Is Salgado, like, magic?

MattKing · Apr 11, 2016

It is very hard to determine which processes were involved once you bring publishing into the mix.

By the way, you could "Report" your original post, and ask the moderators to correct the name in the thread title - Salgado, not Selgado.

markbau · Apr 11, 2016

I have one of his early books and have seen his prints in the flesh a few times. I'm pretty sure he used a bit of liquid light in many prints and some severe, but ultra skilful, burning and dodging.

ParkerSmithPhoto · Apr 11, 2016

I've seen his prints since back in the early 90s, including some of the oil field images, and they were breathtaking, just gorgeous.

I think we all want to find that magic bullet film/developer combo that will give us "The Look" but, alas, we aren't Salgado, or Penn, or Avedon, or...

Eric Rose · Apr 11, 2016

Dominique Granier was Salgado's wet darkroom printer.

NJH · Apr 12, 2016

Big fan, really wonderful tonality on many of his photographs although in the book I have a lot of his earlier work looks very grainy, not in a bad way but grainy nonetheless. He talks about equipment in his book from 'From my land to the Planet'; Leicas, tri-x and D76 for 35mm, Pentax 645 medium format with Trix 320 and they also experimented with Calbe A49. Later digital work all done on Canon 1d and internegatives as noted. Its a fantastic book to read through the mans own story in his own words, although it follows almost exactly the film about him made by Wim Winders 'The Salt of the Earth'. No magic bullets here by the looks of things.

darkosaric · Apr 12, 2016

No magic bullets - but important part of photo equipment is to have good shoes and many many miles in those shoes .

summicron1 · Apr 13, 2016

MattKing said:
It is very hard to determine which processes were involved once you bring publishing into the mix.

By the way, you could "Report" your original post, and ask the moderators to correct the name in the thread title - Salgado, not Selgado.

I worked for 42 years in a business that required me to spell everything correctly. I'm retired now. My sincere apologies to mr. salgado, but the op can stay as it is.

mnemosyne · Apr 13, 2016

summicron1 said:
I worked for 42 years in a business that required me to spell everything correctly. I'm retired now. My sincere apologies to mr. salgado, but the op can stay as it is.

You don't have to do it for Mr. Salgado, but maybe for the sake of your future fellow APUGers interested in Salgados work and searching for relevant threads.

Hatchetman · Apr 13, 2016

Patrick Robert James said:
I hate to burst your bubble but those have been seriously massaged in Photoshop by the looks of it. .

That's my opinion as well.

KidA · Apr 13, 2016

Patrick Robert James said:
I hate to burst your bubble but those have been seriously massaged in Photoshop by the looks of it.

Ummmm yeah, just a bit. The grain structure (to my novice eyes) looks like it was scanned from a neg. And then the extremely popular 'clarity' slider used to get all those mid tones separated and giving that absolutely yucky grain structure we see (as if scanning the neg wasn't bad enough). Mind you, some of them are worse than others; Some are really Photoshopped, some are less.

BUT the photographs are amazing in almost every other way, I'm very impressed! I would love to see the real darkroom prints! Anyone know what sizes these were originally printed?

Ai Print · Apr 14, 2016

gazaparty said:
if that had of been YOU then you would have captured that instead of him.

right place at the right time!

OK, once we got here I figured I would chime in.

First off, the statement above, no, nope and hell no. Not just anyone on this forum could have just shown up and "captured that instead of him". Judging by why and how this thread even started and then got reduced to tech talk says a lot about how many people on here lack an understanding of what it means to perform at this level.

I associate with a fair amount of these highest level shooters and if you think you can just show up, make your snappy snaps and then go home and somehow cook that negative to perfection in your darkroom to get *this*...then you are absurdly mistaken. It takes lots of talent and incredibly tenacious day in day out working methods to even get near and stay near this kind of subject matter. This does not take into account the way he reads light, texture and pre-visualizes the way a print will turn out.

Folks...Salgado is on a level that scant few here will ever understand, as clearly demonstrated on this thread.

Xmas · Apr 15, 2016

Ai Print said:
OK, once we got here I figured I would chime in.

First off, the statement above, no, nope and hell no. Not just anyone on this forum could have just shown up and "captured that instead of him". Judging by why and how this thread even started and then got reduced to tech talk says a lot about how many people on here lack an understanding of what it means to perform at this level.

I associate with a fair amount of these highest level shooters and if you think you can just show up, make your snappy snaps and then go home and somehow cook that negative to perfection in your darkroom to get *this*...then you are absurdly mistaken. It takes lots of talent and incredibly tenacious day in day out working methods to even get near and stay near this kind of subject matter. This does not take into account the way he reads light, texture and pre-visualizes the way a print will turn out.

Folks...Salgado is on a level that scant few here will ever understand, as clearly demonstrated on this thread.

I like all his published shots, any reasonable pro printer could wet print his work...
Though I'd not try myself.

Pat Erson · Apr 15, 2016

CropDusterMan said:
The man is incredible...talent on a completely different level.

The Salgado of "then" (90's Salgado, Magnum member, working with film) has nothing in common with the Salgado of now (solo hit-man, working with digital, creating visual fantasies instead of taking pictures).

darkosaric · Apr 15, 2016

In my opinion "Other Americas" is his best work, pure art - and the best art work that was ever done in photography.

John Bragg · Apr 15, 2016

I liked him better when he shot film. These oil well shots are from that era and they are truely remarkable

ColColt · Apr 15, 2016

Did someone say art? These old eyes have seen countless thousands of photographs and the "Wake" by W. Eugene Smith is what I consider to be art if ever any picture I've seen has. The subject matter, lighting(Rembrandt would have been proud) and any manipulation he may have done are, IMHO, superb.

Xmas · Apr 16, 2016

Hatchetman said:
That's my opinion as well.

His prints from 80's looked just as good in 80s...
He is the master.

Gerald C Koch · Apr 18, 2016

Eric Rose said:
Dominique Granier was Salgado's wet darkroom printer.

I consider printing to be an integral part of the photographic process. It is the completion of what began with pressing the shutter. So the reputation of photographers that do not do their own printing is diminished for me. What would we think if Picasso gave his ideas to an assistant.

RobC · Apr 18, 2016

anyone ever get any commissions to shoot funerals and wakes?

RobC · Apr 18, 2016

I'd hazard a guess that strong Rodinal 1:25 or stronger was used for development or a similar dev prroducing large sharp grain. Could have been tri-x or hp5 but not necessarily.
I couldn't say they were fauxtoshopped. They just look like they've been printed down by someone who knows what they are doing with a small amount of masking involved which could be digital or could be darkroom work.
Fact is that if you look at the images they were nearly all taken in very bright high contrast lighting. The shadows show that in most of the images. i.e. strong shadows in dark parts of the finished images. i.e. printed down but retaining high contrast to maintain the highlights. And maybe some liquid light here and there. Its highly stylised printing for effect.

RobC · Apr 18, 2016

APUGuser19 said:
Obviously NOT Rodinal. Probably the standard D-76. I can tell because there's more than 3 grains in the photo.

but were they grains of truth?

MattKing · Apr 18, 2016

RobC said:
anyone ever get any commissions to shoot funerals and wakes?

I was recently asked by family friends to take photos at first, a closed casket internment service nd later a celebration of life.

It was somewhat uncomfortable, and our friends were uncertain whether it was fair to ask, but I think that they are glad to have the photos.

Gerald C Koch · Apr 18, 2016

RobC said:
anyone ever get any commissions to shoot funerals and wakes?

During the 19th century is was fairly common to photograph dead children propped up in a chair as if they had just fallen asleep. It's obvious they are not asleep and the photos are rather creepy. Still I suppose they gave comfort to the family in an age where many children did not survive.

mooseontheloose · Apr 18, 2016

RobC said:
anyone ever get any commissions to shoot funerals and wakes?

I don't know about funerals and wakes, but post-mortem photography was quite common in the 19th century. It's still done today. I have come across photographers asking about shooting funerals or wakes in more recent years, but I can't find the original links.

ColColt · Apr 18, 2016

The only photo I ever saw of my paternal grandmother was in the coffin. Never understood why there were no photos of her sitting on the front porch in a rocker or hanging clothes outside instead. Same thing with my granny's sister. They brought her into the parlor in a coffin for everyone to see at her home and photographed. This was back in the 50's.

Is Salgado, like, magic?

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Xmas

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Is Salgado, like, magic?

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