Less Is More - Edward Weston's Darkroom

[DREW WILEY]

The only reason EW never owned the camera he really wanted, the lenses he wanted, or a serious darkroom were fact he couldn't afford it.
I'm sure he didn't complain when AA arranged for Zeiss to outright give him a Protar lens.

 

[cliveh]

Perhaps EW was a Zen photographer?

 

[DREW WILEY]

Even when I just make an ordinary contact print with a sheet of 8x10 film under a hung lightbulb, I'm conscious of the equipment. The printing
frame damn well better be flat, with compression material that doesn't add lint or balls of rubbery stuff. And the glass better not leave Newton's rings - in fact, I have optical glass in the frame. I'm too poor to spend the rest of my life exposing sheet after sheet of paper hoping
one will come out right! Same reason I own damn nice enlargers. Do it right the first time.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Perhaps EW was a Zen photographer?

I always thought that Zen was associated with the Zone System. Certainly some of the books read that way.

 

[Doc W]

I always thought that Zen was associated with the Zone System. Certainly some of the books read that way.

You are correct! It was a misspelling. They left out the "o" and put the '"e" in the wrong place.

My darkroom keeps getting more filled with equipment. The last major piece I got was an older ATL 3 and I love it. I use it only for developing b&w film. I shoot a variety of formats but lately (gettin' older), I have been thinking about ditching everything and just shooting 8x10 for contact prints. Life would be a lot simpler and the hobby would be a lot cheaper.

I am keeping the ATL though!

 

[DannL.]

You are correct! It was a misspelling. They left out the "o" and put the '"e" in the wrong place.

My darkroom keeps getting more filled with equipment. The last major piece I got was an older ATL 3 and I love it. I use it only for developing b&w film. I shoot a variety of formats but lately (gettin' older), I have been thinking about ditching everything and just shooting 8x10 for contact prints. Life would be a lot simpler and the hobby would be a lot cheaper.

I am keeping the ATL though!

When I gave up most of my equipment this spring, I came to realize that what I was really seeking was just that . . . "simplicity". Just as you have described. It really must be an age thing. All of those great deals I found over the years didn't help, either. But, the "purge" was intentional, to help me focus primarily on the aspects of photography that I have avoided most. With all of that gear around, I found myself easily distracted. It seems to have worked, though. Now when it comes time to choose which system to use, it's an easy choice. Do I use the 4x5, or 5x7, or 8x10 for this project? And since processing is has been simplified also, I don't need to think about that much. I've been forcing myself to focus now, more on the method and image itself. Sometimes I wonder if it's too later in life to be focused. ;-)

 

[DREW WILEY]

The Zone System can be more like a medieval penitence cult, where you unnecessarily wear a scratchy horsehair garment and flog yourself all day long. But once you're actually proficient at it, you forget all that nonsense and just use what you learned spontaneously, without thinking about it anymore, and adapt it to your own needs. It was just a rite of passage for me. Helpful, but not an end unto itself. You can't
think Zen if you are obsessed with process. You gotta get beyond that, not by ignoring it, but by mastering it.