Ansel Adams exhibit

"Neil Gould" wrote in message
.. .
I don't know why I put off visiting the Ansel Adams exhibit at the
Cleveland Institute of Art for so long. The Meredith family collection of
110 of Adams' prints is truly amazing. Seeing many of the prints in person
that I have in books was quite an eye-opener. The books do not do these
prints justice! Unfortunately, the exhibit closes after Sunday, but if
anyone is in the area that hasn't yet seen this, I strongly recommend that
it is an opportunity that shouldn't be missed.

I always encourage those expressing the least bit of interest in photoraphy
to visit their local art museums displaying traditional black and white
silver gelatine images. The commercial reproduction process really does
those images no justice at all. And it's not just the books and magazines,
but now the computer.

An interesting exercise, should any have the opportunity, is to visit the
Ansel Adams gallery at Yosemite Village in Yosemite National Park. Adams
has in his will left about 24 original negatives of images taken in the park
by him over the years with instructions that prints from them be made
available to the public at reasonable cost rather than the thousands
commanded by his other prints. Over the years, that "reasonable cost" has
increased to today's $175. But that still is "reasonable" for an "original"
Adams print.

http://www.anseladams.com/index.asp?...ATS&Category=9

The recommendation should you purchase one in person (as versus over the
net) is to go when there is no crowd - early in the day on a weekday morning
is best. Once you determine which image you want, politely ask the clerk to
see 3, possibly 4, prints of that image. You'll probably get some push
back, but they will accede to your request if you persist...after all, with
no other patrons about, they don't have much of anything else to do. Now
lay those images on the counter side by side and study them carefully. You
will see differences among them because they are individually handmade.
Some will have more detail in the shadows, others more in the highlights.
The differences may be subtle, but they are there. Contrast that with the
machine reproductions that go for about $20 apiece...each is exactly as the
others.

By the way, at Stanford University is currently an exhibit of images by
Yosemite photographers.

http://museum.stanford.edu/news_room/Yosemite.html

I don't know why I put off visiting the Ansel Adams exhibit at the
Cleveland Institute of Art for so long. The Meredith family collection of
110 of Adams' prints is truly amazing. Seeing many of the prints in person
that I have in books was quite an eye-opener. The books do not do these
prints justice! Unfortunately, the exhibit closes after Sunday, but if
anyone is in the area that hasn't yet seen this, I strongly recommend that
it is an opportunity that shouldn't be missed.

Neil

Hi,

I saw the exhibit when it was the Art Gallery of Ontario last winter.
It is well worth the trip. It is mind boggling to see "Half Dome",
Canyon del Chelly" or "Moon Rise over Hernandez" in the flesh so to
speak, at their actual size. It's when you see them at their actual
size that you can the incredible detail in the photos. I had a large
magnifying glass with me and was better able to appreciate the detail;
then you stand back and appreciate the grandeur of the photo. It was
also interesting to see his early stuff. There's a different AA at work
here. Actually, I prefer some of his early stuff to the grandiose that
he printed later. There are also negs that were printed at different
times, early style (different paper) and the later grandiose style.

A must see exhibit if you have the chance. You'll never get another
chance to see that many Ansel Adams prints in one space at the same
time.

Be prepared for information overload. I had to go back a second time to
soak it all in. Just too much for one visit.

Enjoy!

Bogdan

Neil Gould wrote:

I don't know why I put off visiting the Ansel Adams exhibit at the
Cleveland Institute of Art for so long. The Meredith family collection of
110 of Adams' prints is truly amazing. Seeing many of the prints in person
that I have in books was quite an eye-opener. The books do not do these
prints justice! Unfortunately, the exhibit closes after Sunday, but if
anyone is in the area that hasn't yet seen this, I strongly recommend that
it is an opportunity that shouldn't be missed.

Neil



--
__________________________________________________ ______________
Bogdan Karasek
Montr‚al, Qu‚bec bogdan at bogdanphoto.com
Canada www.bogdanphoto.com

"I photograph my reality"
__________________________________________________ ______________

Recently, Bogdan Karasek posted:

Hi,

I saw the exhibit when it was the Art Gallery of Ontario last winter.
It is well worth the trip. It is mind boggling to see "Half Dome",
Canyon del Chelly" or "Moon Rise over Hernandez" in the flesh so to
speak, at their actual size. It's when you see them at their actual
size that you can the incredible detail in the photos. I had a large
magnifying glass with me and was better able to appreciate the detail;
then you stand back and appreciate the grandeur of the photo. It was
also interesting to see his early stuff. There's a different AA at
work here. Actually, I prefer some of his early stuff to the
grandiose that he printed later. There are also negs that were
printed at different times, early style (different paper) and the
later grandiose style.

I would have as hard a time picking out a favorite as Tom Meridith.
Unfortunately, I'd never be in the position to "just buy them all", as he
did! ;-)

The shots taken in the period of 1944-47 immediately grabbed my attention,
though the others were every bit as worthy of attention. Definitely input
overload!

One thing I wondered about; there is a portrait of Edward Weston taken in
the late 1920's (~1927). The exposure was difficult and exquisitely
handled. It was mentioned that Adams used a spot meter for the shot, but I
presume it wasn't a Weston at that early date? ;-) What spot meters were
available during that time period?

Neil

"Neil Gould" wrote
One thing I wondered about; there is a portrait of Edward Weston taken in
the late 1920's (~1927). The exposure was difficult and exquisitely
handled. It was mentioned that Adams used a spot meter for the shot, but I
presume it wasn't a Weston at that early date? ;-) What spot meters were
available during that time period?


SEI photometer:
http://www.shutterbug.net/techniques...1002sb_thesei/
http://www.kcbx.net/~mhd/2photo/film/expose/sei.htm

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Darkroom Automation: F-Stop Timers, Enlarging Meters
http://www.darkroomautomation.com/index.htm
n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com

Recently, Nicholas O. Lindan posted:

"Neil Gould" wrote
One thing I wondered about; there is a portrait of Edward Weston
taken in the late 1920's (~1927). The exposure was difficult and
exquisitely handled. It was mentioned that Adams used a spot meter
for the shot, but I presume it wasn't a Weston at that early date?
;-) What spot meters were available during that time period?


SEI photometer:
http://www.shutterbug.net/techniques...1002sb_thesei/
http://www.kcbx.net/~mhd/2photo/film/expose/sei.htm

Thanks, Nicholas!

The SEI looks like an ingenious device! However, the first reference puts
its date of manufacture well after the photo of Weston was taken.

Neil

"Neil Gould" wrote

The SEI looks like an ingenious device! However, the first reference puts
its date of manufacture well after the photo of Weston was taken.

There is always the obvious solution to the conundrum: the original premise
is in error and the photo was taken after 1935 and/or it didn't involve a
spotmeter.

Walk down the hall to the library...

Adams, A.; The Making of 40 Photographs, pp. 144-145:

"Edward Weston, Carmel Highlands, California, c. 1940"

The type of meter isn't mentioned but as he carries on about metering the
highlight on EW's forehead it's odds-on it is a spotmeter.

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Darkroom Automation: F-Stop Timers, Enlarging Meters
http://www.darkroomautomation.com/index.htm
n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com

Recently, Nicholas O. Lindan posted:

"Neil Gould" wrote

The SEI looks like an ingenious device! However, the first reference
puts its date of manufacture well after the photo of Weston was
taken.

There is always the obvious solution to the conundrum: the original
premise is in error and the photo was taken after 1935 and/or it
didn't involve a spotmeter.

Walk down the hall to the library...

Adams, A.; The Making of 40 Photographs, pp. 144-145:

"Edward Weston, Carmel Highlands, California, c. 1940"

The type of meter isn't mentioned but as he carries on about metering
the highlight on EW's forehead it's odds-on it is a spotmeter.

Seems the likely resolution to the issue, and not the only error in the
exhibit. One image had a date of printing one year before the photo was
taken! Surely, Adams had vision, but...

Neil

Nicholas O. Lindan wrote:
"Neil Gould" wrote

The SEI looks like an ingenious device! However, the first reference puts
its date of manufacture well after the photo of Weston was taken.

There is always the obvious solution to the conundrum: the original premise
is in error and the photo was taken after 1935 and/or it didn't involve a
spotmeter.

Walk down the hall to the library...

Adams, A.; The Making of 40 Photographs, pp. 144-145:

"Edward Weston, Carmel Highlands, California, c. 1940"

The type of meter isn't mentioned but as he carries on about metering the
highlight on EW's forehead it's odds-on it is a spotmeter.

I am not sure about the meter, but in one of his books, probably "The
Negative," he says that when it is possible, you can walk up to the subject
and meter it even with a Weston Master 5 (or something like that) that has
about a 5 degree field which is slightly spotty. But that may have been Fred
Picker's version of it.

--
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"Jean-David Beyer" wrote

I am not sure about the meter, but in one of his books, probably "The
Negative," he says that when it is possible, you can walk up to the
subject
and meter it even with a Weston Master 5 (or something like that) that has
about a 5 degree field ...

It's the Weston Ranger 9 that has a viewfinder and semi-kinda-almost
18 degree spot. The 'Master' series are selenium cells with a fly's-eye
grid and a 50(?) degree angle.

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Darkroom Automation: F-Stop Timers, Enlarging Meters
http://www.darkroomautomation.com/index.htm
n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com