Was Edward Weston using 4X5 with girlfriend and only contact print ?

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

I read Edward Weston was contact printing his negatives ? So was he doing the same for 4X5 negatives ?

 

[4season]

When I visited an exhibit of Weston's contact prints, I recall them being 5x7" and larger. I don't recall whether there were any 4x5" images.

 

[Pieter12]

There is no enlarger in the Wildcat Hill darkroom, just a contact frame.

 

[koraks]

What did his girlfriend have to do with it?

 

[xkaes]

It makes me ask -- because I can't remember his name. Who was the large format photographer who had a photo taken -- of a nude model (using his large format camera) -- taking a picture of him as subject.

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

All of these means , edward weston coffee table books have much larger prints than he made. Is it true ?
Why girlfriend Charis Wilson , I have her book first edition and she says EW took her photos when she was moving in the room , he says stop , charis stops. I thought he cant do this mobility with heavy camera while he was changing the holders frequently.

 

[Pieter12]

It makes me ask -- because I can't remember his name. Who was the large format photographer who had a photo taken -- of a nude model (using his large format camera) -- taking a picture of him as subject.

Sounds like something Helmut Newton would have done.

All of these means , edward weston coffee table books have much larger prints than he made. Is it true ?
Why girlfriend Charis Wilson , I have her book first edition and she says EW took her photos when she was moving in the room , he says stop , charis stops. I thought he cant do this mobility with heavy camera while he was changing the holders frequently.

Weston only used LF cameras, but he did use a Graflex with multi-sheet film packs. An interesting look at some of his working methods is the film (not a documentary) "The Eloquent Nude" with interviews with Charis.

 

[Don_ih]

Sounds like something Helmut Newton would have done.

Sure does:

Self Portrait with Wife and Models, 1981​

 

[xkaes]

That's not it. What I'm referring to is a photo of a nude model using a large format camera, taking a picture of the photographer who is now the subject. In the above picture, the photographer is taking the picture.

 

[Pieter12]

That's not it. What I'm referring to is a photo of a nude model using a large format camera, taking a picture of the photographer who is now the subject. In the above picture, the photographer is taking the picture.

So neither the photographer nor the model took the picture, unless there are mirrors. Still seems like Helmut Newton who staged that.

 

[David Lindquist]

That's not it. What I'm referring to is a photo of a nude model using a large format camera, taking a picture of the photographer who is now the subject. In the above picture, the photographer is taking the picture.

You must be thinking of the photograph by Ted Orland of a nude model taking a picture of Morley Baer using Morley Baer's 8 x 10. Captioned something like "I sent Morley a nude model to work with but I don't think he quite got the hang of it."

David

 

[xkaes]

THAT'S IT!!! You've got a great memory.

 

[David Lindquist]

And thank you for coming up with the image! My efforts came to naught.
Think I first saw this many many years ago at a workshop, probably shown by Ted Orland himself.

David

 

[mshchem]

Boy, I couldn't afford the model fees or the hospital bills (if my wife found out)

 

[mshchem]

THAT'S IT!!! You've got a great memory.

View attachment 414003

She forgot to pull the darkslide

 

[mshchem]

So neither the photographer nor the model took the picture, unless there are mirrors. Still seems like Helmut Newton who staged that.

And based on the undraped window behind his wife, the lack of window peepers, it must be in Paris. Pretty ordinary thing there

 

[rknewcomb]

I read Edward Weston was contact printing his negatives ? So was he doing the same for 4X5 negatives ?

I have seen some Weston nude model in the desert images of a more kinetic nature that were said to have been made using a
3 1/4 x 4 1/4 Graflex SLR camera.

 

[Ian Grant]

What did his girlfriend have to do with it?

A lot, as he was usually in a relationship with his models.

Ian

 

[Pieter12]

I have seen some Weston nude model in the desert images of a more kinetic nature that were said to have been made using a
3 1/4 x 4 1/4 Graflex SLR camera.

I believe he used that camera mostly for portraits.

 

[reddesert]

David, thanks for remembering Ted Orland's name. I also remembered that photograph but hadn't gotten beyond "Ted somebody" by the time I hit your post. I did think that it was the same photographer who made "One and a Half Domes": https://www.anseladams.com/products/one-and-a-half-domes-yosemite
This was in some book of photos I had years ago when learning about different photographers.

I didn't know another one by him, "Half Car from the Glacier Point Road": https://www.anseladams.com/products/half-car-from-the-glacier-point-road

 

[MarkS]

Weston printed by contact. Many of his portraits and nudes of Charis Wilson (model/lover/second wife) were made with a 4x5 camera. He did use an 8x10 for some of that work. Earlier he had also used a 3-1/4x4-1/4 Graflex.
A number of these prints were recently on display at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson (the institution holds Weston's archive). They are small, yes, but incredibly beautiful and effective photographs.

 

[Franklee]

A tiny 3x4 Weston contact print will still have more presence than any other photographer's IMHO. Partly because of the chemistry and paper he used but also because he simply "nailed" every exhibited photo.

 

[Pieter12]

I saw an Edward Weston retrospective a few years ago that featured prints by Edward as well as Brett, and Brett was a better printer IMO.

 

[GregY]

I saw an Edward Weston retrospective a few years ago that featured prints by Edward as well as Brett, and Brett was a better printer IMO.

"Better" is such a relatively unimportant term. A friend of mine has an original Weston print of this image, she bought when she got out of university. It's a beautiful image and a beautiful contact print.

 

[Pieter12]

"Better" is such a relatively unimportant term. A friend of mine has an original Weston print of this image, she bought when she got out of university. It's a beautiful image and a beautiful contact print.

Why is it unimportant? Brett’s prints of his father’s negatives were clearly better.