Ansel liked mountains, Edward liked women.

faberryman · Aug 14, 2018

I don't understand why this has become an Ansel Adams vs. Edward Weston contest for greatest photographer. Different men, different images. Each remarkable in his own right.

Eric Rose · Aug 14, 2018

faberryman said:
I don't understand why this has become an Ansel Adams vs. Edward Weston contest for greatest photographer. Different men, different images. Each remarkable in his own right.

Because this is what we have been socialized to do. Us vs them ad nauseam. CNN vs FOX, White vs everyone else, Black vs White, US vs everyone else, my team vs your team, analog vs digital and on and on ....... I'm so tired of flag planting.

Sirius Glass · Aug 14, 2018

faberryman said:
I don't understand why this has become an Ansel Adams vs. Edward Weston contest for greatest photographer. Different men, different images. Each remarkable in his own right.

Because some would not allow us to like both.

South Pacific
– You've Got To Be Carefully Taught Lyrics

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

removed account4 · Aug 15, 2018

faberryman said:
I don't understand why this has become an Ansel Adams vs. Edward Weston contest for greatest photographer. Different men, different images. Each remarkable in his own right.

tribalism

Wallendo · Aug 15, 2018

I appreciate beautiful women ...

but it is safer for my domestic tranquility to stick to photographing mountains.

jtk · Aug 15, 2018

fwiw In my OT I didn't propose that one photographer was "greater" than the other.

There seems to be a correlation between personalities and the photographers they especially prefer. Of the two, I prefer Weston...which may say something about me.

Photographers who mostly love abstractions may be missing key aspects of the physical world around them or something about human relations...or maybe they see things that others miss.

moose10101 · Aug 15, 2018

Vaughn said:
Of course.

From Ted Orland: View attachment 205738

Whenever I see this, I think "Edward took photos from the front, and Ansel took photos from the back?"

RalphLambrecht · Aug 15, 2018

Arklatexian said:
Which Weston are you talking about? The actual prints made by Edward Weston that I have seen look like the maker needed darkroom lessons from Ansel Adams, whose actual prints I have seen also. As to subject matter, when Ansel took pictures of a woman, his pictures showed that he liked women. It seems that when Weston took pictures of women, his pictures showed that he liked sex but not women. Yes, I know the routine; form, lines, and all that. Maybe that was so they would come back and pose again. If you don't know what I have been talking about, get a woman to explain it to you.......Regards!

You don't become popular by being boring;AA was an excellent photographer and teacher!

jtk · Aug 15, 2018

Ko.Fe. said:
HCB wasn't into landscape much. But those he did...
Dead Link Removed
Sorry to Mr. Adams and his fans club, some of us have different taste, landscapes included.

I don't think there's any Ansel Adams fan club here. Where did you get that idea?

HCB was interesting partially because he used a lab (didn't print) and he planned many of his shots in advance.

Vaughn · Aug 19, 2018

moose10101 said:
Whenever I see this, I think "Edward took photos from the front, and Ansel took photos from the back?"

Have to admit that my mind went that direction(s), too.

AA and EW...two very different personalities, and life experiences. When one likes or dislikes (or compares) two artists, that is a reflection of one's biases and history -- not the artistic capabilities and work of the artists being compared

John Koehrer · Aug 19, 2018

Theo Sulphate said:
Even so, yes, they did plan ahead - perhaps weeks or months in preparation. But part of making that noteworthy image is imagining or setting it up beforehand. They probably sucked at street photography and were perhaps the opposite of HCB.

Nope, neither one. Weston did many still life and then ate the edible subjects. Even his nudes were pretty casual other than selecting the background. Adams wandered trails with a packhorse.

Theo Sulphate · Aug 19, 2018

John Koehrer said:
Nope, neither one. Weston did many still life and then ate the subjects presuming edible. Adams wandered trails with a packhorse.

I'd be surprised if it were the case that EW or AA would come upon a scene, photograph it, and then not come back to it later in time for the opportunity of a better shot.

Moonrise was spontaneous - but I'm sure other AA photos were not one-shot affairs made the very first time he encountered them.

Arthurwg · Aug 19, 2018

jtk said:
Ansel liked mountains, Edward liked women. I think we all intuitively know why that was. Don't we?

Let's remember that women LOVED Edward. He apparently had a powerful magnetism that they could not resist.

winger · Aug 20, 2018

John Koehrer said:
Weston did many still life and then ate the edible subjects.

And he got irked with one of his sons when a pepper or something got eaten before he had a chance to shoot it (that was in one of his daybooks).

To add another name to this thread - a few years ago, I saw a Friedlander exhibit and a Weston exhibit the same weekend. Both included some nudes and the difference was striking. I thought Weston's were much more polished and artistic and showed he appreciated the form. Reading the daybooks that's also the impression I got from them.
Overall, I think there are as many styles as there are photographers. Shoot what you want to shoot and do it your way.

Ansel liked mountains, Edward liked women.

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency