargements were certainly cut above anything I had seen. To compare his enlargement [from sheet film] with most work produced today is like comparing grapefruit to limes. Digital is very different. Especially greyscale images, which back then were called black and white. For 30 years, I shot black and white- mostly for newspapers and never came close to achieving anything remotely as beautiful as his work. Almost all images produced these days are technical marvels and few of them reach the level of artistry that he achieved. Unfortunately, I acquired an allergy to darkroom chemicals, or I would still be doing darkroom work today.



Jul 25, 2014 at 11:06 PM
gdanmitchell
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p.2 #14 · p.2 #14 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


RustyBug wrote:
I don't think Dan was saying that we don't / can't have that variability ... just that for Ansel Adams EVERY print had a variability despite his best efforts to impart exacting controls.


Exactly what I meant.

Ed Brooks wrote:
Back in the 1980"s, while visiting my daughter in San Diego, I had the privilege of seeing AA last show, while he was alive. It was in a little gallery in Balboa Park. His prints were exquisite. I thought his posters were as good as many photographers prints - his enlargements were certainly cut above anything I had seen. To compare his enlargement [from sheet film] with most work produced today is like comparing grapefruit to limes. Digital is very different. Especially greyscale images, which back then were called black and white. For 30 years, I shot black and
...Show more

There are folks printing digitally today who produce prints that are every bit as beautiful as those done by the best photographers/printers of film. In my view the inkjet prints don't look the same as darkroom prints, but they can look just as beautiful. There can be more than one kind of beauty.

Your point about artistry is critical. There are a lot of folks who photograph with great feeling and there are a lot of folks who are very adept at technical matters, but the number who master both is much smaller.

Dan

Edited on Jul 26, 2014 at 09:28 AM · View previous versions



Jul 26, 2014 at 12:54 AM
RustyBug
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p.2 #15 · p.2 #15 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


gdanmitchell wrote:
There are a lot of folks who photograph with great feeling and there are a lot of folks who are very adept at technical matters, but the number who master both is much smaller.


Indeed.

Mastery of each one is indeed challenging, mastery of both is rare.

I often liken it to a master cabinet maker who can tell of the many flaws (character) and technical errors in each piece crafted, that may or may not be detectable, yet has presented a piece that lets its beauty shine through whatever flaws are present. Being a master cabinet maker is one thing, being a master finisher is yet another. Here again, being both is very rare.

It is challenging to teach both sides of the brain simultaneously and that is why a true mastery artistic craftsmanship of any kind takes such a lengthy time to be developed to a mastery level in both areas. Today's world (old dinosaur warning) is filled with productivity that is a shortfall of mastery, but can still be popular. Brittney Spears and Justin Bieber are popular and made $$$ that most of us will never know ... but that isn't the same thing as having the craftsmanship of Mozart or Bach.

For many, today's camera / software is their ticket to being devoid of the painstaking development of a mastery for image making. Ask most photographers today about the tenets of light, hue, human vision, emotive response, scale, mass, balance, message delivery, etc. or which painter has most influenced their image making and they struggle to put them all together. Ask them what the difference is between using multiply blend mode, instead of curves and they are rarely aware of the mathematical operatives that underlie what PS is doing to make those adjustments.

Some would argue, what does it matter ... as long as the end product looks good? What does it matter how the Mona Lisa was painted or how Damascus blades were produced or how a Stradivarius was made or how David was chiseled. Sadly, those are masteries that we don't have true answers for. Having the command & control of applied process is part of the artisan mastery, but having the vision to create them is as well. No two Steinway piano's will truly play/sound the exact same way, yet they are made with a mastery that understands how to put all the pieces together in a way that delivers an unyielding excellence.

Being a master craftsman to make/tune a piano is a far cry from being a master musician to play such a fine instrument. Nary a person lives today that can both build such a masterful piano and play it with a likewise mastery that touches the emotive response of others as strongly. Ansel Adams understood how to build the instruments (process) that would yield the responsive interplay of light. While the musical notes are merely a matter of physics, and light is as well, the craftsmanship of interplay (execution and composition) in those tenets to deliver emotive (message) response is that which distinguishes mastery over competency.

To all the master artisan craftsmen, past, present and future ... though the masses of the world may never fully appreciate your works, may there always be those who do.




Jul 26, 2014 at 07:59 AM
RustyBug
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p.2 #16 · p.2 #16 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


Rajan Parrikar wrote:
Neither is post-processing on the computer if you start afresh with a RAW file at default settings.



That's only because you aren't following the exact same process. Adams aspired to have exact process control (for variable introduction assessment, etc.), but the limits of human involvement prevented it from being exact.

On a computer, I can step by step follow the exact same controlled steps and yield the same result if I so choose. Adams did not have such a choice. In that regard, I DO NOT use ACR's default settings (which may change from version to version). I reset ALL default settings to zero to establish a baseline.

I can take an image, use a blue channel mask and apply a 35% dodge, restricted to tonal ranges of 167-212, over a gradient filter that is applied to an opacity of 72% and multiplied times the red channel for tonal values of 42-57.

6 * 3 = 18 ... every time. ((6 * 3) +1)) ^ .88 = 13.3445... every time. Taking numbers between 0 and 1 and applying mathematical operations (digital pp) is an exact and repeatable process. Hand waving D&B tools, not so much.

I can do that repeatably with the exact same precision every time as long as I follow my notes (or use the recorded action), Adams did not have that kind of repeatability as he was hand manipulating his darkroom tools, etc.. As an iterative process, those deviations (slight as they may seem) have cascading implications throughout the process. For this reason, Adams' ability to retain exacting repeatability wasn't available to him as much as it is available to us ... whether we choose to construct and use it or not.

Some additional food for thought ...
http://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/blog/11531/22-quotes-by-photographer-ansel-adams/



Jul 26, 2014 at 08:18 AM
Rajan Parrikar
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p.2 #17 · p.2 #17 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


Let me try again.

If you want replicas of prints today you have at least two choices. Save the master file and print away. Or start with a RAW file and follow a written-down recipe (add +2 contrast, -20 Clarity, +14 Saturation and so on). This is a choice that people of Adams's generation did not have and is an obvious point on which there is no disagreement.

But the current day analogue to what Mr. Adams was doing is to start out with a RAW file at default settings (or whatever settings the RAW convertor of your choice comes with) and then work towards your final outcome. Despite your best attempts to produce your imagined ideal, you are very likely to arrive at a slightly different version every time - the adjustments will have changed a bit, the brush strokes, the sequence of steps will be just a little different, and so on. That is to say, in practice you will have the same issue Mr. Adams had although the technologies are very different.


RustyBug wrote:
That's only because you aren't following the exact same process. Adams aspired to have exact process control (for variable introduction assessment, etc.), but the limits of human involvement prevented it from being exact.

On a computer, I can step by step follow the exact same controlled steps and yield the same result if I so choose. Adams did not have such a choice. In that regard, I DO NOT use ACR's default settings (which may change from version to version). I reset ALL default settings to zero to establish a baseline.

I can take an image, use a blue channel mask and
...Show more




Jul 26, 2014 at 12:01 PM
RustyBug
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p.2 #18 · p.2 #18 · Ansel Adams Exhibit


Rajan,

Gotcha @ the clarification, thanks.

+1 @ we can have it either way.

I do tend to experience the latter, as I typically don't keep copious notes, actions, macro's etc. for replication purposes. I'm still in a very much learning/experimenting/development/exploration phase ... over a long haul, hoping to put it all together at some point down the road.



Jul 26, 2014 at 12:10 PM
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