Edward Weston and his Graflex

[Scuffy]

Hi guys! I looked around and I didn't see an answer to this so I'll offer the question up. I'm very fond of Edward Weston's work and I have started a display cabinet with such things as copies of his Day Books and misc. photo related objects. My question is this: I'd enjoy purchasing a camera of the same make and model as his 2 1/4" X 3 1/4" Graflex to also display but I'm at a loss as to which model that is. Does anyone have any ideas? Unfortunately I don't know the past Graflex line of cameras.

Thank you!!

 

[Dave Parker]

you might try over on http://www.graflex.org, they are the best resource for information about graphic cameras.

Dave

 

[Nick Zentena]

I thought he used a 5x7 SLR?


http://www.graflex.org/articles/series-d/

Don't know which series.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Paul Strand used a 5x7" SLR, but not Weston.

Weston used one of the smaller Graflex SLRs (2x3 or 3x4, I forget) and an 8x10" flatbed camera, and then later used a 4x5" SLR in place of the smaller one, still using the 8x10". My impression is that he enlarged the small negs by duping them with the big camera.

 

[Richard Boutwell]

Durring his Mexico years I believe he was using a 4x5-inch graflex slr. I remember seeing the portrait of D.H. Lawrence (made while in Mexico), it was a 4x5 contact print. The nudes of Charis in 1934 (and Sonya earlier) are also 4x5 contacts.

He was deffinatly not using a 5x7 slr. You may be thinking of Brett and his 5x7 Linhof (minicam) that he started using around the time of his (Brett's) Guggenheim Grant.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

According to the _Daybooks_ the Graflex in Mexico was a 3x4. You might have seen a contact print that looked like 4x5" from that period, but did you measure it?

 

[David H. Bebbington]

Out of idle curiosity I too checked the Daybooks - Weston often mentions the Graflex but is not big on technical details. In just one place (entry for July 14 1924 while in Mexico) he mentions that his Graflex is 3 1/4 x 4 1/4". but as he was hocking cameras all the time during this period, this is not to say that he didn't come away from the pawnbroker's the next week with a 4 x 5"!

 

[Bill Mitchell]

He switched from 3x4 to 4x5 after Mexico, while living in Carmel. IMHO his portraits suffered greatly in quality after that, probably because he could use the 3x4 hand-held, but he had to use the 4x5 always on a tripod. There is a rather funny picture of him in Beaumont Newhall's autobiograhy, standing up on the camera case trying to see down the Graflex chimney.

 

[felipemorgan]

I don't have the reference handy, but it was, I believe, an article in the "Edward Weston Omnibus" reader written by Weston himself that provided some details on his Graflex. The second one, the 4x5 mentioned by previous posters, was the auto-diaphram model with a heliar type lens. Weston comments on the unique bokeh quality that this type of lens is known for. The focal length of the lens was longer than normal, but not the 2x normal factor often reccomended for portraiture.

 

[Eric Rose]

such hearsay! using the term bokeh and Weston in the same breath!

 

[c6h6o3]

What means 'bokeh'?

 

[Bruce Osgood]

What means 'bokeh'?

From the Japanese. It is a derogatory term usually applied to persons suffering from Alzheimer's disease. It is used to express an out-of-focus mind.

In photography circles it is used to describe the out-of-focus elements of a photograph either in terms of favorably or unfavorably.

I got this information from Mucan on the Contax Users list.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Weston probably never used the word "bokeh," but lens manufacturers and users have talked about the quality of the out-of-focus image since around the turn of the century (particularly in the age of soft focus lenses).

 

[felipemorgan]

Oops, I didn't mean to suggest that Weston used the word bokeh, as he certainly did not, but I do remember his favorable mention of the heliar's rendering of out-of-focus areas. Apologies for any confusion...

This usenet post has some further information:

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.photo.equipment.large-format/msg/23d359665971e1cf

--Philip.

 

[pagancamera]

Edward weston

I am a big fan of E. W. There is a great movie called, "The Photographer". You can get it off ebay from time to time on DVD or VHS. (that is where I got mine), anyhow it was made in the 50's I believe. Edward Weston is the main feature in the movie. It shows him setting up shots and has commentary on Weston's style etc.
As for the size camera he used. It seems to me that it was mostly 8x10 for landscapes and a Graflex 4x5 SLR for portraiture work. I have read many articals and books on Weston. He, (as far as I can tell), never made enlagements. He would do 8x10 contact printing and 4x5 cantact printing. Don't recall mention of a 2x3 camera. But, that does not mean it could not have been in use by him.
I used to have a book called "dark room" this had a section where his son was shown making prints in the same way his father had with bare light bulb and a contact printing frame. There were also some very cool things you can find at the Weston family web site email: gina@kimweston.com
phone: 831-624-8111
web: Dead Link Removed
Anyhow - Weston rocks!!!
Thanks & Peace
Jon B.