Are you a Weston or an Ansel?

[bobbysandstrom]

When you don't know where you are going, there are basically two ways to get from point A to point B. 1) Get out a map and follow the straightest most expeditious route... or 2) Get in your car and drive until you find your way there. Both ways work... only one's quicker. Now, who's happy to see your face when you get there... that's a different story.

 

[Ole]

Or 3) Find out where you are, and why you are there. Maybe you weren't supposed to be anywhere else?

 

[gnashings]

I find that in many artforms, persons of very different methodology have a great deal of admiration for their opposites. What I mean is that a lot of the time you find people thinking "I just can't do that... I wish I could, but I can't" while the other person is thinking the same thing, only about their own methods. Even in personal life I find that friends of mine whom I admire greatly for their ability to organize and be very thorough and systematic almost to a man admire those mutual aquaintances who are spontaneous and impulsive. And vice versa. I have a hunch - and this is pure "literary license" - that if you asked either man he would tell you that deep down he wishes he could do what the other does - but simply cannot and has to use his own approach. The reason I say that, is that as thought out and technically perfect as Mr. Adams' work is, I dont ever find it sterile or mechanical - the massive intricacy of his techical knowledge seems to be a very obedient servant to his creative passion - which I believe is simply amazing.
Hmmm... sorry about the phiosophy discourse - I hope I am not too off topic - these were just some of the thoughts the discussion sparked. Personally, I would love to be a master of all the knowledge that Mr. Adams has made palatable to mere mortals like I - but I would never want to sacrifce on its altar the part of me that became fused to a Holga for a week and once swung a Lubitel by its straps with the timer on jst to see what would happen.
And if ever, ever at all, my name and either one of these staggering talents is combined in the same sentence, it will be along time before I can correct whoever speaks, as I will need to be peeled off the floor and reanimated

I just can't vote on this one... I think I'd feel waaaaaaay out of my depth and slightly blasphemous by choosing either. This is not false modesty - its just a blunt self-assessment of my abilities.

 

[ronlamarsh]

Ansel or weston?

I'd have to say it depends on what I'm shooting; if I am using my TechIII handheld, HP5,grafmatic, no meter, sunny F16, I'm a Weston(I wish) but with my 5x7 or 4x5 monorail I try to very carefully think through the scene and take as many meter readings as possible and plan developement accordingly. The only variation is I meter what I visualize the most important area of the subject give it a zone placement according to my visualization then meter the other areas, make notes and adjust my technique(pre-exp, filtration,dev) from there.
To the Gent who lost respect for Weston after reading his day books: I too have read them along with other biographical material and I must say I would have a hard time feeling good about myself had I done those things. I would love to be able to be a student of his(his early death and my late birth make this dream) but I think i would restrict myself to learning the photographic process and making coffee and leave the rest alone. However I could use some rumba lessons.

 

[df cardwell]

Coming back round to the premise: are we logical, methodical, and reliant upon a formal approach to translate a scene to a picture ? Or do we see the picture and have an instinctive response that makes the picture ?

This might be the most important issue in photography today. Does the approach suit the photographer ? For Adams, the System was liberating. For Weston, it would have choked him.

For Adams, having a hundred ways of making a picture gave him enough choices to get him close to his vision. Weston learned one way of working and rode it hard his whole career, bending and flexing it as he needed, supporting his growth throughout his career.

So. Are you driving yourself nuts trying to get great lanscape shots with the whole zone system thing, the spot meter, densitometer and film graphs ? Are they technically wonderful but boring ? Maybe a more intuitive approach, simpler and more direct, would free you up.

Are the pictures adventurous but technically unsound, do the emotions get lost in the process ? Maybe a more methodical approach would help.

The idea of looking at 'creative lives', how artists met the challenges they faced, and how their work evolved, is a time honored way of learning about one's art. But it has slowly vaporized in photography. Today, it's (too often) all about the gear and technique.

 

[mfobrien]

Although I admire both and have a huge library with a lot of works about them and by both men, I think Weston had much more fun with women, so of course I would like to be more like Weston! In reality, I think some posters hit it right when they said Weston's approach was less "clinical." Both men though, knew their materials well, and knew how to get the most from what equipment they used. Both knew how to burn/dodge in the darkroom. However, given the minimalist approach taken by Weston, that man really knew his stuff. Both had a passion for their art and craft, and both made superb pieces of work. Still, I think Weston's breadth of work is awesome; Adams was the better promoter. Weston had great nudes -- Adams zero. I'd probably rather go drinking with Ansel, though.

It would be presumptuous of me to even think I could work like either man -- but on a good day my approach is more like Weston's than Adams. On a bad day it's more like Gary Winogrand.

 

[Robert Brummitt]

I rather be Imogen Cunningham!!!

 

[Donald Qualls]

I understand Ansel and how to apply the Zone System (though I'm limited by my tools -- spot meters are more expensive than any camera I own), but I'm much more inclined to shoot like Weston -- "wave the meter around and then pull an exposure out of the air" pretty closely describes my methodology, except that I don't even use a meter for medium or small format, for the most part. Sunny 16 works so well, I just leave the meter in the bag with my plate cameras, and bring it out when they're taking the sun...