Looking for New Pictorialst society or other like groups

Robert Brummitt · Jun 23, 2007

Hey there.
Portland Photographers Forum is playing with the ideal of doing a Pictorialism/aternative process event in the Pacific Northwest. We have a site, We have space for a show, we have ideas, but we need photographers. I had ran into a group called "The New Pictorialist Society" back in 2004. Are they still active? Have they evolved into something else?
I have some names but I would like more input. Can you Apuggers help me, please?
Thanks

copake_ham · Jun 23, 2007

What's a pictoralist? :confused:

Peter De Smidt · Jun 23, 2007

A pictorialist was a member of a photographic movement, mainly in the early 20th century, that thought that photography should imitate tradional painting. They tended to use soft focus lenses and went for a dreamy atmosphere. Edward Weston started out as a pictorialist. William Mortensen was another example. Group F64 (Adams, Weston, ...) was a reaction against pictorialism.

donbga · Jun 23, 2007

Robert Brummitt said:
Hey there.
Portland Photographers Forum is playing with the ideal of doing a Pictorialism/aternative process event in the Pacific Northwest. We have a site, We have space for a show, we have ideas, but we need photographers. I had ran into a group called "The New Pictorialist Society" back in 2004. Are they still active? Have they evolved into something else?
I have some names but I would like more input. Can you Apuggers help me, please?
Thanks

Ahem, did you Google, "The New Pictorialist Society"? If you do you might find this URL:

http://pictorialist.org/

And other links.

If you are looking for photographers you might consider making a call for submissions.

Robert Brummitt · Jun 23, 2007

donbga said:
Ahem, did you Google, "The New Pictorialist Society"? If you do you might find this URL:

http://pictorialist.org/

And other links.

If you are looking for photographers you might consider making a call for submissions.

I did find the link but it seems to be under construction with no other links. I have the same list on Large Format Forum and someone there says the society maybe gone as the lead person has departed.
But, I'll keep looking.

As to others, I'm willing to look into that venue as well.

bjorke · Jun 24, 2007

To be truthful, I don't see any intrinisc link between pictorialism and LF or alternative processes.

Ray Heath · Jun 24, 2007

Robert Brummitt said:
Hey there.
Portland Photographers Forum is playing with the ideal of doing a Pictorialism/aternative process event in the Pacific Northwest. We have a site, We have space for a show, we have ideas, but we need photographers. I had ran into a group called "The New Pictorialist Society" back in 2004. Are they still active? Have they evolved into something else?
I have some names but I would like more input. Can you Apuggers help me, please?
Thanks

g'day Robert
i also looked at the website, not much to see

i wonder though, in this modern age, why we need to identify ourselves as a "Pictorialist" or a whatever

surely we are enlightened enough to realise some images are best presented pictorially (whatever that means) and other images are best presented some other way (dare i suggest that digital may even be an option)

i don't see a necessary connection between pictorialism and alt processes

Ray

JG Motamedi · Jun 24, 2007

A few years ago Jay Allen (author of Pictorial and Soft Focus Lenses and the Cooke PS945 instruction manual) was trying to organize some sort of group show for new Pictorialists or soft focus lens users (not the same thing, I just can't remember which). It might be worth your while to contact him.

Bob Carnie · Jun 24, 2007

Robert
I would be interested in putting together 4 or 5 photographers work together including my own for your show. I would need details of dates , sizes of framed pieces and all that good stuff.

Robert Brummitt said:
Hey there.
Portland Photographers Forum is playing with the ideal of doing a Pictorialism/aternative process event in the Pacific Northwest. We have a site, We have space for a show, we have ideas, but we need photographers. I had ran into a group called "The New Pictorialist Society" back in 2004. Are they still active? Have they evolved into something else?
I have some names but I would like more input. Can you Apuggers help me, please?
Thanks

vet173 · Jun 25, 2007

Since coining the term ACS ( acute galli syndrom ), I have contracted the disease. I live in Seattle and would like to participate.
Thanks,
John Berry

Russ Young · Jun 28, 2007

I was the editor of the NPS quarterly journal in the early 1980s. The group folded because an immature officer refused to release the membership list so that the journal and newsletters could be mailed; he repeatedly denied his involvement and soon thereafter founded a new group under the old name.

The journal and newsletters were a gold mine of alternative process and soft focus lens information but the real education was to participate in the mail portfolios where you could hold master prints in your hands. Members such as Karl Struss would answer your questions over the phone. It was a golden age.

What a shame it was killed by one person.

Russ

Jim Noel · Jun 28, 2007

Robert,
Keep us posted. Pictorialism and pictorialist style images are a great interest of mine. I would likely break my long tradition and take part in such an exhibit.
Jim

Drew B. · Jun 28, 2007

Peter De Smidt said:
A pictorialist was a member of a photographic movement, mainly in the early 20th century, that thought that photography should imitate tradional painting. They tended to use soft focus lenses and went for a dreamy atmosphere. Edward Weston started out as a pictorialist. William Mortensen was another example. Group F64 (Adams, Weston, ...) was a reaction against pictorialism.

Ahhh, thanks to Adams and Weston for saving us! When I think about soft focus lenses...my blood runs cold.

TheFlyingCamera · Jun 28, 2007

I too would be interested in participating. Please post your call for submissions here when you have the details formalized.

Jeremy · Jun 28, 2007

Russ Young said:
I was the editor of the NPS quarterly journal in the early 1980s. The group folded because an immature officer refused to release the membership list so that the journal and newsletters could be mailed; he repeatedly denied his involvement and soon thereafter founded a new group under the old name.

The journal and newsletters were a gold mine of alternative process and soft focus lens information but the real education was to participate in the mail portfolios where you could hold master prints in your hands. Members such as Karl Struss would answer your questions over the phone. It was a golden age.

What a shame it was killed by one person.

Russ

Russ, are the journals and newsletters still around? I would donate my time/expertise to digitize them for inclusion on apug.

Robert Brummitt · Jun 28, 2007

Hello everyone.
Once I get more information, such as speakers and people willing to do demos, I will post annoucements. I had found this site, www.alternativephotography.com and it has some of what I'm looking for but not all. I noticed that some Apuggers are in this forum as well.
We have a university that is willing to host us and it has a state of the art photo dept. The Dept head and his assistant are both big fans of alternative processes. With PPF, we had VanDyke brown printing, pinhole, cyanotype and platinum/paladium workshops at the school.
Anyways, thats where I'm sitting at. I have the space and people to help organize the event. But what I need is speakers.
Thanks

Kerik · Jun 28, 2007

Hey Bob,

I'd be into this... sounds like a hoot.

Jeremy · Jun 28, 2007

Robert Brummitt said:
But what I need is speakers.
Thanks

Robert, what type of speakers are you looking for? Much of my research has been on the history of pictorialism and the development of pictorialism in Japan versus that in the West.

Russ Young · Jun 29, 2007

Robert-

I have just submitted my dissertation (St. Andrews University, Scotland) on soft focus lenses. You might inquire of folks present at APIS 2005 or the English APIS 2003 who heard me speak on the subject; I can PM you my viva if you are interested.

Jeremy- I have a nearly complete run of the NPS Journal and Newsletters- there are a lot! However, there may be some copyright issues. PM me if you're still game and we can discuss the nitty-gritty.

Russ

vet173 · Jun 29, 2007

Drew B. said:
Ahhh, thanks to Adams and Weston for saving us! When I think about soft focus lenses...my blood runs cold.

He may have save you but he utterly destroyed a great artist, William Mortenson who layed the ground work for his zone system. Just because, in his small vision of what photography should be, had no room for anything else.

bobherbst · Jun 30, 2007

I'll throw my name in the hat as well for an exhibition. I've been shooting in the studio with 18" and 14-1/2 " Verito lenses on 8x10 and 12x20. I also have a few "pictorialist" figure work pieces from the late 70s that have been recently upgraded from Agfa portriga silver gelatin to platinum/palladium.

I was a member of the Western Reserve Pictorialists for 7 years before the group disbanded about 5 years ago. It was an old salon style photography group in the greater Cleveland area with a hsitory back to the late 40s. The group became inactive because many of the members of 25-40 years were moving away from the area to be nearer to their children and grandchildren. Photographic styles of members had evolved away from true pictorialism but a few people in the Cleveland area have recently been reviving the true pictorialist style in several alternative process mediums.

Bob Herbst

jimgalli · Jan 20, 2008

Thought I would revive this thread and ask for any progress report. I missed it in August somehow. Did the show get organized? List of names or group formed?

nick mulder · Dec 22, 2009

bump

Robert Brummitt · Dec 23, 2009

I have met some and sopke with others but there seems no one area of who I can work with. I have some great ideas too.

Looking for New Pictorialst society or other like groups

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