The Philosophy of Stieglitz

"I'm not sure if they'll run it -- I'm not even sure if I'll submit it -- because it's not about 'choose this film, press this button in Photoshop', it's about thinking"_ Roger Hicks


Roger ,
How very very very true , it is the escence of it all to me in the nutshell ...

I would be very interested in reading this , could you post this article here?

Best regards, ILYA

I go into the World, i before e except after..., and I am driven nuts by the multitude of interuptions that come flooding in. Where is Zone III supposted to be? But I am Stieglitz and I don't have that Zonal problem yet, I meta somethingize it all together and get, pigions on a park bench that looks like something shot from a mixture of Paul Strand and W. Eugene Smith.

Come in Adams, give me that portfolio, sit, sit, sit, sit on that radiator, oh is it burning your butt? These are some of the most fantastic photographs I have ever seen, except mine. But where are you going with them, you know you must have heart?

Come in Weston, don't be afraid, I know that Adams said I was tough, lets see what you have, no don't sit, I said don't sit, I decided to go out. Come back later, later. What are you doing here again, oh I said to, well alright then. What's in that ratty box? Wow it's......... boobs and shells and peppers? I like the boobs but the shells don't speak to me. Keep trying and go go go, get out of here and head in that direction.

Hey! Georgie girl, how about some sandwiches? Georgia O'Keeffe: "Get it yourself bum"

Just another day at that American Place.

From reading Adams and others I believe that Stieglitz and Strand both had fairly substantial inheritances. Not that money alone could make a man believe that he was the center of the Universe. What if Stieglitz had been a down to earth, straight talking, simple, hard working newspaper photo editor? How would that have changed things?

...Not that Paul Strand was a Stieglitz...

Does one go thru the steps of the masters before or ignore them ? does one take photographs of subjects that were taken in the past ? Does one duplicate ?
To me one has to learn everything that came before and only after that one can ignore ... and go it's own way

ilya1963 said:

does one take photographs of subjects that were taken in the past ? Does one duplicate ?

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Studying other successful photographers work and even trying your own hand at the same subjects, perspectives, etc..., I think, has the potential to be very rewarding from a learning point of view. It will most certainly probably be a totally different interpretation of the same subject----that could be the beauty of it. I think you can duplicate the subject but not the "feeling" (I couldn't resist )-----so to speak.

If I ever get to Yosimite, I can think of several attempts at subject duplication that would occur, but I would try to give it my own expression.

Chuck

I agree Chuck, you have to find your own "voice" or "feeling" about the work or it will be as Ansel Adams said, "scenery". A work with feeling or reportage, I think with a little experience one can recognize the two. Now what if a person takes a picture of a baby, maybe for him it is reportage and for the mother it is a work of art. Or the photographer can have it all and that makes a Karsh or Weston etc.. They can use their voice to present the feeling in the subjects.

Are there photographers who have too much voice, making their work sterile to the point that it doesn't speak or have feeling for others?

There are too many articles and books in photography about "choose this film, press this button in Photoshop...", and way too few about thinking.

Roger, I surely hope they publish it, and if not, please publish it online somewhere. I agree with Ilya, I too would like the opportunity to read it.

ilya1963 said:

To me one has to learn everything that came before and only after that one can ignore ... and go it's own way

Click to expand...

Or, one can be ignorant, like me, of all this stuff and go one's own way by default. :rolleyes:

Or, one can be ignorant, like me, of all this stuff and go one's own way by default. -Alex
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"Why Ike, whatever do you mean?" -Doc. Holliday ( Thombstone)

Its kind like why I started this thread. I saw the quote for the very first time, not knowing anything about it, and discover its been studied seemingly as much as Einstein's theory of relativity. Cool beans.

"I see the image I desire in my mind's eye"-Stieglitz
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To me this is the most interesting part of the statment , I want to learn and understand is how it works , it does work , but how ?

Photographer is a human that is sensitized to the point of 3200 asa or higher to receive and react to the ever so overwhelming protons of light
There is someething hapens that converts light into emotion , like kinetic power into electricity, between eye and soul there is something that turns a switch ... and what comes out depends on "baggage" or "experience" or "tools" accumulated from the past , it happen consciously or subconsciously depends on how good the technical skill is.

I am interested in what Roger Hicks has to say in his article about "thinking" in photography . there have been a few great books written by Robert Adams

There are times when you doing landscapes or nude, or whatever that one is in complete awe of what's infront , you just stand there motionless for a second or two and take it all in... you realise how small and helpless you are in front of nature, it has almost a paralizing effect...

There is no way that one could duplicate it no metter how skillfull an artist is...
Although there are some that come very close...

So, what final product IS has nothing to do with the original subject. Somehow we accept nature as absolute and not wonder how or why , it just is .
When looking at most of the art viewer can not escape the notion of pondering of how and why , unless it is a master you standing infront of...

those are just a few thoughts of mine ... , you have yours...share them if you want...

ILYA